Sherard Falkner Allison (19 January 1907 – 31 May 1993) was a British Anglican bishop and successively the Bishop of Chelmsford and the

Bishop of Winchester The Bishop of Winchester is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Winchester in the Church of England. The bishop's seat ('' cathedra'') is at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire. The Bishop of Winchester has always held '' ex officio'' (except ...

Early life, family and education

Allison was born in

Stafford Stafford () is a market town and the county town of Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It lies about north of Wolverhampton, south of Stoke-on-Trent and northwest of Birmingham. The town had a population of 70,145 in ...

on 19 January 1907 while his father, William Sherard Allison, was Vicar of St Thomas' Church,

. He was born into a clergy family – besides his father, his mother Emily Beatrice's father (James Wheeler) and brother (Harold Wheeler) were already vicars – and Falkner's three brothers also became priests –

Oliver Allison Oliver Claude Allison (28 May 1908 – 7 June 1989) was a Christian missionary and the Bishop of the Sudan for over 20 years in the second part of the 20th century. Life Educated at Dean Close School, Cheltenham and Queens' College, Cambridge, ...

became Bishop in the Sudan while Roger and Gordon remained vicars. Falkner (who was always known by his second forename) was educated at Dean Close School, Cheltenham as a child before studying as a Scholar at

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's full name is The College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and the glorious Virgin Saint Radegund, near Cambridge. Its common name comes f ...

and training for the ministry at

Ridley Hall, Cambridge Ridley Hall is a theological college located on the corner of Sidgwick Avenue and Ridley Hall Road in Cambridge (United Kingdom), which trains men and women intending to take Holy Orders as deacon or priest of the Church of England, and memb ...

Priestly career

Having been made deacon on

Trinity Sunday Trinity Sunday is the first Sunday after Pentecost in the Western Christian liturgical calendar, and the Sunday of Pentecost in Eastern Christianity. Trinity Sunday celebrates the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, the three Persons of God: the ...

1931 (31 May), by

Linton Smith Martin Linton Smith, The Times, 9 October 1950; p. 6, "Bishop Linton Smith former Bishop of Rochester" (4 July 1869 – 7 October 1950) was an Anglican bishop who served in three dioceses during the first half of the twentieth century. Life Smith ...

Bishop of Rochester The Bishop of Rochester is the ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Rochester in the Province of Canterbury. The town of Rochester has the bishop's seat, at the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary, which was fou ...

, at

Rochester Cathedral Rochester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an English church of Norman architecture in Rochester, Kent. The church is the cathedral of the Diocese of Rochester in the Church of England and the s ...

, Allison served his title post as curate of St James's Church,

Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in Kent, England, southeast of central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the High Weald, whose sandstone geology is exemplified by the rock formation High Rocks. ...

until 1934, being ordained priest on Trinity Sunday (22 May) 1932, by Smith at Rochester Cathedral. He then became

Chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

and examining chaplain to the Bishop of Bradford, Alfred Blunt until 1936, when he became Vicar of

Rodbourne Cheney The civil parish of Haydon Wick is a northern suburb of the town of Swindon, Wiltshire, in England. It had a population of 20,960 in the 2011 census. The parish includes the former hamlet of Haydon and the suburbs of Greenmeadow and Rodbourne ...

. In 1940, Allison became Vicar of

Erith Erith () is an area in south-east London, England, east of Charing Cross. Before the creation of Greater London in 1965, it was in the historical county of Kent. Since 1965 it has formed part of the London Borough of Bexley. It lies nort ...

until he was appointed Principal of Ridley Hall in 1945, where he served until his election as Bishop of Chelmsford. During his time at Ridley, he was also examining chaplain to the bishop of Rochester (until 1947) and to the bishop of Ely (from 1947).

Episcopal career

Allison was consecrated a bishop by Geoffrey Fisher, Archbishop of Canterbury, on 2 February 1951 at

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

, having presumably been elected and confirmed as Bishop of Chelmsford shortly before. He served as the diocesan bishop for

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

and

East London East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...

for ten years before he was made

in 1961 – his election to that see was confirmed in late December 1961. He remained in Winchester until his retirement in 1974,E. B. Fryde, D. E. Greenway, S. Porter, I. Roy, ''Handbook of British Chronology'' (1996), p. 237 and p. 278. during which time he was ''ex officio'' a

Lord Spiritual The Lords Spiritual are the bishops of the Church of England who serve in the House of Lords of the United Kingdom. 26 out of the 42 diocesan bishops and archbishops of the Church of England serve as Lords Spiritual (not counting retired archbi ...

and

Prelate of the Order of the Garter The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. It is the most senior order of knighthood in the British honours system, outranked in precedence only by the Victoria Cross and the George C ...

. Having retired to

Aldeburgh Aldeburgh ( ) is a coastal town in the county of Suffolk, England. Located to the north of the River Alde. Its estimated population was 2,276 in 2019. It was home to the composer Benjamin Britten and remains the centre of the international Aldeb ...

, Allison died on 31 May 1993, aged 86.

Styles and titles

*1931–1951: ''

The Reverend The Reverend is an style (manner of address), honorific style most often placed before the names of Christian clergy and Minister of religion, ministers. There are sometimes differences in the way the style is used in different countries and c ...

'' Falkner Allison *1951–1993: ''The Right Reverend'' Falkner Allison

Works

*''The Christian Life'' (1938) with

Douglas Ernest William Harrison Douglas Ernest William Harrison (30 March 1903 – 22 February 1974) was an Anglican priest.'' Who was Who 1897-1990'', London, A & C Black, 1991. Born in Bristol, Harrison was educated at Bristol Grammar School and St John's College, Oxford. ...

References

Sources

*
The Independent – Obituary: Falkner Allison
(Accessed 1 February 2014) {{DEFAULTSORT:Allison, Falkner 1907 births 1993 deaths Bishops of Chelmsford Bishops of Winchester 20th-century Church of England bishops Staff of Ridley Hall, Cambridge People from Stafford 20th-century Anglican theologians