Stephen Reay (29 March 1782 – 20 January 1861) was a Scottish academic and clergyman, who was

Laudian Professor of Arabic The position of Laudian Professor of Arabic, now known as the Abdulaziz Saud AlBabtain Laudian Professor, at the University of Oxford was established in 1636 by William Laud, who at the time was Chancellor of the University of Oxford and Archbi ...

from 1840 until his death."A Field Guide to the English Clergy' Butler-Gallie, F p52: London, Oneworld Publications, 2018

Life

Reay was the only child of a Scottish clergyman, John Reay, and was born in

Montrose, Angus Montrose ( , gd, Monadh Rois) is a town and former royal burgh in Angus, Scotland. Situated north of Dundee and south of Aberdeen, Montrose lies between the mouths of the North and South Esk rivers. It is the northernmost coastal town in Angus ...

, on 29 March 1782, which was Good Friday. He studied at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

with the philosopher

Dugald Stewart Dugald Stewart (; 22 November 175311 June 1828) was a Scottish philosopher and mathematician. Today regarded as one of the most important figures of the later Scottish Enlightenment, he was renowned as a populariser of the work of Francis Hut ...

, graduating in 1802. He was ordained at

Chester Cathedral Chester Cathedral is a Church of England cathedral and the mother church of the Diocese of Chester. It is located in the city of Chester, Cheshire, England. The cathedral, formerly the abbey church of a Benedictine monastery dedicated to Saint ...

in 1806 before serving as a curate in

Shotwick Shotwick is a small village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Puddington, on the southern end of the Wirral Peninsula in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The villag ...

, Cheshire, and then in

Haslingden Haslingden is a town in Rossendale, Lancashire, England. It is north of Manchester. The name means 'valley of the hazels' or 'valley growing with hazels'. At the time of the 2011 census the town (including Helmshore) had a population of 15,96 ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

, where he met Eleonara Hargreave, who he later married. He studied at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

matriculating Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term "matriculation" is seldom used now. ...

at St Alban Hall, Oxford in 1814, obtaining a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

degree in 1817, his

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...

degree in 1823 and his Bachelor of Divinity degree in 1841. He acted as Vice-Principal of St Alban Hall for some years, and was appointed

in 1840. He published little, although contemporaries praised his scholarship. He wrote a pamphlet, "Observations on the defence of the Church Missionary Society against the objections of the Archdeacon of Bath" (1818) under the pseudonym "Pileus Quadratus", and edited two texts, ''Narratio de Josepho e sacro codice'' (1822) and ''Textus Hebraicus'' (1840). Reay was appointed Under-Librarian at the Bodleian Library in 1828 by Bulkeley Bandinel, the university librarian. He was in charge of oriental books. Reay held the professorship until his death, and remained at the Bodleian until retiring with a pension in 1860. Colleagues at the library fondly remembered "his habits of pottering around the library in search of his spectacles and hovering over hot-air gratings in search of warmth". He was also curate for a time of the church of St Peter-le-Bailey, Oxford. He was remembered for his "kindness of heart and courtesy of manner", and was described in an obituary as "a most genuine Christian character" and one who was "never heard to utter an unkind word of anybody". His health declined in his later years and he died on 20 February 1861, 19 days after his wife. He was buried in St Sepulchre's Cemetery, Oxford, alongside his wife.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reay, Stephen 1782 births 1861 deaths Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Alumni of St Alban Hall, Oxford 19th-century Scottish Episcopalian priests Laudian Professors of Arabic Burials at St Sepulchre's Cemetery