John Athelstan Laurie Riley (10 August 1858 – 17 November 1945) was an English

hymn writer A hymnwriter (or hymn writer, hymnist, hymnodist, hymnographer, etc.) is someone who writes the text, music, or both of hymns. In the Judeo-Christian tradition, the composition of hymns dates back to before the time of David, who is traditionally ...

and hymn translator.

Biography

Riley was born in

Paddington, London Paddington is an List of areas of London, area in the City of Westminster, in central London, England. A medieval parish then a Metropolitan Borough of Paddington, metropolitan borough of the County of London, it was integrated with Westminster ...

, and attended

Pembroke College, Oxford Pembroke College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford, is located on Pembroke Square, Oxford. The college was founded in 1624 by King James I of England and VI of Scotland, using in part the endowment of merchant Thomas Tesdale ...

, where obtained his BA in 1881 and MA in 1883. Active in the

Anglo-Catholic Anglo-Catholicism comprises beliefs and practices that emphasise the Catholicism, Catholic heritage (especially pre-English Reformation, Reformation roots) and identity of the Church of England and various churches within Anglicanism. Anglo-Ca ...

wing of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

and a member of the

Alcuin Club The Alcuin Club is an Anglican organization seeking to preserve or restore church ceremony, arrangement, ornament, and practice in an orthodox manner. The organization was founded in 1897 and named after Alcuin of York. It was a reorganization of ...

, he energised the development of ''

The English Hymnal ''The English Hymnal'' is a hymn book which was published in 1906 for the Church of England by Oxford University Press. It was edited by the clergyman and writer Percy Dearmer and the composer and music historian Ralph Vaughan Williams, and ...

'' (1906) and was chairman of its editorial board. His best-known hymn is "

Ye Watchers and Ye Holy Ones "Ye Watchers and Ye Holy Ones" () is a popular Christian hymn with text by Athelstan Riley, first published in the '' English Hymnal'' (1906). It is sung to the German tune ' (1623). Its uplifting melody and repeated "Alleluias" make this a fav ...

". He also created an English adaption of the

eucharist The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christianity, Christian Rite (Christianity), rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an Ordinance (Christianity), ordinance in ...

ic hymn " O Esca Viatorum". In 1887, he married Andalusia Louisa Charlotte Georgina Molesworth, daughter of Samuel Molesworth, 8th

Viscount Molesworth Viscount Molesworth, of Swords in the County of Dublin, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1716 for Robert Molesworth. He was made Lord Molesworth, Baron of Philipstown, of King's County, at the same time, also in the Peerage ...

. The youngest son Quintin Riley was born in 1905 in

Little Petherick Little Petherick () is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of St Issey, in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated south of Padstow and west of Wadebridge. Little Petherick lies in the valley of Little Petheri ...

, Cornwall. Pits pliaque La Hougue Bie

Riley's London house, at 2 Kensington Court, contained an altarpiece by

Ninian Comper Sir John Ninian Comper (10 June 1864 – 22 December 1960) was a Scottish architect, one of the last of the great Gothic Revival architecture, Gothic Revival architects. His work almost entirely focused on the design, restoration and embellishm ...

, a major designer of Anglo-Catholic church furnishings. He held the

advowson Advowson () or patronage is the right in English law of a patron (avowee) to present to the diocesan bishop (or in some cases the ordinary if not the same person) a nominee for appointment to a vacant ecclesiastical benefice or church living, a ...

of St Peter ad Vincula, Coveney, Cambridgeshire from 1883 and furnished the church. Later in his life, he moved to

Jersey Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...

in the Channel Islands, where he purchased Trinity Manor in 1909, thereby acquiring the feudal title of ''Seigneur de La Trinité''. Finding the manor house in a ruined condition, he undertook an elaborate restoration (or "imaginative reconstruction", which has been criticized as turning the building into a French-style château). The reconstruction was carried out 1910–1913 by C. Messervy to designs by Sir

Reginald Blomfield Sir Reginald Theodore Blomfield (20 December 1856 – 27 December 1942) was a prolific British architect, garden designer and author of the Victorian and Edwardian period. Early life and career Blomfield was born at Bow rectory in Devon, w ...

. Riley also bought the historic property L'Ancienneté in

Saint Brélade St Brelade (Jèrriais and ) is one of the twelve parishes of Jersey in the Channel Islands. It is around west of St Helier. Its population was 11,012 as of 2021. The parish is the second-largest parish by surface area, covering 7,103 vergé ...

, and removed architectural features of interest to incorporate into Trinity Manor, carefully recording the provenance of items and nature of alterations made in his project. He remained in Jersey through the

German occupation German-occupied Europe, or Nazi-occupied Europe, refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly militarily occupied and civil-occupied, including puppet states, by the (armed forces) and the government of Nazi Germany at ...

, and died there shortly after its liberation, on 17 November 1945.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Riley, Athelstan Church of England hymnwriters People from Trinity, Jersey 1858 births 1945 deaths Members of the London School Board English Anglo-Catholics Jersey Anglicans