Bessie Dorrington Bangay (29 June 1889 – 25 March 1987) was an English church worker. At the time of her death, she was the last of the original cohort of Bishop's messengers in 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, ...

, licensed during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Early life

Bangay was born in 1889 in

Lyme Regis Lyme Regis ( ) is a town in west Dorset, England, west of Dorchester, Dorset, Dorchester and east of Exeter. Sometimes dubbed the "Pearl of Dorset", it lies by the English Channel at the Dorset–Devon border. It has noted fossils in cliffs and ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

, the daughter of Richard Bangay and Agnes Dorrington Bangay. She had a twin sister, Evelyn, known as Evie, and four older siblings. Her parents were from Norfolk; her father was a doctor and a socialist, who gave popular science lectures and built an observatory on his property.

Career

Bangay and her twin sister moved to

Chesham Chesham ( , ) is a market town and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, United Kingdom, south-east of the county town of Aylesbury, about north-west of Charing Cross, central London, and part of the London metropolitan area, London ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

in 1910, and Bessie started to teach

Sunday school ] A Sunday school, sometimes known as a Sabbath school, is an educational institution, usually Christianity, Christian in character and intended for children or neophytes. Sunday school classes usually precede a Sunday church service and are u ...

at St George's Church, Tyler's Hill,

Ley Hill Ley Hill is a Chiltern village on the Buckinghamshire/Hertfordshire border in south-east England, near the town of Chesham. It is part of the civil parish of Latimer and Ley Hill, and comes under Chiltern District Council in the County of Buc ...

. In 1917, during a wartime shortage of male church leaders, she was licensed by the

Bishop of Oxford The Bishop of Oxford is the diocesan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Oxford in the Province of Canterbury; his seat is at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford. The current bishop is Steven Croft (bishop), Steven Croft, following the Confirm ...

, as one of 22 women who began the Diocesan Order of Women's Messengers, female

lay reader In Anglicanism, a licensed lay minister (LLM) or lay reader (in some jurisdictions simply reader) is a person authorised by a bishop to lead certain Church service, services of worship (or parts of the service), to preach and to carry out pastoral ...

s in the Church of England. She led St George's Church during the war, and afterwards. She took charge of the Sunday school when it resumed in 1919, and set up a ladies' cricket team, as well as groups for girls, young wives, mothers, and senior citizens. She was also in charge of the church's annual

Nativity play A Nativity play or Christmas pageant is a play which recounts the story of the Nativity of Jesus. It is usually performed at Christmas, the feast of the Nativity. For the Christian celebration of Christmas, the viewing of the Nativity play is o ...

. She also began a branch congregation at a pub in nearby

Lye Green Lye Green is a hamlet (place), hamlet in the civil parish of Chesham in Buckinghamshire, England. It is located north east of Chesham. Lycrome Road runs through the centre of the hamlet, from the A416 in the east to the B4505 in the west. The ...

in the 1930s, and continued to run the "pub church" until 1963. Bangay founded the Ley Hill

Women's Institute The Women's Institute (WI) is a community-based organization for women in the United Kingdom, Canada, South Africa and New Zealand. The movement was founded in Stoney Creek, Ontario, Canada, by Erland and Janet Lee with Adelaide Hoodless being the ...

, and was a member of the Chiltern Arts Society. She attended the National School for Religious Drama in 1955.

Personal life

Bangay and her sister lived together most of their lives, and were enthusiastic gardeners. They raised prize-winning poultry and enjoyed bicycling. Bessie Bangay died in 1987, aged 97 years, and was the long-serving and last remaining of the original Bishop's Messengers in England. Her grave is in St George's churchyard; Evie Bangay died within the year, and is buried with Bessie. There is a church window commemorating Bessie Bangay's long tenure of leadership. The sisters left money to the church, used to establish meeting space known as "the Bangay Rooms".

References

External links

* *Sheila Hart and Neil Rees, ' (Latimer & Ley Hill Parish Council), a church history booklet, based in part on Bessie Bangay's memoirs. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bangay, Bessie 1889 births 1987 deaths English twins Anglican lay readers British women in World War I People from Lyme Regis