David Herbert Somerset Cranage (10 October 1866 – 22 October 1957) was an

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

Dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean * Dean Sw ...

. Born on 10 October 1866, the son of Dr Joseph Edward Cranage of Old Hall,

Wellington, Shropshire Wellington is a market town and a civil parish in the borough of Telford and Wrekin, Shropshire, England. It is situated northwest of Telford and east of Shrewsbury, near the western terminus of the M54 motorway. The summit of The Wrekin lie ...

, where the latter ran a

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ...

he had founded. he was educated at

King's College, Cambridge King's College, formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, is a List of colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college lies beside the River Cam and faces ...

Ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

in 1897, he held

curacies A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' () of souls of a parish. In this sense, ''curate'' means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy who are ass ...

Little Wenlock Little Wenlock is a village and civil parish in the Telford and Wrekin borough in Shropshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 605. It was mentioned in the Domesday Book, when it belonged to Wenlock Priory. An ...

(1897–98) and

Much Wenlock Much Wenlock is a market town and Civil parishes in England, parish in Shropshire, England; it is situated on the A458 road between Shrewsbury and Bridgnorth. Nearby, to the north-east, is the Ironbridge Gorge and Telford. The civil parish incl ...

(1898–1902) in Shropshire. He was an academic at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

, where he lectured on mediaeval churches and was Secretary of the Local Lectures Syndicate, until his appointment as

Dean of Norwich The Dean of Norwich is the head of the Chapter (religion), Chapter of Norwich Cathedral in Norwich, England. The current Dean is Andrew Jonathan Braddock, who took up the position in late January 2023. List of deans Early modern *1538–1539 ...

, a post he held for 19 years.Norfolk Record Office online catalogue
/ref> His published works include ''An Architectural Account of the Churches of Shropshire'', ''The Home of the Monk'', ''Loyalty and Order'', ''Cathedrals and How They Were Built'', and his autobiography ''Not Only a Dean'', which was published in 1952. He died on 22 October 1957, aged 91. During his time in Much Wenlock he lived a
40 High Street
sometimes named Pinefield, an early 19th century dwelling house. In the late 20th century this fell into near-dereliction and was subject to a scheme of restoration and modernisation in 2020. Much Wenlock Civic Society erected a plaque on the property commemorating its significant former occupant. Cranage Much Wenlock

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* * * 1866 births People from Wellington, Shropshire Alumni of King's College, Cambridge Deans of Norwich 1957 deaths Academics of the Institute of Continuing Education {{ChurchofEngland-dean-stub