Thank you for the overwhelming response to the 175thcelebrations. We have Old Boys coming from all over the world to mark this very special milestone in the history of Christ’s College.
The Black & White Dinner on Saturday night is now sold out although we are working to accommodate our Old Boys who will be attending their Reunions in Christchurch that same weekend. The good news is that we still have tickets to Friday evening’s Cocktail Party. I urge you to book as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.
In the meantime, there’s still plenty happening until the end of the year.
First up is the CCOBA golf tournament next week at the Christchurch Golf Club for which we still have a couple of team spots remaining. A lot of laughs always guaranteed. Click here to book. On Friday 22 November we have the Long Lunch at the Christchurch Club. Get in quickly, this event is always a sell-out. Book here.
I’m heading across the ditch in a fortnight and it would be great to see some of our Old Boys. To register for our Sydney event, click here. To register for our Melbourne event, click here.
On 16 October, it’s one of my favourite events – the 65 & 75 Years On Reunion here at College. Thank you to all of our Old Boys who have already registered. If you haven’t, please feel free to give me a call and I can help you with this booking.
I have greatly enjoyed working with Gillian Simpson again in her role as Acting Executive Principal this term and I look forward to welcoming Joe Eccleton as he takes over the helm next term.
In sad news, many of you will be aware that Richard Bromley, a former Deputy Headmaster and Old Boy of Christ’s College, passed away peacefully in July. Hundreds attended a celebration of his life at a memorial service in the Chapel here last month. The CCOBA extends our heartfelt condolences to Richard’s wife, Jill, and all the Bromley family.
As a teenager, Michael Lawry (12971) was already eyeing a career in the military, attracted by the exciting mix of study, travel and unique experiences.
Senior solicitor Elliot Nye (14193) revels in the challenges of resolving commercial disputes, inspired by the trials and tribulations of many home and business owners battling for payouts in post-earthquake Christchurch.
Teddy Tahu Rhodes – giving his time while treasuring his talent
A masterful class from opera star – and Old Boy – Teddy Tahu Rhodes (9756) set the stage for a rare opportunity for a trio of Christ’s College singers to learn from the best.
Seven Sharp recently screened a story on the discovery of a watch, at a charity shop in Christchurch, that belonged to Old Boy David Tripp who lost his life in World War ll.
Bostock brothers Ben and George started raising chickens in the family’s apple orchards. Now they’ve sold their organic chicken farm to industry giant Inghams.
It was great to see a good number of Old Boys at the Wellington Club for our annual catch up.
Hawke's Bay Community Visit
This was our second event for the year in Hawkes Bay, where many of our Old Boys live. As always, thank you for your support.
Akaroa Community Visit
The weather was much kinder to us than last year, when it snowed on the way to Akaroa. Always a lovely event in a gorgeous part of the world.
Christ’s College Chapel Choir – on tour
The Christ’s College Chapel Choir is off on its European Tour. Singing in some of Europe’s most beautiful cathedrals, they open with a performance in Amsterdam before heading to Belgium, Paris, Milan, Venice and Florence. The final evening of their stunning tour is an informal sing in Pisa. The Choir, led by Director of Music Robert Aburn, would love to see Old Boys at any of their performances. Click here for more details.
In the Christ’s College Archives, there is a book that records the borrowers from the Christ’s College library from 1865–1871.
It is a remnant from the days when the library was open to everyone who chose to pay a £1/1/- subscription. It is also a link to the time when Christ’s College was being established. Among the many and varied preparations of the Canterbury Association that included organising church plate, outfits for the clergy, bells, furniture, glass, and music, there was a call for books. Personal libraries were turned over, packaged, listed, and settled in sailing ship holds.
Following the initial unpacking in Lyttelton, there was a dispersal to other groups and locations, including the Mechanics Institute, the Canterbury Provincial Council, Resident Magistrates Court, Christchurch Reading Society, Lyttelton Reading Society (Colonists Society) and the Christchurch Book Club. Some packages remained unopened in Lyttelton.
By 1856, the Christ’s College Board of Governors had come to an agreement with Frederick Thompson to build and then house the books in a location in Cashel Street. The collection also grew from purchasing and individual and institutional donations.ii
Frederick Thompson’s site is second from the left in the middle row on the north side of Cashel Street. From Johannes Anderson, Old Christchurch in Picture and Story, 1949.
The library also became a meeting place for the Board, the Church Property Trustees, and other Christchurch organisations. At the end of the lease, Thompson indicated that he wished to rent out the building to others, but that he would arrange for any incoming tenant to care for the books. Running parallel to this was the gradual building on the Rolleston Avenue site, so the library moved to the south corner of Second Master George Cotterill’s house, built in 1860.
Cotterill’s House, Christ’s College Archives
There is a location for the books by the time the lending list exists.
So, what does the book tell us about the reading habits of the clergy? The book contains the names of 92 subscribers, men and women, clergy and laity. Some are familiar College names, including Dean Jacobs, George Cotterill, William Chambers Harris, Captain Simmons, Thomas De Renzy Condell (123), and James Wilson.
One of the borrowing pages for James Wilson.iii
Other pages indicate wider borrowers, including Mrs Vigers from Governors Bayiv, Mrs Palairet from Avonside, and Mrs John Hall, the wife of the Provincial Councillor, Sir John Hall, and the architectural firm Bury and Mountfort.
Page 3 of the borrowers’ list.
Clergy made up 19.56% of the borrowers, including 933 entries. Analysis showed that the clergy were great readers of novels, with three authors standing out – Anthony Trollope, Margaret Oliphant, and Charlotte Mary Yonge.
From left: Anthony Trollopev, Margaret Oliphantvi, and Charlotte Mary Yonge.vii
It would have been useful to have the borrowing books before and after this one. Had the clergy who borrowed Trollope’s standalone novels from 1860–65 read previous ones? And would they read the later ones? This question became more pertinent when the Barchester and Palliser novels appeared on the lists. William Wellington Willock, James Wilson, William Chambers Harris, and George Cotterill were the main culprits.
Further investigation suggests that the clergy were recommending the books to each other. For example, Trollope’s The Small House at Allington, when Wilson, Edward Atherton Lingard, and Willock read the book in subsequent months, and Trollope’s Rachel Ray, when Lingard, Croasdaile Bowen, and Willock followed each other in April and May 1865.
It was probably the depiction of the clergy, particularly in the Carlingford novels, that drew them to Oliphant, the Scottish author of 120 novels. Salem Chapel, in particular, has themes that echo evangelical/ritual church issues, with some scandal and gossip thrown in.
Perhaps the most well-known of Charlotte Mary Yonge’s books is her Life of John Coleridge Patteson, written in 1874, after this period of the borrowing book. She, too, wrote more than 100 books, and edited The Monthly Packet, a magazine for children. She was known as the novelist of the Oxford Movementviii. It is not surprising that James O’Bryen Hoare, of St John the Baptist, Latimer Square, who introduced a surpliced choir, and Willock, with his Tractarian leanings, were reading her books, but somewhat puzzling that the readers included Wilson, who was more evangelical in his outlook.
Yonge was a friend of Elizabeth Missing Sewell, brother of Henry Sewellix, who was sent to sort out the affairs of the Canterbury Association. Her book, The Journal of a Home Life, was read by both Bishop Harper and Willock.
Were the clergy reading any magazines? On the whole, the magazines were rather out of date by the time they appeared on the borrowing lists. It is unclear whether they were deliberately purchased, or were members of the clergy gifting their personal copies?
The Edinburgh Review was read by many clergy. It contained reviews of recently published books on politics, literature, philosophy, and science.
Were the clergy reading any books of theology and church history? Yes, but untangling clerical shorthand was somewhat daunting. Half the title of a novel can usually be unscrambled. However, when a book was known by only the author or as one in a series of lectures, it became quite challenging. Judging by the range of dates, sermons never grow old or can be mined for new ideas forever.x Many other books on either church history or theology were read by one person. In fact, the overall paucity of such books is surprising. Maybe it was because they all had their own full bookcases at home.
This account has focussed on the clergy, but there is much more to be gleaned from this volume about the reading habits of the wider list of subscribers. However, one piece of information is crucial to the understanding of the choice of books issued to each individual: Who was making the purchases that expanded the library from its initial foundation? To date, this information has been elusive.
i Much of the research for this article was completed in November 2023 and was presented at the Australian and New Zealand Theological Libraries Conference, held at College House, Christchurch. ii Examples of donations: The University of Oxford, James Edward FitzGerald and Christopher Calvert iii Image from 1875 Diocesan Synod College, Christchurch Anglican Diocesan Archives. iv William Vigers (29) attended Christ’s College from 1854–1858, Charles Henry Vigers (45) attended from 1856–1857 v Portrait by Napoleon Sarony, wikipedia vihttps://www.oliphantfiction.com/ viihttps://charlottemyounge.org.uk viii See a preview of The Oxford Movement 2012 ed by SJ Brown and P B Nockles, Cambridge University Press for a summary of the Oxford Movement https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/oxford movement/introduction/ ix The Christ’s College Sewell Society is named for Henry Sewell. x E.g. ‘Barrow’s Sermons’ was found to be Sermons Preached on Several Occasions by Isaac Barrow, 1679: ‘Arnold’s Sermons’ was found to be Christian Life; its courses; its hindrances and its helps; sermons preached mostly in the Chapel of Rugby School. Thomas Arnold, 1845.
