George Mervyn Lawson
Encyclopedia
The Venerable Fr George Merwyn Lawson (1865–1945) served as Archdeacon of Kuruman
, 1913–1941, in the Anglican Diocese of Kimberley and Kuruman, and as Director of Missions for Griqualand West
from 1903 until his death.
in Kimberley
, Lawson was in charge of the four ‘location’ missions in that town, based at St Matthew’s, Kimberley, around the turn of the twentieth century. At this time he commenced “outlying work” in the rural hinterland, leaving a description of Mass in a “rough hut of sticks”, the altar “a packing case with my portable altar on the top – yet all was reverent as in a cathedral” – “it reminded me of Bethlehem.”
His most distant mission work in 1905 was at Khosis north of Postmasburg. In 1916 Bishop Wilfrid Gore Browne described how Lawson traveled “1040 miles every two months, on horse-back, staying at farms on the way.”
During World War I
Lawson served as Chaplain
first to the Kalahari Horse in the German South West Africa Campaign and later volunteered for work in Europe.
, Sebastion Bourdon, Jacques Callot
, Simone Cantarini
, Annibale Carracci
, Sir Anthony van Dyck and Guercino and many others. These Lawson bequeathed to the Kimberley Public Library for the people of Kimberley
. In 1991 the collection was transferred to the William Humphreys Art Gallery
in Kimberley where it is known as the Lawson Collection. The collection was restored and conservation mounted by the gallery.
in Kimberley.
Kuruman
Kuruman is a town with 12,701 inhabitants in Northern Cape province of South Africa, famous for its scenic beauty and the Eye of Kuruman, a geological feature bringing water from deep underground to the surface in the Kalahari Desert....
, 1913–1941, in the Anglican Diocese of Kimberley and Kuruman, and as Director of Missions for Griqualand West
Griqualand West
Griqualand West is an area of central South Africa with an area of 40,000 km² that now forms part of the Northern Cape Province. It was inhabited by the Griqua people - a semi-nomadic, Afrikaans-speaking nation of mixed-race origin, who established several states outside the expanding frontier...
from 1903 until his death.
Ministry
Initially on the staff of St Cyprian's ChurchSt Cyprian's Cathedral, Kimberley
The Cathedral Church of St Cyprian the Martyr, Kimberley, is the seat of the Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Kimberley and Kuruman, Anglican Church of Southern Africa. It became a Cathedral when the Synod of Bishops gave a mandate for the formation of the new Diocese of Kimberley and Kuruman in...
in Kimberley
Kimberley, Northern Cape
Kimberley is a city in South Africa, and the capital of the Northern Cape. It is located near the confluence of the Vaal and Orange Rivers. The town has considerable historical significance due its diamond mining past and siege during the Second Boer War...
, Lawson was in charge of the four ‘location’ missions in that town, based at St Matthew’s, Kimberley, around the turn of the twentieth century. At this time he commenced “outlying work” in the rural hinterland, leaving a description of Mass in a “rough hut of sticks”, the altar “a packing case with my portable altar on the top – yet all was reverent as in a cathedral” – “it reminded me of Bethlehem.”
His most distant mission work in 1905 was at Khosis north of Postmasburg. In 1916 Bishop Wilfrid Gore Browne described how Lawson traveled “1040 miles every two months, on horse-back, staying at farms on the way.”
During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
Lawson served as Chaplain
Chaplain
Traditionally, a chaplain is a minister in a specialized setting such as a priest, pastor, rabbi, or imam or lay representative of a religion attached to a secular institution such as a hospital, prison, military unit, police department, university, or private chapel...
first to the Kalahari Horse in the German South West Africa Campaign and later volunteered for work in Europe.
Art Collector
Upon his death Lawson left a collection of 247 original drawings and engravings by French, Dutch, Flemish, English and Italian masters. It includes works by Stefano della BellaStefano della Bella
Stefano della Bella was an Italian draughtsman and printmaker known for etchings of a great variety of subjects, including military and court scenes, landscapes, and lively genre scenes...
, Sebastion Bourdon, Jacques Callot
Jacques Callot
Jacques Callot was a baroque printmaker and draftsman from the Duchy of Lorraine . He is an important figure in the development of the old master print...
, Simone Cantarini
Simone Cantarini
Simone Cantarini , also known as Simone da Pesaro, was an Italian painter and etcher of the Bolognese School of painting.Cantarini was born in Oropezza near Pesaro, then part of the Papal States....
, Annibale Carracci
Annibale Carracci
Annibale Carracci was an Italian Baroque painter.-Early career:Annibale Carracci was born in Bologna, and in all likelihood first apprenticed within his family...
, Sir Anthony van Dyck and Guercino and many others. These Lawson bequeathed to the Kimberley Public Library for the people of Kimberley
Kimberley, Northern Cape
Kimberley is a city in South Africa, and the capital of the Northern Cape. It is located near the confluence of the Vaal and Orange Rivers. The town has considerable historical significance due its diamond mining past and siege during the Second Boer War...
. In 1991 the collection was transferred to the William Humphreys Art Gallery
William Humphreys Art Gallery
The William Humphreys Art Gallery, in Kimberley, South Africa, was opened in 1952 and named after its principal benefactor, William Benbow Humphreys...
in Kimberley where it is known as the Lawson Collection. The collection was restored and conservation mounted by the gallery.
Reinterment
Archdeacon Lawson’s remains were reinterred in the Garden of Remembrance at St Cyprian's CathedralSt Cyprian's Cathedral, Kimberley
The Cathedral Church of St Cyprian the Martyr, Kimberley, is the seat of the Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Kimberley and Kuruman, Anglican Church of Southern Africa. It became a Cathedral when the Synod of Bishops gave a mandate for the formation of the new Diocese of Kimberley and Kuruman in...
in Kimberley.