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Archbishop Davidson, Bishop Gore and Abbot Carlyle: Benedictine monks in the Anglican Church
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 March 2016
Extract
Aelred Carlyle (1874–1955) believed that his vocation was to re-establish Benedictine monasticism in the Anglican Church. His early attempts in London and Gloucestershire failed, but in 1902 the future suddenly looked promising. During that year, he attracted the attention of Lord Halifax, who invited the small group of Anglican monks to settle at his estate in Yorkshire. Here, Carlyle’s foundation thrived: the membership grew; he enjoyed the support of influential Anglo-Catholics throughout Britain; and after he obtained the approval of the archbishop of Canterbury, Frederick Temple, for his revival of Benedictine life, Carlyle was ordained a priest in America. In 1906, the Anglican Benedictines moved to Caldey Island, where Carlyle planned to orchestrate the growth and spread of a grand congregation of Anglican monks.
- Type
- Research Article
- Information
- Studies in Church History , Volume 22: Monks, Hermits and the Ascetic Tradition , 1985 , pp. 377 - 396
- Copyright
- Copyright © Ecclesiastical History Society 1985
References
1 L[ambeth] P[alace] L[ibrary], Davidson Papers, Richards to Davidson, 26 January 1862. Randall Davidson succeeded Frederick Temple as Archbishop of Canterbury in 1902. The standard biography of Davidson is G.K.A. Bell, Randall Davidson (Oxford 1952).
2 LPL, Maclagan to Davidson, 6 February 1904. For Archbishop Maclagan’s life, see DNB and F.D. How, Archbishop Maclagan (London 1911).
3 LPL, Davidson to Finneran, 8 August 1905.
4 LPL, Davidson to Maclagan, 7 August 1905.
5 In 1897, Aelred Carlyle asked Archbishop Frederick Temple to authorize his solemn profession as a Benedictine monk. With Temple’s blessing, Carlyle pronounced solemn vows in February 1898. In 1902, Carlyle wrote Temple and urged him ‘to consider the accompanying petition and to sign and seal in a token of your sanction, and so establish our little community.’ LPL, Carlyle to Temple, 28 May 1902. Temple signed and returned the document, and Carlyle interpreted this action as episcopal approval of his Anglican Benedictine revival.
6 LPL, Maclagan to Davidson, 7 August 1905.
7 With the approbation of Archbishop Maclagan, Charles Grafton, the Bishop of Fond-du-lac, Wisconsin, ordained Carlyle a priest on 15 November 1904 in America.
8 LPL, Maclagan to Davidson, 7 August 1905.
9 LPL, Davidson to Maclagan, 8 August 1905.
10 LPL, Harding to Davidson, 27 August 1906.
11 LPL, Davidson to Harding, 8 October 1906.
12 LPL, Maclagan to Owen, 6 December 1906. The Owen Papers are deposited at the National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth, Dyfed. They are not currently available for public research. For a biography of Bishop Owen, see the following: DNB and E. Owen, The Later Life of Bishop Owen (Llandyssul 1961).
13 LPL, Owen to Davidson, 28 December 1911.
14 LPL, Carlyle to Davidson, 13 December 1911. The majority of the letters between Abbot Carlyle, Davidson, and Bishop Gore dealing with the status of Carlyle and the Caldey monks were published after the 1913 conversion in a pamphlet, A Correspondence. The booklet was privately printed and distributed to the friends of Aelred Carlyle. The standard biography of Abbot Carlyle is P. Anson Abbot Extraordinary (New York 1958). See also R.M. Kollar, ‘Abbot Aelred Carlyle and the Monks of Caldey: Anglo-Catholicism in the Church of England, 1895–1913.’ (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of Maryland 1981).
15 P[rinknash] A[bbey] A[rchives], Carlyle Papers, Shepphard to Carlyle, 18 December 1911.
16 LPL, Carlyle to Davidson, 20 December 1911.
17 PAA, Macmillan to Carlyle, 23 December 1911.
18 LPL, Shepphard to Owen, 18 December 1911.
19 LPL, Davidson to Owen, 20 December 1911.
20 PAA, Davidson to Carlyle, 14 February 1912.
21 Caldey Abbey became famous as the most sumptuous and extravagant abbey in England. Numerous towers and turrets, luxurious abbot’s quarters, an expensive chapel, and a kitchen constructed on the plans of medieval Glastonbury Abbey comprised Abbot Carlyle’s monastery. The Abbey possessed a wide selection of expensive pectoral crosses and rings; and one of his croziers was ivory gilded with silver. Carlyle enjoyed the services of a yacht, and on the mainland Abbot Carlyle travelled in his chauffeur driven Daimler. The abbot’s frequent holidays to Italy also shocked and alienated many of his supporters.
22 In 1907, early 1912, and several times during 1911 rumours and stories circulated among Carlyle’s supporters and members of the High Church party that he was on the brink of conversion. Carlyle made no secret that he was flirting with Roman Catholicism.
23 LPL, Stone to Gore, 8 February 1912.
24 B[orthwick] I[nstitute of] H[istorical] R[esearch], Halifax Papers, Mackay to Halifax, 19 February 1912.
25 Ibid.
26 BIHR, Gore to Mackay, 16 February 1912. Recent studies of Bishop Gore include J. Carpenter, Gore: A Study in Liberal Catholic Thought (London 1960); A.M. Ramsey, From Gore to Temple (London 1962); and B. Reardon, From Coleridge to Gore (London 1971).
27 PAA, Carlyle to Gore, 19 February 1912.
28 LPL, Gore to Davidson, 28 February 1913.
29 BIHR, Gore to Halifax, 5 March 1912.
30 LPL, Gore to Davidson, 4 March 1912.
31 LPL, Gore to Davidson, 28 February 1913.
32 BIHR, Gore to Halifax, 5 March 1912.
33 LPL, Gore to Davidson, 4 March 1912.
34 BIHR, Gore to Halifax, 5 March 1912.
35 PAA, A. Carlyle, ‘Original Interview Notes.’
36 LPL, R. Davidson, ‘Interview at Lambeth, March 6, 1912 with the Abbot of Caldey.’ As Bishop of Winchester, Davidson praised the growth of religious life, but also pointed out the need for the ‘guidance and direction of the episcopal.’ ‘There is undoubtedly a peril at least,’ he maintained, in ‘the growing independence …on the part of some of the religious communities.’ LPL, ‘Proceedings on the Religious Communities,’ 1897 Lambeth Conference. But on the other hand he always cherished the vision of a peaceful, harmonious and unified Church of England; public scandal and discord must give way to compromise. S. Dark, Archbishop Davidson and the Anglican Church (London 1929) p. vi. According to Davidson, imprudent or precipitous action on the part of bishops could end in failure and discord. E. Stock, The Church of England in the Nineteenth Century (London 1910) p. 80.
37 PAA, A. Carlyle, ‘Original Interview Notes.’
38 PAA, Carlyle to Gore, 9 March 1912.
39 LPL, Davidson to Gore, 7 March 1912.
40 PAA, Carlyle to Gore, 9 March 1912.
41 PAA, Gore to Carlyle, 14 March 1912.
42 LPL, Gore to Davidson, 7 March 1912.
43 LPL, Davidson to Gore, 7 March 1912.
44 LPL, Gore to Davidson, 19 March 1912.
45 LPL, Davidson to Gore, 19 March 1912.
46 LPL, Davidson to Gore, 9 April 1912.
47 LPL, Gore to Davidson, 10 April 1912.
48 PAA, Davidson to Carlyle, 20 May 1912.
49 The 1897 Lambeth Conference expressed its views on religious brotherhoods and their relation to bishops. The Conference wanted to prevent the formation of any community which was free from the authority and scrutiny of the local bishop. It therefore suggested that the local bishop become the ex officio visitor of the brotherhood, and ‘the brotherhood…must not be allowed to work in any diocese without the consent of the bishop.’ Each foundation must have an Episcopal Visitor. If the Church of England should choose to recognize a brotherhood, then it certainly has ‘a right to require submission to order, and submission to order depends on its relation to the Bishops…’ In devotion and liturgical matters, the communities must remain loyal to the Book of Common Prayer, and to safeguard this, a ‘constitution…should be submitted to the Bishop’s approval.’ LPL, ‘Proceedings on the Religious Communities,’ Lambeth Conference, 1897.
50 PAA, Davidson to Carlyle, 2 May 1912.
51 LPL, Carlyle to Davidson, 29 August 1912.
52 PAA, Davidson to Carlyle, 5 September 1912.
53 LPL, Davidson to Gore, 5 September 1912.
54 LPL, Gore to Davidson, 30 October 1912. Davidson recognized Gore’s anxiety and replied that ‘they take weeks to answer letters, and I do not know that any great harm arises from their delay in making application to you…’ LPL, Davidson to Gore, 5 March 1912.
55 PAA, Carlyle to Gore, 3 October 1912.
56 PAA, Gore to Carlyle, 7 October 1912.
57 Ibid. Carlyle later used Gore’s refusal to visit Caldey as an example of the Bishop’s uncompromising attitude, but the reason for not visiting Caldey was the Bishop’s full schedule. In October, Bishop Gore had scheduled 35 public functions, in November, 38, and in December he was occupied daily up to 17 December, and the next four days were devoted to diocesan ordinations. See Oxford Diocesan Magazine, September-December, 1912.
58 PAA, Carlyle to Gore, 21 October 1912.
59 PAA, Gore to Carlyle, 24 October 1912.
60 Carlyle enclosed a copy of Archbishop Maclagan’s Letter Dimissory and stated that he did not make the usual Oath and Declaration of Assent at his ordination in America. Material on the history of Caldey and its monastic principles, The Benedictines of Caldey Island and Our Purpose and Method, were also forwarded to Gore. Finally, Carlyle sent facsimilies of Archbishop Temple’s authorization for his profession and election as an Anglican abbot.
61 PAA, Carlyle to Gore, 4 November 1912.
62 P[usey] H[ouse] L[ibrary], Stone Papers, Gore to Stone, 24 October 1912. Bishop Gore sent the same invitation to Rev. W.H.B. Trevelyan.
63 LPL, Gore to Davidson, 28 November 1912.
64 PHL, Stone and Trevelyan to Gore, 21 January 1913.
65 PAA, D. Stone, ‘The Benedictines of Caldey Island.’
66 PAA, Gore to Carlyle, 8 February 1912.
67 The ownership of the property was vested in Abbot Carlyle alone. The three established Anglican brotherhoods, the Cowley Fathers, the Society of the Resurrection, and the Society of the Sacred Mission, had legislated that their property would be vested in a trust under the supervision of the Anglican Church. The Established Church always tried to regulate and oversee the property owned by religious brotherhoods. The 1908 Lambeth Conference report on brotherhoods stressed that ‘provision for due rules as to the possession and disposition of property’ should be stipulated in the community’s bylaws. ‘Report of the Committee Appointed in 1897 to Consider the Relations of Religious Communities With the Church to the Episcopate,’ Lambeth Conference, 1908.
68 PAA, Gore to Carlyle, 8 February 1913.
69 PAA, Carlyle to Gore, 11 February 1913.
70 PAA, Gore to Carlyle, 14 February 1913.
71 PAA, Community of Caldey to Gore, 19 February 1913.
72 PAA, Gore to Carlyle, 22 February 1913.
73 PAA, Carlyle to Gore, 22 February 1913.
74 PAA, Carlyle to Gore, 25 February 1913.
75 LPL, Carlyle to Davidson, 22 February 1913.
76 LPL, Gore to Davidson, 25 February 1913.
77 LPL, Gore to Davidson, 28 February 1913.
78 LPL, Davidson to Gore, 26 February 1913.
79 PHL, Halifax to Stone, 24 February 1913.
80 LPL, Davidson to Gore, 24 February 1913.
81 LPL, Davidson to Gore, 26 February 1913.
82 The ownership of Caldey Island and whether the monks should return funds became an emotional issue after they had converted. Some argued that everything must be returned to the Anglican Church. On the suggestion of Lord Halifax, a commission was formed to study and solve the problem. Its membership included: Halifax, Carlyle, Lord Balfour of Burleigh, Athelstan Riley, the Duke of Norfolk, and the Roman Catholic Bishop of Menevia, Francis Mostyn. One piece of property, Pershore, was returned to the Anglican Church. But Caldey and gifts given to Carlyle while an Anglican remained in his possession. Carlyle agreed, however, to repay a flat sum of £3,000.
83 LPL, Brook to Davidson, 26 February 1913.
84 LPL, Davidson to Brook, 1 March 1913.
85 LPL, Felling to Davidson, 3 March 1913.
86 LPL, Davidson to Felling, 7 March 1913.
87 LPL, Anson to Davidson, 13 March 1913. Admiral Anson was the father of Peter Anson, one of the monks and future biographer of Abbot Carlyle.
88 LPL, Davidson to Anson, 13 March 1913.
89 ’Caldey,’ The Oxford Diocesan Magazine, April 1913, p. 51.
90 Ibid, Gore was annoyed that Carlyle did not publish the entire correspondence: ‘I hoped, as I have said, that the correspondence would be — not alluded to in fragments in the press, but published entirely.’
91 PAA, Carlyle to Gore, 20 November 1913.