William Dalrymple Maclagan
Encyclopedia
Archbishop of York
The Archbishop of York is a high-ranking cleric in the Church of England, second only to the Archbishop of Canterbury. He is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and metropolitan of the Province of York, which covers the northern portion of England as well as the Isle of Man...
from 1891 to 1908, when he resigned his office, and was succeeded in 1909 by Cosmo Gordon Lang, later Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
. As Archbishop of York, Maclagan crowned Queen Alexandra in 1902.
Maclagan, the fifth son of a distinguished Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
physician David Maclagan (1785–1865) was born in Edinburgh in 1826, and educated at the Royal High School
Royal High School (Edinburgh)
The Royal High School of Edinburgh is a co-educational state school administered by the City of Edinburgh Council. The school was founded in 1128 and is one of the oldest schools in Scotland, and has, throughout its history, been high achieving, consistently attaining well above average exam results...
. His elder brother was the surgeon and scholar Douglas Maclagan
Douglas Maclagan
Sir Andrew Douglas Maclagan PRSE FRCPE FRCSE FCS FRSSA was a Scottish surgeon, toxicologist and scholar of medical jurisprudence....
. He served five years in the Indian Army rising to the rank of lieutenant and resigning on grounds of ill health.
In 1852, he enrolled at Peterhouse, Cambridge
Peterhouse, Cambridge
Peterhouse is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. It is the oldest college of the University, having been founded in 1284 by Hugo de Balsham, Bishop of Ely...
, where he received a degree in mathematics four years later. He was immediately ordained a Deacon, and served in the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
thereafter. In 1869, he was Rector at Newington, and in 1875, he was Vicar of St. Mary's Abbots, Kensington; both parishes being in London. During this period, he composed several hymns. On 24 June 1878, he became Bishop of Lichfield, in the same year that he made a prestigious second marriage.
Archbishop of York (1891–1908)
In 1891 (possibly 28 July 1891), he was translated Archbishop of York, which position he held for the next seventeen years. He was appointed to the Privy CouncilPrivy council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the monarch's closest advisors to give confidential advice on...
after the accession of King Edward VII 24 January 1901. He made a private visit to Russia in 1897. and in the same year, he tried to create two new bishoprics, one in Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
. To do this, the Archbishop was prepared to surrender two thousand pounds of his considerable income – one thousand pounds for each new diocese, but the project still came to naught. Maclagan complained that from 1891, he had been more Bishop than Archbishop owing to the large population and territory of the archdiocese. In 1906, he revived the idea, specifically naming Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
and Hull
Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of...
as the preferred seats for the new dioceses. By the end of his tenure, there were still only nine Bishoprics in the archdiocese. Sheffield did not get its own Bishop until 1914.
Maclagan was apparently a strong High Churchman, but his private beliefs had to be subsumed often. In 1899, he sat assessor with his ecclesiastical superior Dr. Frederick Temple
Frederick Temple
Frederick Temple was an English academic, teacher, churchman and Archbishop of Canterbury from 1896 until his death.-Early life:...
, Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
(d. 1902), when the decision was given against the use of incense and other ritualistic practices, and was obliged loyally to uphold the primate's opinion.
Maclagan resigned his office in 1908, possibly on grounds of ill health. Archbishop Maclagan died in London on 19 September 1910, and was survived by his second wife Augusta (1826–1915).
Family
Maclagan was twice married. His first wife was Sarah Kate Clapham (1836–1864), whom he married in 1860 at the age of 34. By her he had issue two sons, Cyril and Walter.He was married secondly on 12 November 1878, as Bishop of Lichfield, to the Honourable Augusta Anne Barrington (1836–1915), a daughter of the daughter of the 6th Viscount Barrington
Viscount Barrington
Viscount Barrington, of Ardglass in the County of Down, was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1720 for the lawyer, theologian and politician John Barrington. He was made Baron Barrington, of Newcastle in the County of Limerick, also in the Peerage of Ireland, at the same time...
.
(Augusta Maclagan had money settled upon her when she married Maclagan, then Bishop of Lichfield, in 1878; for the sources of this money and how it was invested, see this paper. About half her money was settled upon her son Eric when he married in 1913. Thus, the Archbishop's wife, son and daughter-in-law all had independent means, necessary to preserve their social status.). By his second wife, he had issue Eric (1879–1951), and a daughter Theodora "Dora" Maclagan (1881–1976).
His eldest son Cyril died childless. The second son Walter Dalrymple Maclagan (1862–1929) had a son William Dalyrmple Maclagan, schoolmaster, and a daughter Dr Evelyn Maclagan, both of whom apparently died unmarried. His third and youngest son Sir Eric Robert Dalrymple MACLAGAN CBE, FSA (1879–1951) married in 1913 and left issue, two sons Michael Maclagan
Michael Maclagan
Michael Maclagan, CVO, FSA, FRHistS was a British historian, antiquary and herald. He was Fellow and Tutor in Modern History at Trinity College, Oxford for more than forty years, and a long-serving officer of arms.-Career:Maclagan was educated at Winchester College and Christ Church, Oxford...
(14 April 1914 London – 13 August 2003 Oxford), herald and historian; and Gerald Maclagan (d. 1942, killed in action) who had been working in Rhodesian Railways. His posterity is represented by the three surviving children of Michael Maclagan
Michael Maclagan
Michael Maclagan, CVO, FSA, FRHistS was a British historian, antiquary and herald. He was Fellow and Tutor in Modern History at Trinity College, Oxford for more than forty years, and a long-serving officer of arms.-Career:Maclagan was educated at Winchester College and Christ Church, Oxford...
(d. 2003).
Maclagan was the younger brother of Professor Sir Douglas Maclagan, MD, otherwise known as Andrew Douglas Maclagan (1812–1900) and Sir Douglas, also educated at the Royal High School in Edinburgh, was a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh
Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh
The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh is an organisation dedicated to the pursuit of excellence and advancement in surgical practice, through its interest in education, training and examinations, its liaison with external medical bodies and representation of the modern surgical workforce...
, 1833 and was knighted in 1886. He was a correspondent of Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
. Another brother was General Robert Maclagan, R.E. (1820–1893). The artist Philip Douglas Maclagan (1901–1972) is descended from an older brother.
Royal connections
He baptised Princess Mary of YorkMary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood
The Princess Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood was a member of the British Royal Family; she was the third child and only daughter of King George V and Queen Mary. She was the sixth holder of the title of Princess Royal...
later Countess of Harewood, on 7 June 1897 at St Mary Magdalene's Church near Sandringham House
Sandringham House
Sandringham House is a country house on of land near the village of Sandringham in Norfolk, England. The house is privately owned by the British Royal Family and is located on the royal Sandringham Estate, which lies within the Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.-History and current...
. She was the only daughter of King George V
George V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
. Curiously, her husband, the 7th Earl of Harewood
Earl of Harewood
Earl of Harewood, in the County of York, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1812 for Edward Lascelles, 1st Baron Harewood, a wealthy sugar plantation owner and former Member of Parliament for Northallerton...
would be a cousin of his future daughter-in-law Helen Lascelles. Archbishop Maclagan was possibly chosen to christen the new royal princess because her parents were then Duke and Duchess of York.
In 1902 he crowned
Coronation of the British monarch
The coronation of the British monarch is a ceremony in which the monarch of the United Kingdom is formally crowned and invested with regalia...
Alexandra of Denmark
Alexandra of Denmark
Alexandra of Denmark was the wife of Edward VII of the United Kingdom...
, wife of King Edward VII
Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
, as Queen of the United Kingdom.
Hymns Composed by Dr. Maclagan include
- The Saints of God! their conflict past, 1869 first appeared in Church Bells (lyrics, or here
- It is finished! blessed Jesus (music and lyrics here)
- Palms of glory, raiment bright, date not known.
Works Authored
- Frederick Temple and William Dalrymple Maclagan. "Answer of the Archbishops of Canterbury and York to the Bull Apostolicae Curae of H. H. Leo XIII" (on English Ordinations), dated circa 1897.
- William Dalrymple Maclagan. Hymns and Hymn Tunes by the late Archbishop MacLagan, printed for use in York Minster, etc. by William Dalrymple Maclagan (1915)
- William Dalrymple Maclagan Archbishop of York on reservation of Sacrament (1900).
Images
Maclagan's portrait can be seen here , and here.
- A younger man as Lord Bishop of Lichfield, between 1878 and 1891.
- Images at the National Portrait Gallery
Further reading
How, Frederick Douglas. Archbishop Maclagan: Being a Memoir of the Most Reverend the RightHonourable William Dalrymple Maclagan, D.D.,Archbishop of York and Primate of England London: W. Gardner and Darton, 1911.
Notes and Queries 1930 CLIX: 47, inputs by his son Eric Maclagan, H.M. Cashmore, and C. Roy Huddleston