Festus
Collectors of ecclesiastical property might be interested in Bishops Court, the former country residence of the Bishop of Exeter and just seven miles outside the cathedral city. It’s been on the market for £4.5m. With nine bedrooms, four reception rooms and a chapel, it has much to offer and traces its episcopal association back to 1250. The new owner must not be afraid of what it means to have a Gothic Grade I remodelled mansion in 30 acres. For once the Church Commissioners cannot be blamed for this fine gem leaving ecclesial hands. The diocese sold it on in 1546.
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A more recent summer palace was Bishop Henry Philpotts of Exeter’s Bishopstowe in Torquay, built in 1841 amid 25 acres. Subsequently sold to George Hands, it became the Palace Hotel in 1921 and was sadly demolished in May 2020. Sic transit gloria.
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Bishop Glyn Webster’s retirement has kicked off the 2022 farewell tours. Both Madonna and Elton John are also embarking on theirs this year, although the Bishop of Beverley only did two main dates last month (Manchester and York). During the late 1960s, Marlene Dietrich had a number of farewell tours so perhaps we haven’t seen the last of any of them yet.
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The sorry saga at Christ Church, Oxford, continues. Dean Martyn Percy is in a standoff with the college and refuses to go. They are now seeking to prove he is not in his right mind. His lawyers say he is not well enough to attend any hearing. He continues to blog and various grievances keep emerging in the media. Neither has it stopped Percy from speaking at events, including to a clergy dining club in London, scheduled as ND goes to press. Titled ‘The Future of a Precarious Church’ and at the Oxford & Cambridge Club (where else?). The precarious future is something he must have views on; his own legal fees are estimated at over £400,000.
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Meanwhile in Guildford, the Dean (the Very Rev Dianna Gwilliams) has followed the lone protester who took a hammer to the BBC’s ‘Ariel & Prospero’ sculpture by the late Eric Gill on Broadcasting House on 12 January. He called the police ‘War paedo protectors’ when they arrested him. Gill was a complex man and stands accused of incest, rape and bestiality. The Dean and Chapter of Guildford are now ‘currently reviewing’ their Eric Gill sculptures (Christ on the Cross in the Lady Chapel and a Baptist on the south doors). A CofE spokesperson said: ‘Eric Gill’s crimes, posthumously revealed, are abhorrent. Comprehensive lists of his art already exist, giving parishes and cathedrals the opportunity to review individually in response to their particular circumstances, and in consultation with their communities’. But is it not a bigger problem for Church House Publishing? All its liturgical volumes, apps, and the annual lectionary use the font Gill Sans created by, er, Eric Gill. Will the Dean of Guilford now lead a mass burning of Common Worship in front of the cathedral, reminiscent of Savonarola’s 1497 Bonfire of the Vanities in Florence?
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The Archbishop of Canterbury has a new Appointments Secretary. The announcement of Stephen Knott was made last month and Justin Welby is going with a known quantity; Knott has been on his staff for the last ten years. But as everyone gets tied up in knots about what to do on gay marriage, this is a brave move. Stephen Knott is married to herald and Governor of Edinburgh Castle, Major General Alastair Bruce. He’s Fitzalan Pursuivant and Bruce of Crionach, and a ready tv commentator on all major royal events. He and Stephen were joined together in July 2021 at St John’s Episcopal Church, by the Bishop of Edinburgh.
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One correspondent to the Church Times was not convinced. A letter published on 14 January was ‘astonished to discover’ how rapidly the post had been filled, and by an insider. ‘I do not recall seeing this post advertised,’ she continued, comparing it to ‘the open and transparent recruitment process for the new Anglican Communion Office Secretary General…advertised over a period of weeks…and sharing widely.’ Both roles, she concluded, ‘can be performed optimally only when there is trust, built on confidence in the appointment, and in the integrity of its process’. It came from Rebecca Chapman, on General Synod and a Lambeth Palace alumna; she worked there for almost ten years assisting the Bishop at Lambeth and the Chief of Staff. Contributors to the Thinking Anglicans site asked ‘What percentage of the shortlist was female?’ and ‘Why did he and his partner not choose to have a CofE marriage ceremony?’.
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Beware the weeds of autocorrect. The St Matthew’s Carver St weekly bulletin on 14 January proclaimed that ‘God gives us the greasiest gift there ever was, is, or will be – communion between God and humanity, between Him and us’. Perhaps they’ve been having too much Messy Church!