Wilfred Gore-Browne
Encyclopedia
Wilfrid Gore Browne was an Anglican bishop, the first Bishop of Kimberley and Kuruman
from 1912 to 1928. He was described as a saintly bishop with "a keen sense of humour" and "a winning courtesy."
KCMG, spending his early years in New Zealand
where his father was Governor
. He was educated, with his brother Frank Gore Browne, K.C., at Harrow School
(from 1873) and at Trinity College, Cambridge
where he took his degree in 1881. Before his ordination Gore Browne enlisted with the 11th Hussars for six months "with the object of getting experience which would help him in his work among men."
in the Diocese of Durham
in 1882, priest
in 1883, his first post was as Curate
at Pallion
, 1882-3. He served subsequently at St Hilda, South Shields
, 1883-7; St John the Evangelist, Darlington
, 1887-9; and as Perpetual Curate/Priest in charge of St Hilda's, Darlington, 1889–1902; before a posting to South Africa
which he took on account of serious lung trouble.
A correspondent describing his pioneer work at St Hilda's mission in a slum district of Darlington wrote of "a sheer spiritual romance, full of interest, delight and humour. The vicar's enthusiastic joy in the life of the Church was amazingly infectious. On one Easter Day, coming down to the chancel steps to preach at the Eucharist, he gave out his text, 'The Lord is risen indeed!' and after a moment's silence, said, with a smile that was all but a laugh, 'It's no use, dear people; I can't say anything more,' and returned to the altar."
"Endless instances might be given," the corrrespondent added, "of his sympathy with suffering and his efforts to restore those who were down and out. The writer remembers finding a dying child in a filthy bed in a slum, playing with the gold watch and chain which he had left for its amusement. Guests at the clergy house were liable at any time to sit down to high tea between an earl and a thief fresh from prison."
Gore Browne was described at this time as "a thorough Catholic
and a true Evangelical." His church of St Hilda's was, apart from the mother parish of St John's, the only church in Darlington then where Catholic ceremonial was in use and all sacramental privileges provided. "There was never any local opposition; but emissaries from Protestant societies occasionally came to point out the connexion between vestments and the Vatican
. A Kensit lecturer on one occasion was rash enough to invite anyone in the audience to speak in answer to his statements. The invitation was promptly accepted by a hulking mechanic from the N.E. Railway shops. Climbing onto the platform he surveyed the lecturer for a moment in dead silence. Then, turning to the audience with a grin on his grimy face, he said very deliberately: 'The jintleman ... is ... not ... fit ... to ... black ... Gore Browne's ... boots!' ending the meeting - and the Protestant campaign - in tumultuous applause."
In South Africa, as Rector
of Pretoria, 1902–1909, then Dean
of Pretoria
he was instrumental, as he had been in England, in setting up fledgling churches.
, with a portion from the Diocese of Cape Town
, and half of Bechuanaland Protectorate which had until then been administered as part of the Diocese of Mashonaland
(Southern Rhodesia). He was Consecrated at Bloemfontein Cathedral on 29 June 1912. "The brilliant copes and mitres of the consecrating bishops, the banners, crosses, pastoral staffs, the music of trumpet and organ, gave a glorious feeling of preparation for warfare. It was the Church Militant in South Africa gathered around a new commander, to invest him with its authority, to equip him for his command." He was enthroned at St Cyprian's Cathedral
in Kimberley
in a similarly impressive service the following day, 30 June 1912. Soon the work organising the new diocese was presenting immense difficulties. His Dean, T.C. Robson
was away ill, leaving the cathedral in his hands. "Native work" needed to be developed but there were no funds. With the outbreak of war in 1914 the Kimberley mines were shut down, causing huge loss of jobs; further afield in the diocese "droughts seemed almost continuous" and "poverty irremediable."
Gore Browne raised funds for the Diocese on return visits to England. He was also able to recruit new clergy who numbered only 22 in 1912. In 1916 there were ten "native" clergy and more than this number by the end of the 1920s. "To train natives for the ministry seemed to the bishop ... to be the most necessary work of the diocese." Gore Browne also opened new parishes and districts and saw to the building new churches such as at Batlharos.
During sixteen years in Kimberley and Kuruman Bishop Gore Browne is recorded as having visited and ministered in every part of his far-flung diocese (which has since shrunk, no longer including the enormous area which is now the southern half of Botswana
). "He spared himself nothing on his long treks," the Church Times
obituary notes, "often having to walk for hours through deep sand when his motor stuck." There were parts that could be reached only by ox wagon. Gore Browne is well known for the special ministry he developed to the migrant workers and convicts on the mines in Kimberley, amongst whom he was "trusted and greatly loved and respected".
Bishop Wilfrid Gore Browne died unexpectedly following emergency surgery at Kimberley Hospital on 15 March 1928.
resolved to transfer the Perseverance School
from St Cyprian's
to the diocese. In order to present more than mere schooling the diocese had the government Education Department officially recognise Perseverance, in 1917, as a teacher training centre. In the following year 430 children and 92 student teachers were enrolled.
Perseverance had originated as one of a number of educational initiatives of the 1870s at St Cyprian's Parish on the Diamond Fields. A St Cyprian's Grammar School
(recently re-established) and St Michael's School for girls had not been able to compete with government schools once they were brought into existence, and it was against this background that the Bishop's Hostel for Anglican boys attending other schools in Kimberley (see above) was established in January 1915, the Bishop himself as its first warden.
A fitting memorial to Bishop Wilfrid Gore Browne was the establishment of the Gore Browne (Native) Training School, several years in the making, and opened officially on 29 October 1938. "Gore Browne", as it was known, was disestablished in 1954 and closed as a result of Bantu Education
and Group Areas
legislation under Apartheid.
in Kimberley, and was show-cased in a patronal festival exhibition at the cathedral
under Dean Thomas Stanage
in 1976 and in an exhibition opened by Dean Brian Beck
of St Cyprian's
at the William Humphreys Art Gallery
in 2003.
Bishop of Kimberley and Kuruman
The Bishop of Kimberley and Kuruman is the Bishop of the Diocese of Kimberley and Kuruman in the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, which encompasses the area around Kimberley and Kuruman and overlaps the Northern Cape Province and North West Province of South Africa. The current bishop is the Rt...
from 1912 to 1928. He was described as a saintly bishop with "a keen sense of humour" and "a winning courtesy."
Early life and education
Gore Browne was born in India on 6 May 1859, the youngest of the family of Col Sir Thomas Gore BrowneThomas Gore Browne
Colonel Sir Thomas Robert Gore Browne KCMG CB was a British colonial administrator, who was Governor of St Helena, Governor of New Zealand, Governor of Tasmania and Governor of Bermuda.-Early life:...
KCMG, spending his early years in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
where his father was Governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
. He was educated, with his brother Frank Gore Browne, K.C., at Harrow School
Harrow School
Harrow School, commonly known simply as "Harrow", is an English independent school for boys situated in the town of Harrow, in north-west London.. The school is of worldwide renown. There is some evidence that there has been a school on the site since 1243 but the Harrow School we know today was...
(from 1873) and at Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
where he took his degree in 1881. Before his ordination Gore Browne enlisted with the 11th Hussars for six months "with the object of getting experience which would help him in his work among men."
Ordination to Priesthood and work in Darlington and Pretoria
Ordained deaconDeacon
Deacon is a ministry in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...
in the Diocese of Durham
Diocese of Durham
The Diocese of Durham is a Church of England diocese, based in Durham, and covering the historic County Durham . It was created in AD 1000 to replace the Diocese of Lindisfarne...
in 1882, priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
in 1883, his first post was as Curate
Curate
A curate is a person who is invested with the care or cure of souls of a parish. In this sense "curate" correctly means a parish priest but in English-speaking countries a curate is an assistant to the parish priest...
at Pallion
Pallion
Pallion is a suburb, civil parish and electoral ward of the City of Sunderland, in Tyne and Wear, England. Most of the buildings in the area were built during the Victorian Era and consist of large terraced houses built for wealthy shipbuilders, but also smaller one storey cottages in other areas...
, 1882-3. He served subsequently at St Hilda, South Shields
South Shields
South Shields is a coastal town in Tyne and Wear, England, located at the mouth of the River Tyne to Tyne Dock, and about downstream from Newcastle upon Tyne...
, 1883-7; St John the Evangelist, Darlington
Darlington
Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, part of the ceremonial county of County Durham, England. It lies on the small River Skerne, a tributary of the River Tees, not far from the main river. It is the main population centre in the borough, with a population of 97,838 as of 2001...
, 1887-9; and as Perpetual Curate/Priest in charge of St Hilda's, Darlington, 1889–1902; before a posting to South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
which he took on account of serious lung trouble.
A correspondent describing his pioneer work at St Hilda's mission in a slum district of Darlington wrote of "a sheer spiritual romance, full of interest, delight and humour. The vicar's enthusiastic joy in the life of the Church was amazingly infectious. On one Easter Day, coming down to the chancel steps to preach at the Eucharist, he gave out his text, 'The Lord is risen indeed!' and after a moment's silence, said, with a smile that was all but a laugh, 'It's no use, dear people; I can't say anything more,' and returned to the altar."
"Endless instances might be given," the corrrespondent added, "of his sympathy with suffering and his efforts to restore those who were down and out. The writer remembers finding a dying child in a filthy bed in a slum, playing with the gold watch and chain which he had left for its amusement. Guests at the clergy house were liable at any time to sit down to high tea between an earl and a thief fresh from prison."
Gore Browne was described at this time as "a thorough Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
and a true Evangelical." His church of St Hilda's was, apart from the mother parish of St John's, the only church in Darlington then where Catholic ceremonial was in use and all sacramental privileges provided. "There was never any local opposition; but emissaries from Protestant societies occasionally came to point out the connexion between vestments and the Vatican
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
. A Kensit lecturer on one occasion was rash enough to invite anyone in the audience to speak in answer to his statements. The invitation was promptly accepted by a hulking mechanic from the N.E. Railway shops. Climbing onto the platform he surveyed the lecturer for a moment in dead silence. Then, turning to the audience with a grin on his grimy face, he said very deliberately: 'The jintleman ... is ... not ... fit ... to ... black ... Gore Browne's ... boots!' ending the meeting - and the Protestant campaign - in tumultuous applause."
In South Africa, as Rector
Rector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...
of Pretoria, 1902–1909, then Dean
Dean (religion)
A dean, in a church context, is a cleric holding certain positions of authority within a religious hierarchy. The title is used mainly in the Anglican Communion and the Roman Catholic Church.-Anglican Communion:...
of Pretoria
Anglican Diocese of Pretoria
-History:The diocese originally covered the whole of the South African Republic, which later became the Transvaal province of South Africa. In 1922 the Diocese of Johannesburg, covering the Southern Transvaal, was formed. In the 1980s and 1990s several new dioceses were formed.The northernmost part...
he was instrumental, as he had been in England, in setting up fledgling churches.
Bishop of Kimberley and Kuruman
Promotion to the Episcopate came in 1912 following his election as the first Bishop of Kimberley and Kuruman, a vast, newly established diocese, 305000 square miles (789,946.4 km²) in extent, carved out of the existing Diocese of BloemfonteinAnglican Diocese of the Free State
The Anglican Diocese of the Free State is a diocese in the Anglican Church of Southern Africa.-History:The first service North of the Orange River to be taken by an Anglican clergyman was conducted in 1850 by Robert Gray, the first Bishop of Cape Town. In 1863, Edward Twells was consecrated the...
, with a portion from the Diocese of Cape Town
Anglican Diocese of Cape Town
The Anglican Diocese of Cape Town, South Africa, came into being in 1847 with the consecration of the first bishop, Robert Gray, and later expanded to become the Church of the Province of Southern Africa, now called the Anglican Church of Southern Africa....
, and half of Bechuanaland Protectorate which had until then been administered as part of the Diocese of Mashonaland
Anglican Diocese of Mashonaland
The Anglican Diocese of Mashonaland was formed in 1891 and its first Bishop was The Rt Rev George Wyndham Hamilton Knight-Bruce. He was succeeded by the Rt Revd William Thomas Gaul , formerly Rector of St Cyprian's Church in Kimberley...
(Southern Rhodesia). He was Consecrated at Bloemfontein Cathedral on 29 June 1912. "The brilliant copes and mitres of the consecrating bishops, the banners, crosses, pastoral staffs, the music of trumpet and organ, gave a glorious feeling of preparation for warfare. It was the Church Militant in South Africa gathered around a new commander, to invest him with its authority, to equip him for his command." He was enthroned at St Cyprian's Cathedral
St 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...
in a similarly impressive service the following day, 30 June 1912. Soon the work organising the new diocese was presenting immense difficulties. His Dean, T.C. Robson
Thomas Claude Robson
The Very Revd Thomas Claude Robson was the first Anglican Dean of Kimberley, and Rector of St Cyprian's Cathedral, Kimberley, South Africa.-Background and propects at St Cyprian’s in 1905:...
was away ill, leaving the cathedral in his hands. "Native work" needed to be developed but there were no funds. With the outbreak of war in 1914 the Kimberley mines were shut down, causing huge loss of jobs; further afield in the diocese "droughts seemed almost continuous" and "poverty irremediable."
Gore Browne raised funds for the Diocese on return visits to England. He was also able to recruit new clergy who numbered only 22 in 1912. In 1916 there were ten "native" clergy and more than this number by the end of the 1920s. "To train natives for the ministry seemed to the bishop ... to be the most necessary work of the diocese." Gore Browne also opened new parishes and districts and saw to the building new churches such as at Batlharos.
During sixteen years in Kimberley and Kuruman Bishop Gore Browne is recorded as having visited and ministered in every part of his far-flung diocese (which has since shrunk, no longer including the enormous area which is now the southern half of Botswana
Botswana
Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana , is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. The citizens are referred to as "Batswana" . Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966...
). "He spared himself nothing on his long treks," the Church Times
Church Times
The Church Times is an independent Anglican weekly newspaper. It is published in the United Kingdom on Fridays.The Church Times was founded in 1863 to campaign for Anglo-Catholic principles and has always been independent of the Church of England hierarchy. It was a family concern The Church Times...
obituary notes, "often having to walk for hours through deep sand when his motor stuck." There were parts that could be reached only by ox wagon. Gore Browne is well known for the special ministry he developed to the migrant workers and convicts on the mines in Kimberley, amongst whom he was "trusted and greatly loved and respected".
Bishop Wilfrid Gore Browne died unexpectedly following emergency surgery at Kimberley Hospital on 15 March 1928.
Miss Gore Browne
Gore Browne was assisted in many ways by his sister, Miss Gore Browne, who lived with him at Darlington, Pretoria and Kimberley. She died in Kimberley in May 1926. According to one source, Miss Gore Browne was instrumental in the establishment of Bishop's Hostel for Anglican boys attending schools in Kimberley.Concerns with education and teacher training
The 1913 SynodSynod
A synod historically is a council of a church, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. In modern usage, the word often refers to the governing body of a particular church, whether its members are meeting or not...
resolved to transfer the Perseverance School
Perseverance School
The Perseverance School, Kimberley, was founded as such in 1883 but might be seen as having arisen from the St Cyprian's Mission School dating back to the early 1870s...
from St Cyprian's
St 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...
to the diocese. In order to present more than mere schooling the diocese had the government Education Department officially recognise Perseverance, in 1917, as a teacher training centre. In the following year 430 children and 92 student teachers were enrolled.
Perseverance had originated as one of a number of educational initiatives of the 1870s at St Cyprian's Parish on the Diamond Fields. A St Cyprian's Grammar School
St Cyprian's Grammar School, Kimberley
St. Cyprian's Grammar School in Kimberley, South Africa, is a co-educational English-medium independent school for Grades 1-12, attached to St Cyprian's Cathedral...
(recently re-established) and St Michael's School for girls had not been able to compete with government schools once they were brought into existence, and it was against this background that the Bishop's Hostel for Anglican boys attending other schools in Kimberley (see above) was established in January 1915, the Bishop himself as its first warden.
A fitting memorial to Bishop Wilfrid Gore Browne was the establishment of the Gore Browne (Native) Training School, several years in the making, and opened officially on 29 October 1938. "Gore Browne", as it was known, was disestablished in 1954 and closed as a result of Bantu Education
Bantu Education Act
Bantu Education Act of 1953 was a South African law which codified several aspects of the apartheid system. Its major provision was enforced separation of races in all educational institutions. Even universities were made 'tribal', and all but three Missionary schools chose to close down when the...
and Group Areas
Group Areas Act
The Group Areas Act of 1950 was an act of parliament created under the apartheid government of South Africa on 27th April 1950. The act assigned racial groups to different residential and business sections in urban areas in a system of urban apartheid...
legislation under Apartheid.
Gore Browne's watercolours
Bishop Wilfrid Gore Browne was an accomplished watercolourist who left a sizable collection of painted studies (and sketches) of Africans with whom he met or engaged in the Kimberley mine compounds and during his travels around his vast diocese. Hailed as being of importance as ethnographic record by A.J.H. Goodwin, they depart from stereotype and, unusually for the era, sensitively depict real individual and often named personalities from the margins of South African society. The collection is preserved at the McGregor MuseumMcGregor Museum
The McGregor Museum in Kimberley, South Africa, originally known as the Alexander McGregor Memorial Museum, is a province-aided museum established in 1907.- Overview :...
in Kimberley, and was show-cased in a patronal festival exhibition at the cathedral
St 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...
under Dean Thomas Stanage
Thomas Stanage
Thomas Shaun Stanage was Bishop of Bloemfontein in the Anglican Church of Southern Africa from 1982 to 1997.-Biography:Stanage was born in Ireland in 1932 and was educated at Pembroke College, Oxford and Cuddesdon College .He was ordained deacon in 1958, priest in 1959 and bishop in 1978 and went...
in 1976 and in an exhibition opened by Dean Brian Beck
Brian Victor Beck
The Revd Canon Brian Victor Beck, an Anglican priest in South Africa, served as Dean of Kimberley from 2003 to 2010. He is an Honorary Canon of St Cyprian's Cathedral.-Education and appointments:...
of St Cyprian's
St 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...
at 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 2003.