William Rowe Lyall (11 February 1788 – 17 February 1857) was an English churchman,

Dean of Canterbury The Dean of Canterbury is the head of the Chapter of the Cathedral of Christ Church, Canterbury, England. The current office of Dean originated after the English Reformation, although Deans had also existed before this time; its immediate precur ...

from 1845 to 1857.

Life

He was born in Stepney, Middlesex, the fifth son of John Lyall and Jane Comyn. He was educated at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

(M.A. 1816). In 1817 he married Catherine Brandreth (1792–1863), daughter of Dr. Brandreth of Liverpool. Lyall was editor of the ''

British Critic The ''British Critic: A New Review'' was a quarterly publication, established in 1793 as a conservative and high-church review journal riding the tide of British reaction against the French Revolution. The headquarters was in London. The journa ...

'' 1816–17 and associated with the Hackney Phalanx, the high-church group. He became editor of the '' Theological Library'' (1832–46). He early recognized a Catholic tendency in

John Henry Newman John Henry Newman (21 February 1801 – 11 August 1890) was an English theologian, academic, intellectual, philosopher, polymath, historian, writer, scholar and poet, first as an Anglican ministry, Anglican priest and later as a Catholi ...

's writing. His appointment as Warburton Lecturer led to a major work, ''Propædia Prophetica'' (1840). Lyall's abilities and potential came to the attention of

William Howley William Howley (12 February 1766 – 11 February 1848) was a clergyman in the Church of England. He served as Archbishop of Canterbury from 1828 to 1848. Early life, education, and interests Howley was born in 1766 at Ropley, Hampshire, w ...

, the Archbishop of Canterbury, who shaped his career. Lyall became

Archdeacon of Colchester The Archdeacon of Colchester is a senior ecclesiastical officer in the Diocese of Chelmsford – she or he has responsibilities within her archdeaconry (the Archdeaconry of Colchester) including oversight of church buildings and some supervision, d ...

(1824–1842),

Archdeacon of Maidstone The Archdeacon of Maidstone is an office-holder in the Diocese of Canterbury (one of the dioceses of the Province of Canterbury in the Church of England). The Archdeacon of Maidstone is an Anglican priest who oversees the Archdeaconry of Maidsto ...

(1842–1845), simultaneously Canon of the Ninth Prebend, Canterbury Cathedral (1841–1845), and finally

(1845–1857). He died at Canterbury, Kent. There is a monumental tomb in the north aisle of the nave at Canterbury, said to be designed after a model by the sculptor

John Birnie Philip John Birnie Philip (23 November 1824 – 2 March 1875) was a nineteenth-century English sculptor. Much of his work was carried out for the architect Sir George Gilbert Scott. Life Philip was born in London, the son of William and Elizabeth Ph ...

(1824–1875), but his remains are in fact buried at the parish church of St Michael in the nearby village of Harbledown, alongside his wife's.

Literary works

He wrote a number of dissertations on religious topics, and was a regular contributor to the ''

Quarterly Review The ''Quarterly Review'' was a literary and political periodical founded in March 1809 by London publishing house John Murray. It ceased publication in 1967. It was referred to as ''The London Quarterly Review'', as reprinted by Leonard Scott, f ...

'', albeit anonymously. His major published work was ''Propædia Prophetica'' (Preparation of Prophesy), in 1840. It was re-published in 1854 and again posthumously in 1885, this time with a preface by his nephew George C. Pearson. He also contributed to the ''

Encyclopædia Metropolitana ''The Encyclopædia Metropolitana'' was an encyclopedic work published in London, from 1817 to 1845, by part publication. In all it came to quarto, 30 vols., having been issued in 59 parts (22,426 pages, 565 plates). Origins Initially the proje ...

'', an ambitious enterprise to disseminate knowledge: he was invited to write sections of the History Division, in particular: ''History of Greece, Macedonia and Syria''. Co-authors of this work were Jacob Henry Brooke Mountain, George Cecil Renouard and Michael Russell.

Family

His eldest brother was George Lyall, Snr, sometime MP for the City of London (UK Parliament constituency), and Chairman of the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...

. One of his famous nephews was

Alfred Comyn Lyall Sir Alfred Comyn Lyall (4 January 1835 – 10 April 1911) was a British civil servant, literary historian and poet. Early life He was born at Coulsdon in Surrey, the second son of Alfred Lyall and Mary Drummond Broadwood, daughter of James S ...

, the Indian civil servant (1835–1911). Another was

James Broadwood Lyall Sir James Broadwood Lyall (4 March 1838 – 4 December 1916) was a British administrator in the Imperial Civil Service who served as Lieutenant Governor of the Punjab between 1887 and 1892. Background James Lyall was born on 4 March 1838. He w ...

(1838–1916), also an Indian civil servant, who became Governor of the Punjab.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lyall, William Rowe 1788 births 1857 deaths Deans of Canterbury Members of the Canterbury Association Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Lyall family