William Walsh (1836 – 27 October 1918) was a Prebendary of St Paul's Cathedral, Bishop of Mauritius and

Dover Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...

. At the end of his life he was

Archdeacon of Canterbury The Archdeacon of Canterbury is a senior office-holder in the Diocese of Canterbury (a division of the Church of England Province of Canterbury). Like other archdeacons, they are an administrator in the diocese at large (having oversight of parish ...

. While he was Bishop of Mauritius, the island experienced one of its worst cyclones; in consequence his cathedral had to be used temporarily as a hospital.

Background

Walsh's great-great-grandfather was Reverend Philip Walsh (1655–1740) who was the

Prebendary A prebendary is a member of the Catholic Church, Catholic or Anglicanism , Anglican clergy, a form of canon (priest) , canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in part ...

of Tipperkevin, Vicar of Blessington, Rector of Ballymore Eustace, and chaplain to Primate Michael Boyle,

Archbishop of Armagh The Archbishop of Armagh is an Episcopal polity, archiepiscopal title which takes its name from the Episcopal see, see city of Armagh in Northern Ireland. Since the Reformation in Ireland, Reformation, there have been parallel apostolic success ...

. His mother was Augusta Junietta Thwaites (1797-1873) and his father was Irish born Lieutenant William Walsh (1798-1839) of the 7th Royal Fusiliers. Walsh was born in 1836. In 1865 he married Catherine Banchory Pickering (1840-1915), daughter of Agnes Norris and General W. H. Pickering. Catherine and William Walsh had two children: William Trevor Hayne Walsh who was an educationist, and Leslie Herbert Walsh who became a surgeon.

Career

He was educated at St Alban's Hall, Oxford (united with

Merton College, Oxford Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 126 ...

in 1881) where he graduated B.A. in 1859 and M.A. in 1862. He was ordained deacon in 1860 and priest in 1861. In 1891 he was awarded the honorary degree of

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (DD or DDiv; ) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity (academic discipline), divinity (i.e., Christian theology and Christian ministry, ministry or other theologies. The term is more common in the Englis ...

at Oxford. Walsh began his ecclesiastical career with a curacy at Horsell from 1860 to 1863 and was curate of Upper Chelsea from 1863 to 1865. For a period from 1865 to 1870 he was Secretary of the

Church Mission Society The Church Mission Society (CMS), formerly known as the Church Missionary Society, is a British Anglican mission society working with Christians around the world. Founded in 1799, CMS has attracted over nine thousand men and women to serve as ...

for

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

and

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

. This was followed by a three-year period as Superintendent of Missionaries and Clerical Secretary of the London Diocesan Home Mission, a role that he undertook again from 1886 to 1890. He was perpetual curate of St. Andrew's

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

from 1873 until 1878 and chaplain in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

from 1878 to 1879. Walsh became

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 St Matthew Newington from 1879 to 1886.

Mauritius

Port Louis Cyclone 1892 Poudriere Street St James Cathedral

He became mission chaplain to the

Bishop of London The bishop of London is the Ordinary (church officer), ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury. By custom the Bishop is also Dean of the Chapel Royal since 1723. The diocese covers of 17 boroughs o ...

(Dr.

Frederick Temple Frederick Temple (30 November 1821 – 23 December 1902) was an English academic, teacher and Clergy, churchman, who served as Bishop of Exeter (1869–1885), Bishop of London (1885–1896) and Archbishop of Canterbury (1896–1902). Early ...

) from 1898 to 1891. Temple also made him a

of Wedland in

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 ...

from 1889 to 1891. He was consecrated Lord Bishop of Mauritius in

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

on 2 February 1891. Just over a year later, one of the worst

cyclone In meteorology, a cyclone () is a large air mass that rotates around a strong center of low atmospheric pressure, counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere as viewed from above (opposite to an ant ...

s ever to hit Mauritius occurred on 29 April 1892 and devastated

Port Louis Port Louis (, ; or , ) is the capital and most populous city of Mauritius, mainly located in the Port Louis District, with a small western part in the Black River District. Port Louis is the country's financial and political centre. It is admi ...

. The Anglican Cathedral of St James was one of the few buildings that remained standing and was used as a hospital.

Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

and

and Assistant Bishop to Dr.

, who had become Archbishop of Canterbury in the previous year. In 1898 Walsh became Suffragan Bishop of Dover and in 1901 he was appointed chaplain to the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports. Walsh published the ''Progress of the Church in London During the last 50 Years'' (1887); this was updated in 1908 and re-titled ''Progress of the Church in London; from the Accession of Queen Victoria to 1908''. In 1910 his ecclesiastical jubilee was celebrated in the Library of Canterbury Cathedral where Archbishop

Randall Davidson Randall Thomas Davidson, 1st Baron Davidson of Lambeth, (7 April 1848 – 25 May 1930) was an Anglican bishop who was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1903 to 1928. He was the longest-serving holder of the office since the English Reformation, Re ...

praised him for his 50 years of unremitting public work. He was presented with a

triptych A triptych ( ) is a work of art (usually a panel painting) that is divided into three sections, or three carved panels that are hinged together and can be folded shut or displayed open. It is therefore a type of polyptych, the term for all m ...

watercolour Watercolor (American English) or watercolour ( Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin 'water'), is a painting method"Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to the ...

picture of the Cathedral by the artist,

Alexander Wallace Rimington Alexander Wallace Rimington (1854–1918), ARE, RBA, Hon. FSA was an etcher, painter, illustrator, author and Professor of Fine Arts at Queen's College, London. He also invented a keyboard instrument that was designed to project different co ...

. Walsh was himself an amateur artist and Vice-President of the East Kent Art Society. In 1913 he officiated and led prayers at the opening ceremony of The King's Hall,

Herne Bay, Kent Herne Bay is a seaside town on the north coast of Kent in South East England. It is north of Canterbury and east of Whitstable. It neighbours the ancient villages of Herne and Reculver and is part of the City of Canterbury local government ...

.''Herne Bay Press'' 12 July 1913: "Royal visit" On 23 April 1914 he enthroned John Watts Ditchfield as

Bishop of Chelmsford The Bishop of Chelmsford is the Ordinary (officer), Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chelmsford in the Province of Canterbury.''Crockford's Clerical Directory 2008/2009 (100th edition)'', Church House Publishing (). The current bisho ...

, amid an atmosphere of fear that militant

suffragette A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner "Votes for Women", fought for the right to vote in public elections in the United Kingdom. The term refers in particular to members ...

s might burn down

Chelmsford Cathedral Chelmsford Cathedral, formally titled the Cathedral Church of St Mary the Virgin, St Peter and St Cedd, is an Church of England, Anglican cathedral in the city of Chelmsford, Essex, England, dedicated to Mary (mother of Jesus), St Mary the Virgi ...

. In the event, that did not happen.

Memorial

Walsh died on 27 October 1918 at his home in Chillenden Chambers, in the Precincts,

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

; the funeral was held in the Cathedral and the interment at St Martin's Church. Walsh's wife, Catherine, died in 1915. The

Canterbury Cathedral Canterbury Cathedral is the cathedral of the archbishop of Canterbury, the spiritual leader of the Church of England and symbolic leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Located in Canterbury, Kent, it is one of the oldest Christianity, Ch ...

''Oblations Book'' of 1919–1926 records the unveiling, by the dean of the cathedral, of a memorial tablet dedicated to Walsh. This is in the north transept next to the tablet for Canon Danks D.D. It was unveiled on 5 May 1921 and bears the six Arms of Oxford University, of Merton College, of the See of Canterbury, of Christ Church Cathedral (Canterbury), of Mauritius and the

Cinque Ports The confederation of Cinque Ports ( ) is a historic group of coastal towns in south-east England – predominantly in Kent and Sussex, with one outlier (Brightlingsea) in Essex. The name is Old French, meaning "five harbours", and alludes to ...

of which Canon Walsh was chaplain.

References

External links

The National Archives: Walsh, William (1836–1918) Suffragan Bishop of Dover

Archives Hub: Walsh Papers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walsh, William 1836 births Alumni of Merton College, Oxford Anglican bishops of Mauritius Bishops of Dover, Kent 1918 deaths British Mauritius people