on Friday, 4 March 2022 at 9.23 am by Peter Owen
categorised as Church of England, News
The Dean of Carlisle, the Very Revd Mark Boyling, has announced that he will retire later this year. Details are on the diocesan website.
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Acolyte Alan
2 years ago
A happy retirement. A dear man.
Father David
2 years ago
Is the diocese of Carlisle letting the side down with only a single comment regarding the retirement of the long serving dean? Last time I was in Carlisle I was greatly impressed by the new Fratery building erected during Dean Boyling’s incumbency – a highly significant achievement. When I ministered in the Carlisle diocese Jack Churchill was Dean. We seem to be losing all of, what I would call, our Gentleman Deans from the Church of England. Trevor Beeson would be hard pressed to write a book on those presently residing in our cathedral Deaneries with two Nothern Deans –… Read more »
As a native Carliolian, Carlisle for me is the centre of the universe. The cathedral was the agent of my spiritual and artistic awakening. Small though it be, it is a jewel box, unexpected in a workaday railway city that bears the scars (the cathedral especially) of neighbouring tribes fighting to take back territory they claimed as theirs. Mark Boyling has nurtured the cathedral for almost two decades. The Fratry project aside, he and his staff have done wonders developing the cathedral’s artistic presence and maintaining daily choral services in a city where they would not feature much on anyone’s… Read more »
A jewel box of a cathedral, indeed so – especially the magnificent blue star-studded Choir ceiling which is absolutely stunning. When I was ministering in the diocese in the 1980s in addition to Dean Jack Churchill the other Canons were Rex Chapman, Richard Bevan and Alan Smithson who became Bishop of Jarrow and hit the news headlines one Lent when he decided to study the Koran instead of the Bible. The Bishop at the time was David Halsey with George Hacker at Penrith. The difficulty with Carlisle is that the cathedral is at the far north of the diocese many… Read more »
I was organ/choral scholar in the late 1960s when the ceiling was repainted under the eye of Stephen Dykes-Bower in the Deanship of the much imitated (by us) Lionel du Toit (just before Churchill I think). Scaffolding between clerestories allowed the painters to continue working during Evensong with interesting results as the occasional outburst of frustration filtered down. These were the days of Canons Holtby, Hare, Bradford and Batty and the Venerable and totally delightful Charles Euston Nurse who knew not how to boil an egg. Rose Castle was occupied by Bishops Bloomer and Bulley, the latter like Newcome suffragan… Read more »
I had not realised that Stephen Dykes Bower oversaw the repainting of Carlisle cathedral’s heavenly ceiling. Perhaps his greatest memorial is the new tower on Bury St. Edmund’s cathedral. He was the also architect responsible for the rebuilding of Coggeshall parish church after it was severely bombed during WWII. The great Conrad Noel lived for a time at Paycocke’s House in Coggeshall. That parish was cheek by jowl with my two Essex parishes of Kelvedon and Feering. Jack Churchill did indeed immediately succeed Lionel du Toit. Was that the same Canon Batty who was Vicar of Penrith? One of my… Read more »
Stephen Dykes-Bower’s work can be seen and admired in other cathedrals, and elsewhere, around the country. As Father Stanley is also an organist, I mention the magnificent organ case in Norwich Cathedral and the restoration and decoration of the Pearson organ cases in Westminster Abbey, of their kind surely unequalled anywhere in this country. On a total tangent, I wonder how many people know that the ‘Norman’ decoration of the wooden nave ceiling of Ely Cathedral, a truly prodigious work, was, in fact, painted in the 19th century by Thomas Gambier Parry, the father of Hubert Parry, and I believe… Read more »
Re Ely Cathedral. The ceiling was painted by two amateurs. The wooden ceiling was put in by George Gilbert Scott in the 1850s. The painting was begun by Henry Styleman Le Strange, of Hunstanton, but he died in 1862, and the work was completed by Thomas Gambier Parry, who had been his friend. There is a clear change in style between the two phases, with Parry’s being considered the better. I think I am right in saying that they painted six panels each, the western six by Le Strange, and the eastern ones by Parry. Parry subsequently painted the Octagon… Read more »
Many thanks. I wasn’t aware that Parry painted the Octagon panels. Altogether these were magnificent achievements and carried out at great heights!
On a smaller scale, and earlier in the 19th century, wooden ceilings were inserted in both transepts at Winchester Cathedral – there seems to have been a dislike of exposed roof timbers – and these were also painted in a ‘Norman’ style. I don’t have any details of artist(s). The new ceiling in the North Transept, however, totally concealed a rose (or wheel) window which is now only visible externally.
Dykes-Bower was indeed the consulting architect for Carlisle. The nave furniture is his (since altered to allow the font to be more prominent) and he was in charge of the installation of the Brougham triptych at the North Transept altar. The choir ceiling before repainting was as now except that the blue was faded wishy-washy, presumably the original paint. DB at much the same time was responsible for the vibrant colour scheme in Penrith parish church – a much overlooked 18th century Cumbrian church, like Whitehaven St James, Wigton, Carlisle St Cuthbert, but bigger than them. Richard Bradford, Mirfield trained… Read more »
That will be much appreciated Father. Mention of Wigton makes me think of those wonderful stained glass windows donated by Lord Melvyn Bragg shewing views of the town. At first they were rejected by the DAC as they were lacking in Christian symbolism. This was rectified and they now beautify the parish church. The vicar of Wigton now has St. Andrew’s Thursby under his wing in my day it was a parish on its own. This is quite a common phenomenon throughout the Church of England but I’m sure the amalgamation of multiple parishes greatly adds to so many clergy… Read more »
The term ‘Mirfield trained’ is appearing surprisingly often on TA at present. Ronald Jasper, Dean of York from 1975 to 1984, was Mirfield trained. In a different part of the Anglican world Aidan Cross, Dean of Bloemfontein from 1958 to 1982, was also Mirfield trained. Walter Frere CR was concurrently Bishop and Dean of Truro from 1923 to 1935. As a professional liturgist and a talented musician he was able to bring a great deal to his ‘second job’.
Snippy Simpson did indeed preach the sermon at the consecration of Mervyn Stockwood on May 1st 1959 in Southwark cathedral. Being a fastidious man Simpson was concerned that the cathedral’s pulpit desk would not be high enough or large enough to hold his manuscript. So, with the Provost’s permission he had a new one made at his own expense. The new wooden desk bore the initials of FAS – Frederick Arthur Simpson – AMS – Arthur Mervyn Stockwood and GER George Edmund Reindorp (Provost). As to the sermon itself (Ad Episcopum) it certainly raised Archbishop Fisher’s blood pressure as the… Read more »
On 25th July 1952 in St Paul’s Cathedral, Geoffrey Fisher consecrated four bishops in one go. The preacher was John Waddington, who later became Provost of St Edmundsbury. I do not know how equitable his personal references were, or even whether he made such references at all. One of the bishops being consecrated was Joost de Blank, and a few paragraphs of the sermon are quoted in the biography of de Blank by John Peart-Binns.
I think that de Blank, who was consecrated Bishop of Stepney, might have been the first suffragan bishop appointed by the present Queen. After a few years he was translated to Cape Town.
Actually, Ripon has a fine dean, Blackburn has a fine dean, York had an excellent dean who was called to the South Coast, Sheffield has a brilliant new dean, Manchester has an excellent dean. Forget gentleman deans. And salute a wonderful new(ish) cohort of outstanding deans.
A happy retirement. A dear man.
Is the diocese of Carlisle letting the side down with only a single comment regarding the retirement of the long serving dean? Last time I was in Carlisle I was greatly impressed by the new Fratery building erected during Dean Boyling’s incumbency – a highly significant achievement. When I ministered in the Carlisle diocese Jack Churchill was Dean. We seem to be losing all of, what I would call, our Gentleman Deans from the Church of England. Trevor Beeson would be hard pressed to write a book on those presently residing in our cathedral Deaneries with two Nothern Deans –… Read more »
As a native Carliolian, Carlisle for me is the centre of the universe. The cathedral was the agent of my spiritual and artistic awakening. Small though it be, it is a jewel box, unexpected in a workaday railway city that bears the scars (the cathedral especially) of neighbouring tribes fighting to take back territory they claimed as theirs. Mark Boyling has nurtured the cathedral for almost two decades. The Fratry project aside, he and his staff have done wonders developing the cathedral’s artistic presence and maintaining daily choral services in a city where they would not feature much on anyone’s… Read more »
A jewel box of a cathedral, indeed so – especially the magnificent blue star-studded Choir ceiling which is absolutely stunning. When I was ministering in the diocese in the 1980s in addition to Dean Jack Churchill the other Canons were Rex Chapman, Richard Bevan and Alan Smithson who became Bishop of Jarrow and hit the news headlines one Lent when he decided to study the Koran instead of the Bible. The Bishop at the time was David Halsey with George Hacker at Penrith. The difficulty with Carlisle is that the cathedral is at the far north of the diocese many… Read more »
I was organ/choral scholar in the late 1960s when the ceiling was repainted under the eye of Stephen Dykes-Bower in the Deanship of the much imitated (by us) Lionel du Toit (just before Churchill I think). Scaffolding between clerestories allowed the painters to continue working during Evensong with interesting results as the occasional outburst of frustration filtered down. These were the days of Canons Holtby, Hare, Bradford and Batty and the Venerable and totally delightful Charles Euston Nurse who knew not how to boil an egg. Rose Castle was occupied by Bishops Bloomer and Bulley, the latter like Newcome suffragan… Read more »
I had not realised that Stephen Dykes Bower oversaw the repainting of Carlisle cathedral’s heavenly ceiling. Perhaps his greatest memorial is the new tower on Bury St. Edmund’s cathedral. He was the also architect responsible for the rebuilding of Coggeshall parish church after it was severely bombed during WWII. The great Conrad Noel lived for a time at Paycocke’s House in Coggeshall. That parish was cheek by jowl with my two Essex parishes of Kelvedon and Feering. Jack Churchill did indeed immediately succeed Lionel du Toit. Was that the same Canon Batty who was Vicar of Penrith? One of my… Read more »
Stephen Dykes-Bower’s work can be seen and admired in other cathedrals, and elsewhere, around the country. As Father Stanley is also an organist, I mention the magnificent organ case in Norwich Cathedral and the restoration and decoration of the Pearson organ cases in Westminster Abbey, of their kind surely unequalled anywhere in this country. On a total tangent, I wonder how many people know that the ‘Norman’ decoration of the wooden nave ceiling of Ely Cathedral, a truly prodigious work, was, in fact, painted in the 19th century by Thomas Gambier Parry, the father of Hubert Parry, and I believe… Read more »
Re Ely Cathedral. The ceiling was painted by two amateurs. The wooden ceiling was put in by George Gilbert Scott in the 1850s. The painting was begun by Henry Styleman Le Strange, of Hunstanton, but he died in 1862, and the work was completed by Thomas Gambier Parry, who had been his friend. There is a clear change in style between the two phases, with Parry’s being considered the better. I think I am right in saying that they painted six panels each, the western six by Le Strange, and the eastern ones by Parry. Parry subsequently painted the Octagon… Read more »
Many thanks. I wasn’t aware that Parry painted the Octagon panels. Altogether these were magnificent achievements and carried out at great heights!
On a smaller scale, and earlier in the 19th century, wooden ceilings were inserted in both transepts at Winchester Cathedral – there seems to have been a dislike of exposed roof timbers – and these were also painted in a ‘Norman’ style. I don’t have any details of artist(s). The new ceiling in the North Transept, however, totally concealed a rose (or wheel) window which is now only visible externally.
Dykes-Bower was indeed the consulting architect for Carlisle. The nave furniture is his (since altered to allow the font to be more prominent) and he was in charge of the installation of the Brougham triptych at the North Transept altar. The choir ceiling before repainting was as now except that the blue was faded wishy-washy, presumably the original paint. DB at much the same time was responsible for the vibrant colour scheme in Penrith parish church – a much overlooked 18th century Cumbrian church, like Whitehaven St James, Wigton, Carlisle St Cuthbert, but bigger than them. Richard Bradford, Mirfield trained… Read more »
That will be much appreciated Father. Mention of Wigton makes me think of those wonderful stained glass windows donated by Lord Melvyn Bragg shewing views of the town. At first they were rejected by the DAC as they were lacking in Christian symbolism. This was rectified and they now beautify the parish church. The vicar of Wigton now has St. Andrew’s Thursby under his wing in my day it was a parish on its own. This is quite a common phenomenon throughout the Church of England but I’m sure the amalgamation of multiple parishes greatly adds to so many clergy… Read more »
The term ‘Mirfield trained’ is appearing surprisingly often on TA at present. Ronald Jasper, Dean of York from 1975 to 1984, was Mirfield trained. In a different part of the Anglican world Aidan Cross, Dean of Bloemfontein from 1958 to 1982, was also Mirfield trained. Walter Frere CR was concurrently Bishop and Dean of Truro from 1923 to 1935. As a professional liturgist and a talented musician he was able to bring a great deal to his ‘second job’.
I think that Simpson preached at the consecration of Mervyn Stockwood as Bishop of Southwark in 1959.
Snippy Simpson did indeed preach the sermon at the consecration of Mervyn Stockwood on May 1st 1959 in Southwark cathedral. Being a fastidious man Simpson was concerned that the cathedral’s pulpit desk would not be high enough or large enough to hold his manuscript. So, with the Provost’s permission he had a new one made at his own expense. The new wooden desk bore the initials of FAS – Frederick Arthur Simpson – AMS – Arthur Mervyn Stockwood and GER George Edmund Reindorp (Provost). As to the sermon itself (Ad Episcopum) it certainly raised Archbishop Fisher’s blood pressure as the… Read more »
On 25th July 1952 in St Paul’s Cathedral, Geoffrey Fisher consecrated four bishops in one go. The preacher was John Waddington, who later became Provost of St Edmundsbury. I do not know how equitable his personal references were, or even whether he made such references at all. One of the bishops being consecrated was Joost de Blank, and a few paragraphs of the sermon are quoted in the biography of de Blank by John Peart-Binns.
I think that de Blank, who was consecrated Bishop of Stepney, might have been the first suffragan bishop appointed by the present Queen. After a few years he was translated to Cape Town.
Actually, Ripon has a fine dean, Blackburn has a fine dean, York had an excellent dean who was called to the South Coast, Sheffield has a brilliant new dean, Manchester has an excellent dean. Forget gentleman deans. And salute a wonderful new(ish) cohort of outstanding deans.
Are you suggesting that fine Deans are only to be found in the Norrthern Province?