Julian Percy Thornton-Duesbery (7 September 1902 – 1 April 1985) was a British

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, ...

priest and academic. He was

Master Master, master's or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles In education: *Master (college), head of a college *Master's degree, a postgraduate or sometimes undergraduate degree in the specified discipline *Schoolmaster or master, presiding office ...

St Peter's Hall, Oxford St Peter's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Located on New Inn Hall Street, Oxford, United Kingdom, it occupies the site of two of the university's medieval halls dating back to at least the 14th century. The mode ...

(later known as St Peter's College) from 1940 to 1944, and from 1955 to 1968. He also served as

Principal Principal may refer to: Title or rank * Principal (academia), the chief executive of a university ** Principal (education), the head of a school * Principal (civil service) or principal officer, the senior management level in the UK Civil Ser ...

Wycliffe Hall, Oxford Wycliffe Hall () is a permanent private hall of the University of Oxford affiliated with the Church of England, specialising in philosophy, theology, and religion. It is named after the Bible translator and reformer John Wycliffe, who was mas ...

, 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 ...

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 ...

, from 1944 to 1955.

Early life

Thornton-Duesbery was born at Isle House,

Godmanchester Godmanchester ( ) is a town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Huntingdonshire district of Cambridgeshire, England. It is separated from Huntingdon, to the north, by the valley of the River Great Ouse. Being on the Roman roads ...

, on 7 September 1902 to a clergyman, Charles Thornton-Duesbury, who would later become

Bishop of Sodor and Man The Bishop of Sodor and Man is the Ordinary of the Diocese of Sodor and Man (Manx Gaelic: ''Sodor as Mannin'') in the Province of York in the Church of England. The diocese only covers the Isle of Man. The Cathedral Church of St German where ...

. He was educated at

Rossall School Rossall School is a private Day school, day and boarding school, boarding school in the United Kingdom for 0–18 year olds, between Cleveleys and Fleetwood, Lancashire. Rossall was founded in 1844 by St. Vincent Beechey, St Vincent Beechey as a ...

, then an all-boys public school in Lancashire. He then matriculated into

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and aro ...

, where he studied

classics Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

. He obtained

first class honours The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure used for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied, sometimes with significant var ...

in ''

Honour Moderations Honour Moderations (or ''Mods'') are a set of examinations at the University of Oxford at the end of the first part of some degree courses (e.g., Greats or '' Literae Humaniores''). Honour Moderations candidates have a class awarded (hence the ...

'' in 1923, and first class honours in '' Literae Humaniores'' in 1925. He then joined

, where he studied theology. He obtained first class honours in 1926 and was awarded the Junior Greek Testament Prize.

Career

Ordained ministry

Thornton-Duesbery 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 1926 and 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 1927. He served at his alma mater,

as chaplain from 1926 to 1927 and then as

Vice-Principal In larger school systems, a head teacher principal is often assisted by someone known as a vice-principal, deputy principal, or assistant/associate principal. Unlike the principal, the vice-principal does not have quite the decision-making author ...

from 1927 to 1933. In May 1928, he was additionally appointed Chaplain of

Corpus Christi College, Oxford Corpus Christi College (formally, Corpus Christi College in the University of Oxford; informally abbreviated as Corpus or CCC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1517 by Richard Fo ...

. From 1940 to 1945, while also Master of St Peter's Hall for the first time, Thornton-Duesbery was Rector of

Church of St Peter-le-Bailey The Church of St Peter-le-Bailey is a church on New Inn Hall Street in central Oxford, England. It was formerly next to Bonn Square, which was originally the churchyard. Now it is located halfway up New Inn Hall Street to the north. Several ch ...

, Oxford. He was also a Select Preacher to the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

between 1943 and 1945. After retiring from the mastership in 1968, he moved to

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

where he was appointed

Canon Theologian Canon () is a Christian title usually used to refer to a member of certain bodies in subject to an ecclesiastical rule. Originally, a canon was a cleric living with others in a clergy house or, later, in one of the houses within the precinct of ...

of the

Liverpool Cathedral Liverpool Cathedral is a Church of England cathedral in the city of Liverpool, England. It is the seat of the bishop of Liverpool and is the mother church of the Anglican Diocese of Liverpool, diocese of Liverpool. The church may be formally re ...

. He was appointed Canon

Emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". In some c ...

in 1977 on his retirement.

Academic career

From 1928 to 1933, Thornton-Duesbery was a

fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

and the librarian of

; this was in addition to his chaplaincy to the college and leadership role at Wycliffe Hall. In July 1933, he left his university focused life to enter the world of schooling. He was invited by Francis Graham Brown, the

Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem The Anglican Diocese of Jerusalem () is the Anglican Communion, Anglican jurisdiction for Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. It is a part of the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East, and has diocesan offices at St. George' ...

, to become the Headmaster of St. George's School, an Anglican boys school in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

. In 1940, he was appointed

in succession to

Christopher Chavasse Christopher Maude Chavasse, (9 November 1884 – 10 March 1962) was a British athlete, soldier and religious leader from the Chavasse family. He competed at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, served in the First World War, and was later the ...

. In 1944, he left St Peter's and was appointed

. He replaced

John Taylor John Taylor, Johnny Taylor or similar is the name of: Academics *John Taylor (Oxford), Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University, 1486–1487 * John Taylor (classical scholar) (1704–1766), English classical scholar *John Taylor (English publisher) ...

who had been appointed

. In 1955, he was once more appointed Master of St Peter's Hall. During his leadership, the then

permanent private hall A permanent private hall (PPH) in the University of Oxford is an educational institution within the University. There are four permanent private halls at Oxford, three of which admit undergraduates. They were founded by different Christian denomina ...

achieved full collegiate status within the University of Oxford, becoming St Peter's College in 1961.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thornton-Duesbery, Julian 1902 births 1985 deaths 20th-century English Anglican priests Masters of St Peter's College, Oxford Principals of Wycliffe Hall, Oxford People educated at Rossall School Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Alumni of Wycliffe Hall, Oxford Fellows of Corpus Christi College, Oxford