On 22 September 1677, Chapter heard the complaint of Matthew Green, Master of the Choristers, that he had been assaulted on Wednesday last by Mrs Kellaway as he was coming to Church. She had, he said, “struck him on the head with a stick and torn his band and plucked off his periwig and given him reviling and injurious language” [SGC VI.B.4, p. 130]. To add insult to injury, her husband Thomas Kellaway, a Minor Canon, had not long before also threatened him.

Chapter ordered that both Mr and Mrs Kellaway were to appear before them to beg pardon on their knees from God and Mr Green. Mr Kellaway duly came, but Mrs Kellaway refused, saying that if given the chance, she’d do it again. As a result, Mr Kellaway’s pay was stopped, and it was not until Chapter threatened to remove her son from the choir that Mrs Kellaway finally relented. But what reason did Mrs Kellaway have for assaulting Mr Green in the first place?

Matthew Green had been appointed Master of the Choristers in 1660, one of the first positions given out on the return to the Chapel after the Restoration of the Monarchy. His role was to be the choristers’ schoolmaster, teaching them the necessary skills of reading and writing, leaving their musical education to Dr Child, the organist. Green would hold this post for the next 43 years.

In 1668 Green had been heavily punished for giving Child “rude and uncivill language” and “after the ending of the said Divine service did trip up his heeles, and when down, did unhumanly beat him” [SGC VI.B.3, p. 72]. This perhaps indicates that he had a bit of a temper, and possibly Kellaway’s son, one of his pupils, had been on the receiving end of this. Or it may be that she disapproved of the standard of education her son was receiving as just 2 years later, Thomas Kellaway asked if he might have permission to remove his son from Green’s care and to send him to Eton “for the good of his said son” [VI.B.4, p. 196].

Whatever the reason, on 4 October 1677, she appeared before Chapter and in the manner prescribed, asked God first and then Mr Green pardon for having assaulted him.

Eleanor Cracknell (Assistant Archivist)

In December 1698 this entry was recorded in the Chapter Acts:

Ordered that 20 [pounds] be paid to Dr Bray out of Membury timber money, towards the compleating his Libraries in Maryland.

The Dr Bray in question was Thomas Bray, the son of a poor Shropshire farmer who overcame financial difficulties to pay for his education and became a well-known preacher and pioneer of American public libraries.

After graduating from All Souls College Oxford he became a schoolmaster before being ordained. His preaching brought him to the attention of Simon Lord Digby which led to his appointment to three Warwickshire parishes.

In 1695 he published a book of lectures designed to help the clergy explain the catechism to their congregations; this proved so popular it made a profit of £700 and brought Bray to the attention of the Bishop of London who appointed him to oversee pastors for the parishes in the American colony of Maryland.

Before going to Maryland Bray needed to find priests who would be willing to relocate and undertake parish work in the colony. However, he found that it was mostly poor members of the clergy who volunteered for such distant appointments and they could not afford the books which they would need – Thomas Bray became determined to provide them with libraries.

This project was a groundbreaking undertaking because, prior to Bray’s efforts, the only public libraries in North America were to be found in a small number of universities. Thomas Bray was so successful in his efforts that by the time of his death in 1730 he had founded 39 libraries in North America, some with more than 1000 volumes.

Kelda Roe (Archives Assistant)

Canon John Neale Dalton

John Neale Dalton was a chaplain to Queen Victoria and tutor to her grandsons, Albert Edward [Eddy] and George Frederick [later George V], from 1871 to 1885. On ceasing to be their governor, he was appointed a Canon of Windsor, a role he continued until his death in 1931.

Dalton was a man of great intellect and learning, with extraordinary energy and vigour. He was also however a difficult man to get along with. Albert Baillie, Dean of Windsor from 1917 to 1945, wrote in his memoirs, My First Eighty Years, published in 1951:

“When I was appointed to follow Eliot, [Randall] Davidson said to me, “Your great difficulty will be Canon Dalton.” On my very first day in the Castle, Lord Stamfordham, the King’s Secretary, repeated this warning, and added, “It’s not too much to say that Dalton has made your predecessor an unhappy man for quarter of a century.”

As an intimate of the King, Dalton wielded great power and was not afraid to say exactly what he thought. Baillie went on to describe how “He approached every meeting determined to fight over the smallest details, only to prevent his colleagues, whom he despised, from having their way.” He continues:

“There was a story which Davidson told with great enjoyment. When Dalton was a young Canon in Davidson’s time there was one Chapter Meeting at which he had been particularly fractious. In those days there was with them the much revered Canon Courtenay, who had all that polish and courtesy and self-restraint which marked the best men in the Oxford Movement. For a time he was patient with Dalton and then, for the first and probably only time in his life, he lost his temper, his beautiful and refined self-discipline vanishing. “I tell you what it is, Dalton,” he exploded. “I wish we were back in school-days – I’d kick your bottom hard.”

Despite his prickly manner, Dalton achieved a lot during his time as Canon. He had electric light introduced into the chapel, played a key part in the restoration work of the 1920s, being instrumental in the decision to split the organ, opening up views of the whole vaulting, and was also responsible for cataloguing the College records.

However, it is as the irritable Canon that he is most remembered, and it would seem that his manner passed on to his son, Hugh, a prominent politician.  John Henry Ellison, Vicar of Windsor and one-time pupil of Dalton, wrote in his diary on 11 June 1940 [SGC M.140/B/5/2]:

“It was odd 2 nights ago to hear Hugh Dalton speaking on the wireless as Minister of Economic Warfare, with his father’s voice, and in the same bullying tone that was resented in old days at St George’s School – the bullying now being directed to Hitler.”

Eleanor Cracknell (Assistant Archivist)

The Chapter Acts of the College of St George record that on May the 17^th 1687 the College:

Ordered that the County Coroner be forthwith sent for, to enquire of the Death of Captain Montgomery one of the poor Knights.

Two days later decisive action was taken against the deceased Captain Montgomery:

Mr Maleverer, Mr Wright, & Mr Sewell appointed the chapters Messengers for the seizing and sale of the good of Edward Montgomery they being forfeited to the College By the said Edward Montgomery being found felo de see [i.e. to have committed suicide] (within the precincts of this College) by a verdict of the coroners jury.

It is not known how or why Captain Montgomery committed suicide; his goods were seized because, until 1961, suicide was a criminal offence in the United Kingdom.

Kelda Roe (Archives Assistant)

Albert Victor Baillie, Dean of Windsor from 1917 to 1945, was born in 1864 in Germany where he lived until his family moved to England in 1873. He was educated at Marlborough College and Cambridge University and was ordained in 1888. He held several ecclesiastical positions before becoming Dean of Windsor in 1917. On his appointment he quickly set his mind to raising money for the restoration of the Chapel.

Whilst at Windsor, Baillie suffered the loss of his wife, Constance, after which he increasingly encouraged guests to his home to ease his feeling of isolation. His loneliness can be seen in a letter written by the Dean to his friend Chris Dyer-Smith asking him to come and stay with him.  It is one of several letters and telegrams sent by Dean Baillie to Dyer-Smith from 1933 to 1946, which are now in the custody of Chris’s daughter, Valerie, and have recently been photocopied for the Chapel Archives. As Dean of Windsor, Baillie was often visited by foreign tourists and this gave him the opportunity to return these visits during his annual holidays. He went to America twice: in 1923 and again ten years later when he was accompanied by his niece Fanny. A photocopy of a journal which he wrote during this second visit has also been donated by his daughter to the St George’s Chapel Archives.

Dean Baillie’s travel diary is very entertaining and it shows his thoughts on the people he met and the places he and his niece travelled to in 1933. As a typical Brit he focuses on the weather they experience, from the storms on the journey over to America on ‘The Empress of Britain’ to the desert-like heat of Tucson which they visit towards the end of their trip. Surprisingly Tucson is apparently where Albert Baillie finds his first good cup of coffee in America.

In his writing we see that both the Dean and Fanny enjoyed their time in California where they mixed with the film making elites. They even attended a Hollywood party although Albert is unimpressed by this gathering and the film stars present and he describes the occasion as “duller and dowdier than Bloomsbury”.

During this trip, Albert Baillie participated in services in a number of American parishes. He describes how a talk he gave in Dubois was particularly well attended due to his reputation. This also resulted in his being subjected to frequent photography throughout his time there.

These photocopied letters and travel journal written by Albert Baillie are a welcome addition to the St George’s Chapel Archives, augmenting the more formal records relating to his time as Dean of Windsor.

Lizzy Clapham (Archives Volunteer)

In May 1903 A.Y. Nutt, Chapter Surveyor at St George’s Chapel, recorded a payment of 3s 6d to the carpenter, Mr Bond, for ‘arranging seats & placing 2 dozen extra chairs in Choir for Mr Dyson’s Funeral Service & replacing [them]’ in his account book [SGC XIII.B.27*]. But who was this Mr Dyson and why did his funeral service take place in St George’s Chapel?

In the absence of a contemporary service register, order of service sheet or other specific  references to the funeral in the St George’s Chapel Archives, a wider search was needed to discover whether ‘Mr Dyson’ had any formal connection with the College of St George. A list of Lay Clerks (Choirmen), compiled by Archives staff suggested a possible candidate – a Lay Clerk names Thomas Dyson, who had lived in Horseshoe Cloister and served in the Chapel Choir for almost thirty years, from 1855 to 1884. Further research revealed his dates of birth (14 December 1825) and death (1 May 1903), making it almost certain that he was the Mr Dyson whose funeral had been held in May 1903. This has subsequently been confirmed by an obituary in The Windsor and Eton Express for 1903. But why had he left the Chapel in 1884 and what had he been doing in his retirement?

Sadly it seems that his eighteen months at St George’s were clouded by illness.  On 15 February 1883, Chapter granted Thomas Dyson three months’ leave of absence, agreeing that if he remained unable to perform his duties after that time, his case was to be reconsidered as regards to his pension. On 7 June 1883 further discussions took place about his sick pay, he being unable to resume his duties, and the following year, on 24 June 1884, he was requested to leave the Chapel choir and quit his house [SGC VI.B.11, 138, 141,155-6]. It must have been a wrench for him and his family to leave the Castle.  However, whatever the nature of the illness which barred him from singing, it did not prevent him from an extremely active retirement.  The founder and proprietor of a successful pianoforte business in the town, Dyson and Sons of Windsor, he also devoted much of his energies to local politics and town improvements. Having sought election to Windsor Town Council in 1873, whilst still a Lay Clerk [SGC XVII.43.6], he became an Alderman and served as Mayor of Windsor in 1890. His time as Mayor is commemorated in a memorial stained glass window in the parish church of St John the Baptist, Windsor, and his tireless efforts to improve the waterside, including the construction of the present promenade, are celebrated in a water fountain erected in his name in 1908. Originally constructed on the banks of the riverside walk, the Dyson memorial was subsequently relocated to the junction of Goswell Road and Barry Avenue and, in May 2009, was moved to its current location in Alexandra Gardens by the Goswell Road entrance to the park.

Clare Rider, Archivist and Chapter Librarian

I would like to thank Caroline McCutcheon, Chris Atkins and the staff of Windsor Library for their assistance in researching this blog.

On 28 March 1924, the day after the death of the renowned organist Sir Walter Parratt, the Dean and Canons of Windsor resolved to offer the post of Organist and Choirmaster at St George’s Chapel to Sir Henry Walford Davies. Walford Davies had served five years as a chorister at Windsor under the tutelage of Sir Walter Parratt, whom he much admired. He had since distinguished himself as a composer and performer of church music, studying under Hubert Parry and Charles Villiers Stanford at the Royal College of Music and serving as Organist and Choirmaster at the Temple Church in London from 1898 to 1919. Yet, despite his fond memories of Windsor, Walford Davies did not accept the post at St George’s in 1924. It was not an easy decision, as he wrote to the Reverend Edmund H. Fellowes, a Minor Canon at St George’s whom Davies considered a friend: ‘I’ve thought uphill and downdale, and I am now sure that I must not accept dear Windsor, or the post which w[oul]d have brought us two into such lovely companionship’. Having assumed the Professorship of Music at the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, and the Chairmanship of the National Council of Music for Wales, he did not feel it a propitious time to move away from Wales.

Fortunately for the Dean and Canons, Fellowes was on hand to fill the vacancy at Windsor until such time as a successor to Parratt could be found. A distinguished music scholar in his own right and a committed practical musician, Fellowes was willing to act as an interim director of music, drawing up the weekly service lists and training the choir, in addition to his duties as Minor Canon. Meanwhile, whilst the Chapel was undergoing major renovations, including the removal of the Chapel organ, the choir was accompanied on a small replacement organ played by Malcolm Boyle, a former chorister and organ pupil of Sir Walter Parratt, who later became organist of Chester Cathedral. Walford Davies was pleased to offer his advice to Fellowes on the instruction and direction of the choir, by letter and in person (‘I long to come and take a practice for you’ he wrote in April 1924) and this situation continued to everyone’s apparent satisfaction until 1927, when Walford Davies decided, after all, to take up the position of Organist at St George’s.

Letters deposited in the St George’s Chapel Archives in 1995 by Dr Watkins Shaw (SGC M.165/1-16) indicate the problems which arose as soon as Walford Davies decided to take up the post at Windsor, following an illness serious enough to confine him to a nursing home and to force his resignation from his Professorship at Aberystwyth. In an undated letter, Davies wrote of his sadness at finding himself and Fellowes seemingly at cross purposes, assuring his friend that ‘if I come it must be to fulfil and not to displace all the good that has been done in the dear place’.  However, differences in opinion, style and temperament were to cloud the relationship with Fellowes of which Davies had such high hopes. In relinquishing the direction of music whilst remaining a Minor Canon, Fellowes found that he and his successor held increasingly divergent views on the nature of the choral service and often regretted Walford Davies’ selection of music at Windsor. He was not alone in this, Charles Hylton Stewart, a fellow organist, expressing similar disquietude at Davies’ choice: ‘The [music] list you sent is the limit, Even Croft & Greene are represented by feeble things. What can be done? Such an example!’

Sir Henry Walford Davies achieved several successes during his time at St George’s Chapel, the most notable of which was the commissioning and installation of a new, twin console Rothwell organ, which was inaugurated at a morning service on 4 November 1930. Davies composed a Te Deum for double choir and orchestra for this celebratory occasion, which was held in the presence of King George V and Queen Mary, and was gratified to receive a gracious message from their Majesties’ expressing their warm appreciation of the music performed at the service under his direction. However, irreconcilable differences in approach between the more traditional Dean and Canons and the flamboyant musician, led to an inevitable parting of the ways.  On receiving the Organist’s resignation at a meeting on 29 November 1931, Chapter minuted that ‘while regretting the resignation of Sir Walford Davies, they do not question the wisdom of his decision and accordingly accept it with a sense of deep gratitude for his services to St George’s throughout an important period in its history’.  His successor, Charles Hylton Stewart, whom Chapter described as a ‘devout Churchman …whose patience, tact and singular charm of manner won him the instant affection of all the members of the Foundation’ could not have been a greater contrast. Sadly Hylton Stewart’s employment at Windsor lasted only 3 months, brought to a sudden end by his death in November 1932 after a short and severe illness. Dr. Fellowes was again asked to step in to direct the choir until the arrival of the new Organist, William Henry Harris, in 1933.

Clare Rider, Archivist and Chapter Librarian

Amongst the papers of Arthur Stafford Crawley, a Canon of Windsor from 1934-1948, is a letter written to his wife Nancy from her former governess following Britain’s declaration of war on Germany in 1914. Anna M Schminke’s letter of 15^th September 1914 gives a fascinating insight into the mindset of a lady who, whilst remaining loyal to her native Germany, retained great affection for Britain and the British family she had worked for.

After apologizing for not being able to send Nancy marzipan on her birthday because it is too difficult to send anything out of Germany, she makes it very clear that the British newspapers “are very badly informed” and goes on to give the version of events found in the German newspapers. She reports the murder of sleeping troops and “unspeakable cruelties” committed against German soldiers by Belgian women and children. She thinks that the Belgian authorities made a mistake and should have let the German troops “pass quietly through their land, which was all we wanted to!”

Anna Schminke is convinced that the Germans will eventually be victorious in the war because they have “raised warfare to a Science”. However, she still had strong ties to England and reports having felt quite ill for a day or two when England declared war – she even wishes Prime Minister Asquith “at the bottom of the sea!” for leading noble England into an alliance with Russia.

She concludes her letter by voicing her feelings of anxiety for Nancy’s brother Billy because she suspects he is fighting with his regiment in France. She then sends her love to Nancy’s siblings and to Nancy.

Kelda Roe (Archives Assistant)

We are publishing a series of research guides on the Guide to Holdings section of this website. The guides contain information on the documents held at the St George’s Chapel Archives and Chapter Library, provide introductions to a range of topics relating to the history of St George’s Chapel, and suggest relevant secondary texts for consultation.

Research guides on the College of St George and the Properties of the College are now available to view online.

The first covers the history of the College, describing its initial foundation, the structure and positions of authority within the College, and the changes made over the years. The second describes the properties administered by the Dean and Canons of Windsor throughout England and Wales, the people responsible for their management, and the records held on these.

On 25 June 1892 ‘Buffalo Bill’ and his Wild West show gave a command performance at Windsor Castle in front of Queen Victoria.  She recorded in her journal the entertaining events of the day [Royal Archives VIC/MAIN/QVJ/1892: 25 June]:

‘At 5…we went on to the East Terrace, & watched from a tent, open in front, a sort of “Buffalo Bill” performance, on the Lawn below.  It was extremely well arranged, & an excellent representation of what we had also seen 5 years ago at Earl’s Court.  There were Cow Boys, Red Indians, Mexicans, Argentinos taking part, & then a wonderful riding display by Cossacks, accompanied by curious singing, & a war dance by the Indians.  There were extraordinary buck jumping horses, shooting at glass balls by Col: Cody (Buffalo Bill), & [a] display of cracking huge long whips.  The whole, was a very pretty, wild sight, which lasted an hour.  At the conclusion of the performance, all advanced in line at a gallop & stopped suddenly.  Col: Cody was brought up for me to speak to him.  He is still a very handsome man, but has now got a grey beard.’

The Times records that on 25 June 1892 the Queen witnessed from the East Terrace of Windsor Castle a performance of ‘a party of the Wild West Company, consisting of American Cowboys, Mexicans, Cossacks of the Caucasus, Gauchos, and Sioux Indians, under the direction of Colonel Cody [Buffalo Bill].’

Philip Frank Eliot, Dean of Windsor (1891-1917), was invited by the Queen to attend.  He described the event in a letter to his mother dated the following day:

‘It was really a very pretty sight.  The performance took place on the lawn in front of the East Terrace … and the Queen and all the guests etc. sat on the Terrace itself.  Unfortunately it was a dull evening, with no sun.  Certainly they performed some wonderful feats of horsemanship.  The Queen suggested that her equerries might try to ride the ‘bucking’ horses! but they were not willing.’

Eleanor Cracknell (Assistant Archivist)