Robert John Halliburton (23 March 193526 September 2004) was an English priest and theologian within 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, ...

, who served as a canon and Chancellor of

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 ...

between 1989 and 2003.

Early life and ordination

Robert John Halliburton was born in March 1935 in

Wimbledon, London Wimbledon () is a suburb of southwest London, England, southwest of Charing Cross; it is the main commercial centre of the London Borough of Merton. Wimbledon had a population of 68,189 in 2011 which includes the electoral wards of Abbey, Wimb ...

, the son of Robert Halliburton and Katherine Margery Halliburton (née Robinson). He moved to Kent during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and was educated at

Tonbridge School Tonbridge School is a public school (English fee-charging boarding and day school for boys aged 13–18) in Tonbridge, Kent, England, founded in 1553 by Sir Andrew Judde (sometimes spelt Judd). It is a member of the Eton Group and has clo ...

. He studied for a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

Selwyn College, Cambridge Selwyn College, Cambridge is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1882 by the Selwyn Memorial Committee in memory of George Selwyn (bishop of Lichfield), Georg ...

, reading modern languages for Part I of the

Tripos TRIPOS (''TRIvial Portable Operating System'') is a computer operating system. Development started in 1976 at the Computer Laboratory of Cambridge University and it was headed by Dr. Martin Richards. The first version appeared in January 1978 a ...

but transferring to theology for Part II. After graduating, he completed his obligatory eighteen months of

national service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...

. He then began simultaneously studying for a

DPhil A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

degree at

Keble College, Oxford Keble College () is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its main buildings are on Parks Road, opposite the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, University Museum a ...

and preparing for ordination into the Church of England at

St Stephen's House St Stephen's House is an external theological college with observer status at the University of Oxford, affiliated with the Church of England. From 2003 to 2023 it was a permanent private hall of the University of Oxford. The college typicall ...

. He was ordained deacon 1961, and priest 1962. His doctoral thesis, for which he was supervised by Canon F. L. Cross, was entitled "Augustine and the Monastic Life". After a curacy at St Dunstan and All Saints,

Stepney Stepney is an area in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in the East End of London. Stepney is no longer officially defined, and is usually used to refer to a relatively small area. However, for much of its history the place name was applied to ...

, he became first a tutor and then Vice-Principal at St Stephen's House, Oxford 1967–1973. He was Principal of

Chichester Theological College Chichester Theological College (1838–1994) was an Anglican theological college for the Diocese of Chichester in West Sussex, Sussex, England. Its churchmanship was high church and Anglo-Catholic. History Chichester Theological College was ...

from 1975 to 1982. He returned to parochial work in Twickenham before taking up the role of Chancellor at

from 1989 to 2003. In 1997,

Lucy Winkett Lucy Clare Winkett (born 8 January 1968) is a British Anglican priest, who since 2010 has been the Rector of St James's Church, Piccadilly. Her early ordained ministry was spent at St Paul's Cathedral, London, where she was a minor canon and ch ...

was appointed a minor canon of St Paul's: Halliburton reacted by describing her as "a very sweet girl" and stated that he " doesn't believe her to be a priest" so he would be boycotting any communion services at which she presided.

Personal life

Halliburton's interests included music and gardening, and he was a member of the Athenaeum Club. Halliburton married Jennifer Ormsby Turner in 1968. Their marriage produced five children: two sons and three daughters. He died in September 2004, survived by his wife and three of their children.

References

20th-century English Anglican priests 1935 births 2004 deaths People educated at Tonbridge School People from Wimbledon, London Alumni of Selwyn College, Cambridge Alumni of Keble College, Oxford Chancellors of St Paul's Cathedral {{anglican-stub