Jack Martin Plumley, (2 September 1910 – 2 July 1999) was a British

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 ...

priest,

Egyptologist Egyptology (from ''Egypt'' and Greek , ''-logia''; ) is the scientific study of ancient Egypt. The topics studied include ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, architecture and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end ...

and academic. Having served as a priest 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, ...

, he was

Sir Herbert Thompson Professor of Egyptology The Sir Henry Francis Herbert Thompson, Herbert Thompson Professor of Egyptology represents the chair of Egyptology at the University of Cambridge, England. *Stephen Glanville, 1946–1956 *Jack Plumley, 1957–1977 *John D. Ray, John Ray, 2005–2 ...

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 ...

from 1957 to 1977.

Early life and education

Plumley was born on 2 September 1910 in

Peverell Peverell (anciently Weston Peverell) is a neighbourhood of Plymouth in the English county of Devon. The 2001 Census estimated the population as 6,455, increasing dramatically to 13,553 at the 2011 census. History The area was originally par ...

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

, England. He was educated at Merchant Taylors' School, an all-boys public school in

Ruislip Ruislip ( ) is a suburb in the London Borough of Hillingdon in northwest London. Prior to 1965 it was in Middlesex. Ruislip lies west-north-west of Charing Cross, London. The manor of Ruislip appears in the Domesday Book, and some of the ear ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

. In 1929, he

matriculated Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term ''matriculation'' is seldom used now ...

into

St John's College, Durham St John's College is one of the Colleges of Durham University#Types of College, recognised colleges of Durham University. The college was established in 1909 as a Church of England theological college and became a full constituent college of th ...

, an

theological college A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and Christian theology, theology, generally to prepare them for ordinatio ...

, to study

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

. He graduated from the

University of Durham Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by royal charter in 1837. It was the first recognised university to ...

with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

(BA) degree in 1932. He then spent a further year at the St John's while training for ordination. In 1950, he was awarded

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

(MA Cantab) status by

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 ...

Career

Ordained ministry

Plumley was

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 the

as a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

in 1933 during a service at

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...

in London. He was ordained as a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

in 1934. He served his

curacy 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 ...

in the

Diocese of London The Diocese of London forms part of the Church of England's Province of Canterbury in England. It lies directly north of the Thames, covering and all or part of 17 London boroughs. This corresponds almost exactly to the historic county of ...

.The Revd Professor Jack Martin Plumley, MA, MLitt
. Society of Antiquaries of London. Accessed March 2014 He was

Vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...

of Christ Church, Hoxton from 1942 to 1945, and Vicar of St Paul's Church, Tottenham from 1945 to 1947. In 1947, Plumley moved to the

Diocese of Ely The Diocese of Ely is a Church of England diocese in the Province of Canterbury. It is headed by the Bishop of Ely, who sits at Ely Cathedral in Ely, Cambridgeshire, Ely. There is one suffragan bishop, suffragan (subordinate) bishop, the Bisho ...

. He served as Rector of All Saints' Church, Milton between 1947 and 1957. He was a select preacher at the

in 1955 and in 1959. In 1957, he was appointed to a professorship at the University of Cambridge, and therefore left full-time ministry. Plumley held

permission to officiate A permission to officiate (PTO), also known as a licence to officiate, is a concessionary ministry licence granted by an Anglican bishop. It is most commonly issued to a retired deacon, priest, or lay reader over the age of 70 years. It allows the ...

in the Diocese of Ely from 1967 to 1980, and from 1980 to 1999. In 1980, he was

Priest in Charge A priest in charge or priest-in-charge (previously also curate-in-charge) in the Church of England is a priest in charge of a parish who is not its incumbent; they will normally work on a short-term contract and have less freedom to act within the ...

of St Mary's church,

Longstowe Longstowe is a civil parish and small rural village of nearly 200 residents in South Cambridgeshire, England, west of Cambridge. The population was measured at 205 at the 2011 census. It is situated on the western side of the A1198 road (Ermine ...

; he remained as a minister of that parish until 1995. From 1981 to 1982, he was a

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 ...

Pembroke College, Cambridge Pembroke College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college is the third-oldest college of the university and has over 700 students and fellows. It is one of the university's larger colleges, with buildings from ...

, and its acting

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 ...

Academic career

While in London, Plumley began taking classes in Egyptology with

Stephen Glanville Stephen Ranulph Kingdon Glanville, (26 April 1900 – 26 April 1956) was an English historian and egyptologist. He was Edwards Professor of Egyptology at University College London from 1935 to 1946. He was then Sir Herbert Thompson Profes ...

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

. After the

War War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

, Glanville was appointed Sir Herbert Thompson Professor of Egyptology in Cambridge; Plumley became his assistant, and, on Glanville's death in 1956, his successor. He was chairman of the Department of Egyptology from 1957 until 1977. Plumley wrote numerous books, articles, and essays, and oversaw excavations including those at

Qasr Ibrim Qasr Ibrim (; Meroitic: ''Pedeme''; Old Nubian: ''Silimi''; Coptic: ⲡⲣⲓⲙ ''Prim''; Latin: ''Primis'') is an archaeological site in Lower Nubia, located in the modern country of Egypt. The site has a long history of occupation, ranging ...

ahead of the flooding caused by the Aswan Dam. He discovered and published the scrolls of Bishop

Timothy of Faras Timothy (or Timotheos) was a Nubians, Nubian monk and bishop. He was the titular bishop of Coptic Diocese of Faras, Faras (Pachoras) with his seat in Qasr Ibrim (Phrim) from 1372. Timothy was a ''hegoumenos'' (leader of a monastic community) before ...

. He was elected a member of the

Society of Antiquaries of London The Society of Antiquaries of London (SAL) is a learned society of historians and archaeologists in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1707, received its royal charter in 1751 and is a Charitable organization, registered charity. It is based ...

in 1966. From 1978 to 1982 he was president of the

International Society for Nubian Studies International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

Personal life

In 1938, Plumley married Gwendolen Darling; she died in 1984. Together they had three sons. In 1986, Plumley married Ursula Dowle. Plumley died in Cambridge on 2 July 1999.

Selected works

* * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Plumley, Jack Coptologists Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London British Egyptologists 1910 births 1999 deaths 20th-century English Anglican priests People educated at Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood Alumni of St John's College, Durham Alumni of King's College, Cambridge Professors of the University of Cambridge Clergy from Plymouth, Devon People from South Cambridgeshire District