Peter Frederick (Charles) Anson (22 August 1889 – 10 July 1975) was an English non-fiction writer on religious matters and architectural and maritime subjects. He spent time as an

Anglican Benedictine There are a number of Benedictine Anglican religious orders, some of them using the name Order of St. Benedict (OSB). Just like their Roman Catholic counterparts, each abbey/priory/convent is independent of each other. The vows are not made to ...

monk before converting to

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Biography

Peter Anson was born Frederick Charles Anson in

Southsea Southsea is a seaside resort and a geographic area of Portsmouth, Portsea Island in England. Southsea is located 1.8 miles (2.8 km) to the south of Portsmouth's inner city-centre. Southsea is not a separate town as all of Portsea Island's s ...

on 22 August 1889, the son of Charles Eustace Anson (1858–1940), later a rear-admiral (son of Frederick Anson, Canon of Windsor and Caroline Maria, daughter of

George Venables-Vernon, 5th Baron Vernon George John Warren Venables-Vernon, 5th Baron Vernon (22 June 1803 – 31 May 1866), was a British politician. He was one of the last members of parliament for Derbyshire and the first for South Derbyshire. Vernon had a lifetime enthusiasm for ...

), and his wife, (Maria) Evelyn, née Ross (1863–1904). His brother was the electrical engineer Horatio St George Anson. He was educated at

Wixenford School Wixenford School, also known as Wixenford Preparatory School and Wixenford-Eversley, was an independent preparatory school for boys near Wokingham, founded in 1869. A feeder school for Eton, after it closed in 1934 its former buildings were ...

until the age of almost 15. His father's

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

had a history of prominence in the Anglican Church. Michael Yelton: "Anson, Peter Frederick", ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'' (Oxford, UK: OUP, 2007) Retrieved 17 May 2018.] Anson converted to Roman Catholicism on 5 March 1913. In doing so, he followed the example of the members of the

monastery on

Caldey Island Caldey Island ( Welsh:''Ynys Bŷr'') is a small island near Tenby, Pembrokeshire, Wales, less than off the coast. With a recorded history going back over 1,500 years, it is one of the holy islands of Britain. A number of traditions inherited ...

(Ynys Bŷr), Pembrokeshire, Wales, under

Aelred Carlyle Aelred Carlyle OSB (7 February 1874 - 14 October 1955) founded, around 1895, the first regularised Anglican Benedictine community of monks. Early life and monastic profession Born Benjamin Fearnley Carlyle, he was educated at Blundell's S ...

, of which he had been one since 1910. He was received into the Third Order of the

Franciscans , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

in 1922, adopting the name Peter. Anson was the author of some 40 books, many of them on religious subjects, and one of them a biography of

, who founded the first regular Anglican Community of Benedictines. He was also an accomplished artist.The Peter Anson Collections. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
/ref> In 1936, Anson moved to the north-east of Scotland, his mother's country of origin, living at Macduff, Banffshire from 1937 to 1952, and becoming involved in the early activities of Scottish nationalism. His acquaintance there included Neil M. Gunn and

Compton Mackenzie Sir Edward Montague Compton Mackenzie, (17 January 1883 – 30 November 1972) was a Scottish writer of fiction, biography, histories and a memoir, as well as a cultural commentator, raconteur and lifelong Scottish nationalist. He was one of th ...

Selected bibliography

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References

External links

General information on Peter Anson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anson, Peter 1889 births 1975 deaths English Roman Catholics Converts to Roman Catholicism from Anglicanism People educated at Wixenford School English Anglicans Anglican monks