Leland Lewis Duncan, (24 August 1862 – 26 December 1923) was an English public servant,

antiquary An antiquarian or antiquary () is an fan (person), aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artifact (archaeology), artifac ...

and author.

Biography

Duncan was the eldest child and only son of Leland Crosthwait Duncan and Caroline Ellen Lewis. His father, a grandson of Leland Crosthwait, Governor General of the

Bank of Ireland Bank of Ireland Group plc ( ga, Banc na hÉireann) is a commercial bank operation in Ireland and one of the traditional Big Four Irish banks. Historically the premier banking organisation in Ireland, the Bank occupies a unique position in Iris ...

, had left Ireland for London in 1851 and after his marriage settled in

Lewisham Lewisham () is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the Historic counties of England, historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified i ...

. The family lived at 1 Vicarage Terrace, High Road, Lewisham, where Leland Lewis Duncan was born. The family moved twice before they went to live at "Rosslair", 8 Lingards Road, Lewisham, England, in 1872. He can trace his roots to Strathblane, Stirlingshire, Scotland. Duncan was born in

, where he lived throughout his life, was educated at

Colfe's Grammar School Colfe's School, previously Colfe's Grammar School is a co-educational independent day school in Lee in the London Borough of Lewisham, in southeast London, England, and one of the oldest schools in London. The school is a member of the Headmast ...

, and began a career as a public servant. His 40-year service with the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

, beginning in 1882, was recognised with an

O.B.E. The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

as he rose in position. For his service in connection with the

Coronation of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra The coronation of Edward VII and his wife, Alexandra, as King and Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and as Emperor and Empress of India took place at Westminster Abbey, London, on 9 August 1902. Originally scheduled for 2 ...

, he was invested as a Member (fourth class) of the

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, o ...

(MVO) two days after the ceremony, on 11 August 1902. He became interested in archaeology early in his life, and began disposing of his spare time by copying wills at

Somerset House Somerset House is a large Neoclassical complex situated on the south side of the Strand in central London, overlooking the River Thames, just east of Waterloo Bridge. The Georgian era quadrangle was built on the site of a Tudor palace ("O ...

. This collection of documents was largely ill-ordered and an untapped source of historical evidence. His work in this field led to his appointment as general editor on Challenor Smith's 1893 Index of Wills, published by the

British Record Society The British Record Society is a British learned society that focuses on publishing historic records, or, more specifically, indexes to such records. In recent years, the Society has concentrated on the publication of name indexes to English probat ...

. Duncan's transcription and editing of this material, which he carefully produced throughout his life, became an important resource to his contemporaries and later researchers. He made many field trips to note the deteriorating engravings amongst the memorials of churchyards, carefully recorded in an extensive set of notebooks. He was made a fellow of the

Society of Antiquaries of London A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Societ ...

in 1890, contributed to the works of the

St Paul's Ecclesiological Society The Cambridge Camden Society, known from 1845 (when it moved to London) as the Ecclesiological Society,Histor ...

and Lewisham Antiquarian Society, and was a life member of the

Kent Archaeological Society The Kent Archaeological Society was founded in 1857 to promote the study and publication of archaeology and history, especially that pertaining to the ancient county of Kent in England. This includes the modern administrative county as well as area ...

(KAS). He also assisted in the compilation or editing of several works, and the results of his research and fieldwork were published in the journals and transactions of several societies. His contributions to ''

Archaeologia Cantiana The Kent Archaeological Society was founded in 1857 to promote the study and publication of archaeology and history, especially that pertaining to the ancient county of Kent in England. This includes the modern administrative county as well as area ...

'' began with a list of historical administrations of the Kent region. The society later published a special volume for his extracts from wills, ''Testamenta Cantiana'', in 1906. His few printed works include ''The Parish Church of St. Mary, Lewisham, and an account of its Vicars and Curates'' (1902); ''The History of the borough of Lewisham'' (1908); and ''The History of Colfe's Grammar School and a life of its founder'' (1910). The journal ''Archaeologia Cantiana'' printed his papers 'The Renunciation of Papal Authority in West Kent, 1534', 'The Rectory of Cowden with a list of Rectors', 'The Will of Abp. Courtenay', 'Ecclesiological Notes on Shoreham', 'The Will of Cardinal Bourgehier', and 'Extracts from some lost Parish Registers'. A major work was interrupted by his death, ''Kent Records – Index of Wills'' was completed and issued by the KAS in 1924 with a memoir of the author by F. W. Cock. Duncan died on 26 December 1923, the year following his retirement.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Duncan, Leland Lewis 1862 births 1923 deaths Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London English archaeologists English antiquarians English editors