Eric Symes Abbott KCVO (26 May 1906 – 6 June 1983) was an English Anglican priest and

Dean of Westminster The Dean of Westminster is the head of the chapter at Westminster Abbey. Due to the Abbey's status as a Royal Peculiar, the dean answers directly to the British monarch (not to the Bishop of London as ordinary, nor to the Archbishop of Canterbu ...

. Abbott was born in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

in 1906 to William Henry Abbott and Mary Symes, both schoolteachers. He was educated at Nottingham High School and later studied classics and theology at Jesus College,

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

. 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, and warden of Keble College, Oxford (1956–1960). He was appointed chaplain to King

George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of I ...

(1948–1952) and Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

(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 (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 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 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 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 University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 2004

External links

Abbott’s archives at King’s College LondonBibliographic directory
from Project Canterbury * {{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