William St John Hope on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
Sir William Henry St John Hope (1854–1919) was an English antiquary.
Hope was born in 
Hope was interested in archaeology and heraldry since boyhood, and his earliest works were on the subject of the
Sir William Henry St John Hope (1854–1919) was an English antiquary.
Life
Hope was born in Derby
Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gain ...
, the son of the Reverend William Hope, vicar of Saint Peter's Church. He was educated at Derby Grammar School
Derby Grammar School is a selective independent school in Littleover near the city of Derby, England. Founded in 1995, to recreate the historical Derby School, (which had become mixed-Comprehensive in the 1970s, and then changed name in 1989) ...
and entered Peterhouse, Cambridge
Peterhouse is the oldest constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England, founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Today, Peterhouse has 254 undergraduates, 116 full-time graduate students and 54 fellows. It is quite ...
in 1877, graduating B.A. 1881, M.A. 1884, and Litt.D. 1912.
On leaving Cambridge, Hope became a master at Rochester Grammar School in Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
, a post he continued to hold until his appointment in 1885 as Assistant Secretary of the Society of Antiquaries. During this period he carried out the study of Rochester Cathedral Church and monastic buildings, which was published in ''Archaeologia Cantiana'' (1898).
Hope was interested in archaeology and heraldry since boyhood, and his earliest works were on the subject of the monumental brass
A monumental brass is a type of engraved sepulchral memorial, which in the 13th century began to partially take the place of three-dimensional monuments and effigies carved in stone or wood. Made of hard latten or sheet brass, let into the pa ...
es of English churches. His major work was his ''Architectural History of Windsor Castle'', began in 1893 with the approval of Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...
, and completed twenty years later in 1913, an undertaking for which he was knighted. His other works include '' Stall-plates of Knights of the Garter'', ''Heraldry for Craftsmen and Designers'' and ''A Grammar of English Heraldry''.
He was involved in the Society of Antiquaries's report on the restorations and alterations at Bath
Bath may refer to:
* Bathing, immersion in a fluid
** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body
** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe
* Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities
Plac ...
by Charles Davis in the 1880s. His 1899 ''English Altars'' was the first publication of the Anglican traditionalist Alcuin Club
The Alcuin Club is an Anglican organization seeking to preserve or restore church ceremony, arrangement, ornament, and practice in an orthodox manner.
The organization was founded in 1897 and named after Alcuin of York. It was a reorganization ...
. He assisted Sir Harold Brakspear in investigating Ludlow Castle
Ludlow Castle is a ruined medieval fortification in the town of the same name in the English county of Shropshire, standing on a promontory overlooking the River Teme. The castle was probably founded by Walter de Lacy after the Norman conque ...
in 1903 and in drawing the plans of Lewes Priory
Lewes Priory is a part-demolished medieval Cluniac priory in Lewes, East Sussex in the United Kingdom. The ruins have been designated a Grade I listed building.
History
The Priory of St Pancras was the first Cluniac house in England and had o ...
in 1906. He commissioned the Leeds Camera Club led by Godfrey Bingley
Godfrey Bingley (1842–1927) was a British photographer, engineer and iron founder. Bingley is remarkable for the number and quality of photographs he took around the United Kingdom and abroad.
Early life
Bingley was born on 3 July 1842 in L ...
to take photographs of Kirkstall Abbey for his book 'Architectural Description of Kirkstall Abbey' published in 1907. Between 1909 and 1915, he participated in the first major excavation of the hillfort at Old Sarum
Old Sarum, in Wiltshire, South West England, is the now ruined and deserted site of the earliest settlement of Salisbury. Situated on a hill about north of modern Salisbury near the A345 road, the settlement appears in some of the earliest ...
, along with William Hawley
Lieutenant-Colonel William Hawley (1851–1941) was a British archaeologist who undertook pioneering excavations at Stonehenge.
Military career
Hawley joined the Royal Engineers and was a captain of the Portsmouth division of the Royal Engin ...
and Duncan Montgomerie.
Hope married Myrrha Fullerton in 1885, by whom he had a son before her death in 1903. His second wife was Mary Jeffries, whom he married in 1910. He died at his home in Great Shelford
Great Shelford is a village located approximately to the south of Cambridge, in the county of Cambridgeshire, in eastern England. In 1850 Great Shelford parish contained bisected by the river Cam. The population in 1841 was 803 people. By 2001 ...
near Cambridge, following a series of heart attacks.
Selected publications
* * * * * * A Series of Ninety Full-Sized Coloured Facsimiles with Descriptive Notes and Historical Introductions. * * * * * * * *References
British archaeologists English antiquarians Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London 1854 births 1919 deaths People from Derby People from Great Shelford {{uk-archaeologist-stub