Eric Symes Abbott KCVO (26 May 1906 – 6 June 1983) was an English Anglican priest and Dean of Westminster. Abbott was born in Nottingham in 1906 to William Henry Abbott and Mary Symes, both schoolteachers. He was educated at

Nottingham High School , motto_translation = Praise to the end , address = Waverley Mount , city = Nottingham , county = Nottinghamshire , postcode = NG7 4ED , country = England , coordinates = , type = Independent day school , established = , closed = , religious ...

and later studied classics and theology at Jesus College, Cambridge. He was ordained priest in 1931 and thereafter held a number of different posts, such as chaplain (1932–1936) and dean (1945–1955) of

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

, and warden of

Keble College, Oxford Keble College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its main buildings are on Parks Road, opposite the University Museum and the University Parks. The college is bordered to the north by Keble Road, to th ...

(1956–1960). He was appointed chaplain to King George VI (1948–1952) and Queen Elizabeth II (1952–1959). In 1959, he was made Dean of Westminster, a position he held until 1974. As such he presided over the 900th anniversary of the founding of the abbey in 1965–1966. In 1966 he was knighted as a

Knight Commander 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, or ...

(KCVO). After the death of Princess Margaret it was reported that she regarded Eric Abbott as "a father figure." Abbott never married. He died at

Haslemere The town of Haslemere () and the villages of Shottermill and Grayswood are in south west Surrey, England, around south west of London. Together with the settlements of Hindhead and Beacon Hill, they comprise the civil parish of Haslemere i ...

in 1983 and his funeral was held in Westminster Abbey. He is buried in the nave. In his memory the Eric Symes Abbott Memorial Fund provides for annual lectures on spirituality, held alternately in Oxford and London. The first, delivered in 1986, was by Cardinal

Basil Hume George Basil Hume OSB OM (2 March 1923 – 17 June 1999) was an English Catholic bishop. He was a monk and priest of the English Benedictine monastery of Ampleforth Abbey and its abbot for 13 years until his appointment as Archbishop of Wes ...

A full copy of all the previous lectures is held at King's College London.

Writings

*''Escape or freedom?'' (Heffer and Sons, Cambridge, 1939) *''Foothold of faith'' (Dacre Press, Westminster, 1943) *''Catholicity: a study in the conflict of Christian traditions in the West'' (Dacre Press, Westminster, 1947) *''Education in the spiritual life'' (Doncaster, 1961) *''The compassion of God and the Passion of Christ'' (Geoffrey Bles, London, 1963)

References

Sources

*Evans, Sydney, "Abbott, Eric Symes (1906–1983)", '' Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004

External links

Abbott’s archives at King’s College LondonBibliographic directory
from

Project Canterbury Project Canterbury (sometimes abbreviated as PC) is an online archive of material related to the history of Anglicanism. It was founded by Richard Mammana, Jr. in 1999 with a grant from Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold, and is ho ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Abbott, Eric Symes 1906 births 1983 deaths People educated at Nottingham High School Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge Chaplains of King's College London Deans of King's College London Fellows of King's College London Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order People from Nottingham Deans of Westminster 20th-century English Anglican priests Wardens of Keble College, Oxford Staff of Lincoln Theological College