THE ORATORY OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD The First Seventy Five Years by GEORGE TIBBATTS,* OGS {* spelling corrected} - 2 - {iv} Copyright © Almoner, Oratory of the Good Shepherd 1988 Published by The Almoner, OGS, 56 Buckland Crescent. Windsor, Berks. Printed by Dramrite Printers Ltd, Southwark, London SE1 ISBN No. 1 871161 00 2 In this digital copy the start of each page of the book and other editorial notes are shown by e.g. {10}. - 3 - {v} FOREWORD This history appears as the Oratory celebrates the seventy fifth anniversary of its foundation in Cambridge in 1913. Canon Tibbatts, who has served both as Secretary-General and Superior, is uniquely qualified to tell the story. His association with the Oratory began in his undergraduate days at Kings in the l920ies. He knew personally the founding fathers and enjoyed their friendship. In the years preceding the first world war three young clerical dons (John How, Eric Milner-White and Edward Wynn) sought to establish a society for celibate priests, bound by a common rule of life, marked by Catholic discipline of prayer and devotion, and characterised by the importance attached to regular and systematic study in the life of a priest Their inspiration was drawn from the Catholic revival of the previous century, and they were concerned to make a distinctive witness in the religious life of the University. The ethos of the Oratory was, and has continued to be essentially Anglican in its Catholic form. The devotion to Our Lord as the Good Shepherd, the adoption of Nicholas Ferrar of Little Gidding as patron, testify to the pastoral ideal and English temper of the Oratory. And within the framework of the Rule there is characteristically Anglican liberty which encourages members „to develop their personal gifts and thus to enrich the offering laid at the feet of Christ‟. In tracing the history of the Oratory Canon Tibbatts highlights three significant developments. The first relates to the Oratory‟s self-understanding. Founded and established in the University, it seemed right to acquire the Oratory House, as a base for theological study and for evangelistic and pastoral work. There some, but not all of the Cambridge members lived, and the life of the house was ordered in the style of a religious community. In time this provoked questions: Was it the Mother House? In what way did it or should it set the standard for the religious life of what was increasingly becoming a dispersed Society? During the 1930ies there was debate on whether the Oratory was in essence a religious community or more simply an association of priests ministering in varied situations, and held together by a common rule and fellowship. It was the latter view that prevailed, and this was sealed by the disposal of the Oratory House to the Society of Saint Francis in 1939. Secondly, although the Oratory has always been strongly influenced by its origins in the University, its distinctively pastoral ethos has given it a wider framework and appeal. Some of its priest members worked in English parishes, and others abroad. We see the Oratory spreading, with Colleges formed in Africa, Australia and North America as well as in different parts of England. Happily the Oratory did not withdraw from the universities. One recalls with affection the memory of Wilfred Knox and Christopher Waddams. And among the senior Oratorians to-day are two distinguished academic theologians: Fr Alec Vidler and Fr Eric Mascall. Yet many, indeed most members have been called to different forms of pastoral work. Canon Tibbatts movingly commemorates the faithful and selfless ministries of Leslie Arnold, Sidney Howard and Richard Seymour: unsung heroes of the parochial ministry. Thirdly, as the century has worn on the discussions within the Oratory over the {vi} nature and style of priestly ministry have mirrored the wider debate that has been conducted in the Church. In the closing pages the new Superior, Robert Waddington, Dean of Manchester, explores the idea of the Oratory through its Colleges and Chapters as exhibiting the intersection of many ministries, many theologies and many professional tasks. So the Oratory like the Church it serves, continues in via wrestling with its vocation, yet committed to the ideal of „the adoration of God in the service of the Lord Jesus Christ and the imitation of His most holy life‟. † Colin Winton September 1987 - 4 - Father George Tibbatts died on 13th September 1987 shortly after completing this history. He had been caring for the parish of Saint Andrew, Caxton, during an interregnum and had been performing his duties as acting parish priest up to two days before his death. He was a true pastor. - 5 - {vii} ORATORY HISTORY Contents Chapter 1 Beginnings 1906-1914 1 Chapter 2 The First World War 1914-1918 7 Chapter 3 Africa 11 Chapter 4 Gillingham and Rockhampton 19 Chapter 5 The Guildford Chapter 25 Chapter 6 The Oratory House 31 Chapter 7 Cambridge 1921-1924 37 Chapter 8 1924-1931 45 Chapter 9 Cambridge 1931-1986 51 Chapter 10 Hawarden, Northolt Park, Fareham 59 Chapter 11 North America 67 Chapter 12 Oxford and the North 75 Chapter 13 Australia 81 Chapter 14 London 1953-1986 89 Chapter 15 Summary 93 Appendix A Provisions of Little Gidding 97 Appendix B The Oratory of France 98 *Index of Names 101 *General Index 103 {* The page numbers in the indexes refer to the original pagination.} - 6 - {viii} DITHYRAMBIC by Eric Mascall on the appointment of Edward Wynn, Senior Tutor of Pembroke College, Cambridge, to be Bishop of Ely. What though the icy breezes Sweep over Ely‟s isle? What though, whene‟er it freezes The place is simply vile? All good established voices Unite in tuneful din, And every heart rejoices In worthy Bishop Wynn. But Pembroke‟s halls are smitten, The Fellows‟ heads are bowed, The scholars weep in silence, The porters wail aloud. The Master finishes his port, And moving slowly bedward, His voice re-echoes round the court: “My Edward! Oh my Edward!” For Harold Edward Wynn, D.D. By royal nomination, Capitular election, and The grace of consecration, Adorned with mitre, ring and staff, Now reigns supreme and freely, Not only in the C. of E., But in the See of Ely. - 7 - {1} Chapter 1 BEGINNINGS 1906 — 1914 „The Oratory of the Good Shepherd grew out of a definite Anglo-Catholic movement (to use a term which had then a less partisan connotation than it has today), which began in Cambridge in the first decade of the present century. The prime mover in the first few years was a layman, H. L. Pass, a member of Saint John‟s College.‟1 He had a profound effect on the young men who were to be leaders of this movement in Cambridge. He had entered Saint John‟s as a foundation Scholar in 1894, and was elected a Stewart of Rannoch Scholar in the same year. In his memoir of Pass, Canon Charles Gillett wrote: “He had been brought up in the Jewish faith, but what his religion was in his early undergraduate days, it would be difficult to say. No doubt he was passing through a phase of agnosticism. But after graduation, during the three years when, attached to the University Library, he was set to sort out and catalogue the collection of Hebrew papyri discovered in Egypt by Dr Charles Taylor, editorial work on which is still in progress, he met and learned to revere that austere, saintly, erudite, eccentric priest, and canonist, E.G. Wood, then and for many years Vicar of Saint Clement‟s, who at that time stood almost alone in outspoken advocacy of Catholic principles in the University, and exercised a remarkable influence over a large number of Cambridge churchmen, both clergy and laity, both old and young. From Father Wood‟s hands he received Christian Baptism, and not only assimilated the doctrines of the Church with an astonishing rapidity and completeness, but gave himself immediately and unreservedly to their propagation.” He died in 1938, and Gillett wrote — “A vast number of priests and laymen all over England date their understanding of what the priesthood and the Catholic Faith in its fullness really means from the time when they met him, and the great evangelical truths were illuminated for them by his genius.” The Catholic Movement „was strengthened by the return to Cambridge of some young Anglo-Catholic priests, who, after a spell at either Ely or Cuddesdon Theological Colleges, and experience in parish life, were recalled to official posts in Colleges. The pioneer was A.S. Duncan-Jones, who was recalled to Caius College after some time at Ely and parochial experience in London. In 1906, two more young priests, with similar experience behind them, returned to Cambridge; Spencer Carpenter was appointed Vice-Principal of the Cambridge Clergy Training School (later called Westcott House), and John How, who returned to Cambridge after fifteen months at the Wellington College Mission, to be Hebrew lecturer at Saint John‟s College. Such a recall of men to academic work after {2} theological college and parochial experience was, at this time, almost unprecedented.‟ When John How arrived in October, 1906, there were 39 ordinands in Saint John‟s College. Weekday Communions were rare in College Chapels before the first World War. All that Saint John‟s College Chapel could produce at the beginning of the Michaelmas Term was the saying of the Litany! John How‟s remarkable influence made him the natural leader of the Catholic Movement as the years went by. At the same time, a number of new appointments to Chaplaincies and Fellowships in various Colleges brought Catholic sympathisers into the heart of the University itself.