William Charles Lake (9 January 1817 – 8 December 1897) was

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and Warden of its university from 1869 to 1894.

Life

He was the eldest son of Captain Charles Lake of the

Scots fusilier guards The Scots Guards (SG) is one of the five Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. Its origins are as the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland. Its lineage can be traced back to 1642, although it was only placed on the ...

. He was educated at

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under Dr. Arnold, where he became the lifelong friend of his school-fellow,

Arthur Penrhyn Stanley Arthur Penrhyn Stanley, (13 December 1815 – 18 July 1881), known as Dean Stanley, was an English Anglican priest and ecclesiastical historian. He was Dean of Westminster from 1864 to 1881. His position was that of a Broad Churchman and he wa ...

, and Balliol, where he was elected

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in 1838 and was

President of the Oxford Union Past elected presidents of the Oxford Union are listed below, with their college and the year/term in which they served. ''Iterum'' indicates that a person was serving a second term as president (which is not possible under the current Union rule ...

. He was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

in 1842, but remained at

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until 1858. In that year he became

Rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

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; and in 1860

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. Meanwhile, Lake's linguistic abilities had led to his appointment by Lord Panmure as a member of the commission of 1856, to report on military education on the continent. He had won the prize at Oxford in 1840, for his Latin essay on the Roman army as an obstacle to civil liberty. He also served on the Newcastle commission of 1858 to inquire into popular education, and on the royal commission upon military education of 1868. On 9 August 1869, Lake was nominated by Gladstone for the deanery of Durham. In 1881, he was a member of the ecclesiastical court's commission. His theological position was that of a moderate high churchman, and in 1880 he joined Dean Church and others in endeavouring to induce

Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...

and Archbishop Tait to bring forward legislation modifying the

Public Worship Regulation Act The Public Worship Regulation Act 1874 (37 & 38 Vict c 85) was an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom, introduced as a Private Member's Bill by Archbishop of Canterbury Archibald Campbell Tait, to limit what he perceived as the growing ritual ...

. During Lake's decanate,

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was restored. He exercised an important influence over

Durham University , mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills (Psalm 87:1) , established = (university status) , type = Public , academic_staff = 1,830 (2020) , administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19) , chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen , vice_chan ...

of which he was warden, and education in the north of England generally owed much to his efforts. The foundation of the College of Science at Newcastle in 1871 was very largely his work. He resigned the deanery, owing to failing health, in 1894, and went to live at

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. There he died suddenly on 8 December 1897.

Family

He married, in June 1881, Miss Katherine Gladstone, a niece of the premier, who survived him.

Works

Lake published nothing separately but a few sermons and a pamphlet, "The Inspiration of Scripture and Eternal Punishment, with a preface on the Oxford Declaration and on F. D. Maurice's Letter to the Bishop of London," 1864. But he contributed to the ''Life'' of his friend Tait some highly interesting recollections, and especially a valuable picture of the independent position he held at Oxford, and an account from intimate knowledge of his life as head of Rugby, bishop of London, and primate. Lake also supplied to Mr. Wilfrid Ward's ''W. G. Ward and the Oxford Movement'' (1889) some reminiscences of Ward, who was for some time his mathematical tutor at Balliol and exercised some influence over his tone of thought.

References

;Attribution *Henri Brémond, L' évolution du clergé Anglican, Paris, Bloud et Gay, 1906

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lake, William Charles 1817 births 1895 deaths People educated at Rugby School Fellows of Balliol College, Oxford Presidents of the Oxford Union Deans of Durham Vice-Chancellors and Wardens of Durham University