from The Tablet, Page 26, 22nd November 1902

The death of Canon Pyke, of the English Martyrs, Preston, is a heavy loss to the diocese of Liverpool in general, and to the Catholics of Preston in particular. Generally in the enjoyment of good health, serious symptoms some time ago declared themselves which about six weeks ago were diagnosed as calculus. An operation was judged necessary, with the result that the Canon came to London for the operation, which took place in a private hospital in Beaumont-street on the Wednesday. After the operation extreme nausea followed, and this unfortunately led to a complication in the intestines which involved a second operation. The result was that prostration swiftly followed and death ensued on Sunday morning, the 9th inst. Mr. Edward Pyke. J.P., the Canon’s brother, came up to town in response to a telegram, and remained to the end. When Father Clarke announced the news at the second Mass on Sunday at Preston, the congregation was grief stricken, and the scene was very painful. From this moment to the hour of the obsequies prayers were continually offered up for the repose of the soul of their beloved pastor. Reference to the Canon’s death was made at several of the churches, and people were much affected. One of the many proofs of the estimation in which the Canon was cherished was that at St. Thomas’s Church the Rev. W. T. Lake, Vicar, referred to the sad news and bore testimony to the high character of Canon Pyke, to his unvarying courtesy, his Christian candour, and his unfailing loyal respect for the convictions of others.

He was the son of Joseph Pyke, J.P., of Preston and Liverpool, and was born on June 13, 1842, at Liverpool. He was educated at St. Edward’s College, Liverpool, and at Ushaw. Before he was ordained priest his health broke down, and he went to reside in Rome for two years. Then he returned to Preston, and was ordained at the Church of the English Martyrs by the late Bishop Goss in 1868. He then became assistant priest of that church. Nils name was a popular one in Preston he had the advantage of the direction of that vigorous rector, Canon Taylor, and when the Canon went to Lytham, took up the work he left with that liberal spirit of enterptise, which was sustained with willing mind and open heart by his people, and generously helped by himself. It was in 1886 that Father Pyke was appointed to the old deanery of St Augustine’s, which embraces all the missions of the town and neighbourhood, and in 1896 he was made a Canon of the ‘Diocesan Chapter. Shortly after deatn the body was removed from the hospital to a private chapel, where it was watched by Sisters from Nazareth House. The coffin was of polished oak, and designed by Mr. Pugin. The inner shell was of lead.and oak ; the coffin was heavily mounted in brass, and contained the following inscription : “Rev. Adm. Dom. Jos. A. Can. Pyke, Die 13 Judi anno 1842 natus. Ordinatus ad Presbyt. Die 20 Sept., 1868. Sacramentis munitus obdormivit in Domino Die Nov. 9, anno 1902, Et in Ciminet apud Preston sepultus est die Nov. 13, anno 1902. R. I. P.”

On the Tuesday the remains were removed to Preston, accompanied by Mr. Ed. Pyke, J.P. (brother), the Rev. Father Pyke (Liverpool), Mr. Cuthbert Pyke, Mr. Jos. Pyke (nephews), the Rev. Father Cos grave (Rector of St. Augustine’s, Preston), and the Rev. Father Myers. cough (Rector of St. Joseph’s, Preston), and others. On the Preston platform a body of clergy from Preston and various parts of the Liverpool diocese and members of the English Martyrs’ and other congregations were assembled. A procession was formed, headed by the English Martyrs’ Men’s Guild. They were followed by the clergy. Then came the hearse, and carriages containing the relations, after which followed a large body of the male members of the congregation of the deceased Canon, headed by Councillors Myerscough and Hubberstey, and the Brothers of St. Vincent de Paul, headed by Mr. James Seed (president), and M. J. Crombleholme (secretary). At the church porch the Right Rev. Mgr. Carr, V.G., along with Fathers Clark and Wareing received the remains, which were conveyed to the foot of the altar.

The obsequies took place on Thursday the 13th inst. Pontifical High Mass of Requiem was sung by the Bishop of Liverpool in presence of the full Chapter of his Canons, a large gathering of clergy and a crowded congregation. The deacons at the throne were the Very Revv. Canons Beggan and Snow ; the presbyter assistens was Provost Hines ; the deacon at the Mass was the Very Rev. Canon Banks, and the subdeacon was the Very Rev. Canon Walmsley. Among those present in the sanduary were the Bishop of Phocaea, the Right Rev. Mgr. Gadd, the Very Rev. Canon Taylor, and the Rev. J Broadhead, of Ushaw College. The relatives present were Mr. Edward Pyke, brother ; Mr. Joseph Pyke, the Rev. E. Pyke, Mr. T. Walmsley, Mr. F. Walmsley, and Mr. W. Walmsley, nephews ; Mrs. Redmond Barry, Miss Edith Walmsley and the Misses Pyke, nieces ; Mr. Edward Pyke, cousin ; Mr. and Mrs. Cuthbert Pyke, Mr. and Mrs. Walmsley, Mr. MacDermott, Mr. James Charnock, and Mr. J. Hothersall. At the request of the.Bishop a sermon was preached by the Right Rev. Mgr. Canon Carr, V.G., who spoke from the words : ” The Holy Spirit of Wisdom conducted the just one through the right way and showed him the Kingdom of God, and gave him the knowledge of holy things. He made him honourable in his labours and He completed his labours.” In the course of his address Mgr. Carr said : He had known their pastor since his boyhood. He had known him as a child of blessed parents, who preserved the best and the noblest traditions of the Catholic spirit. He had a holy father and mother who decided that one son should be consecrated to God’s service and that two should remain in the world. Each had done his duty, and had not forgotten that home training. The one who entered the priesthood and whose remains lay before that altar was sent to one of the greatest colleges of the North into the atmosphere which had made saints and bishops, priests and martyrs. There he learned to love still more the glory of the Church of God. He learned to love holiness, and became filled with zeal for the salvation of souls, and for the Spotless Bride of Christ. He went to work with full devotion for the spread of His kingdom. He was distinguished by untiring earnestness and by carefulness in every duty of the priestly service. For 34 years he had been with them, and he had effected in that time vast improvements to add to the beauty of that church, and to make aboundingly manifest the love for God’s House which filled his people. Oh, his was a royal soul. He could not do things meanly or cheaply. Whatever the trouble or cost, he would have things done well and worthily. He lived in the world, but was not of it. He felt that it was the duty of a priest to go forward before the public, equal to any of them, helping where he could, and living in peace and charity, and friendship. Still, though he went out to help public associations and movements so much, who ever said that he was worldly Was he not ever the lowly priest of God, manifesting the spirit of goodness and truth,and virtue in all the relations of life ? When the epidemic of smallpox raged in Preston he would not allow his assistant priests to go to the hospitals to see the sick or dying, but took upon himself the duty fearlessly with a full desire to help those who were stricken. Should he not find mercy ? Surely ! He was always a lover of peace and concord. Their departed pastor was a patriotic and loyal citizen in the most eminent degree. He was guided by the Spirit of God, and he never limited his kindness to creeds or classes. He was not only a gentle and generous, but an industrious priest, administering his parish affairs with exactness, and comprehending the spiritual needs of his people, freely giving his services by day and night to attend the bedside of the sick and dying, rich and poor. He had passed away full of grace and honour. He asked the congregation to pray for their late pastor and never to forget that duty. The Absolutions were then given by the Bishop, after which the procession to the cemetery was formed. The cortege was a long one ; which included 200 representatives of the Catholic Guilds on foot and over 70 carriages. The last prayers at the graveside were said by the Bishop, R.I.P.

At the fortnightly meeting of the Preston Board of Guardians the Chairman (Mr. R. Woodhouse) referred to the death of Canon Pyke, who, he said, was chaplain to the Catholic inmates of the workhouse. Canon Pyke, he believed he was right in saying, held a most important position an Preston in the Roman Catholic Church. He was the head, he understood, in the town ; and he believed he was right in saying that the whole of Preston deeply regretted his demise.

Mr. Ormrod moved a vote of condolence with the relatives of the deceased. Canon Pyke, he said, was a gentleman who had done a most useful work. He sprang from a family who were highly honoured not only in Preston, but all over Lancashire. (Hear, hear.) Mr. Mason, who seconded the motion, said that in 1888 Canon Pyke laboured nobly during the outbreak of smallpox in Preston, and be had heard that he suffered in consequence of his exertions on that occasion. Mr. Alsup said a nobler man than Canon Pyke he never knew. He always acted as a gentleman towards all classes, and people of all religious beliefs loved him. His death was a serious loss to that neighbourhood. He should like to see more Christian clergymen work as Canon Pyke had done for their people.

The motion was carried, the Guardians standing.

To the younger readers of the Ampleforth Journal Abbot Burge is probably little more than a name, and it is also possible that some among the older ones do not fully realise the very important place he holds in the history of his Alma Mater. But before describing his work a few preliminary dates may be given.

He was born in London in 1846, and after a short period at Dr Crookall’s School at Woolhampton, he came to Ampleforth in 1860. The church was finished and the ‘New’ College was nearing completion. In 1865 he entered the Novitiate at Belmont; returned to Ampleforth 1867 and made his Solemn Profession in 1869 under Prior Bede Prest, and was ordained priest in 1874. In the same year he became Prefect of Studies.

At this time changes were in the air in regard to secondary and higher schools; public examinations were being taken up, and the new Prefect at once determined to follow in this matter the lead of other Catholic colleges. In 1875 he introduced the Oxford Local Examination, and that of the London Matriculation in the next year. Fr Anselm was gifted with unbounded energy, and has been well called ‘a man of vision,’ and he realised the immense possibilities for a school possessed of a sound tradition seventy years old. At this juncture Providence sent him as chaplain to the Rev Lord Petre’s School at Woburn Park, Weybridge, where he gained much experience in the matter of bringing Catholic schools into line with the rapid development then in progress in the great Protestant public schools. After four years in this post he became Secretary to Bishop Hedley, and again his educational outlook was widened by intimate contact with one who a few years later was to play so prominent a part in the negotiation for the admission of Catholics to the Universities. On November 10th, 1885, he was elected Prior of Ampleforth and he filled this office for twelve years.

His Priorship forms a connecting link between the twentv-five years which began with the opening of the New College by Prior Cooper in 1861, and the twenty-five years, or thereabouts, of Abbot Smith’s rule, during which the school has developed into what may be called ‘modern’ Ampleforth, and has taken its rank among Catholic public schools. Naturally it was a period of transition from methods obtaining in Catholic colleges up to about 1870, and those adopted at the beginning of the present century. Prior Burge sowed seed and lived to see its fruit.

His new duties as Prior in no way lessened his zeal in matters scholastic; he engaged a special master for the little boys; arrange for a course of lectures on memory from the noted Professor Loisette; and presently adopted the Examination for the Oxford and Cambridge Higher Certificate. Games, by no means the least important part of a good educational system, were made compulsory; Association Football was introduced and played by the whole school; Cricket, under professional training, was brought to a higher level, and more outside matches were played. Athletic sports became an annual institution, and later, swimming competitions began.

The Prior had seen at Woburn the value of a certain amount of self-government among boys, so he set up a School Parliament; debates were held and these were often listened to with keen interest by quite small boys. A Literary Society was formed; lectures on science, music, and art were given, some by the Prior himself, and they took place out of school hours and attendance was always voluntary. Lesser matters which may be called ‘social’ amenities were not neglected; Eton dress was required in the lower school; refectory arrangements were improved, and more contact with the outer world was gained by going to concerts given at times in the neighbourhood, and by visits on play-days to places of historical and archaeological interest. In 1890 the school numbers had risen to 120, and a Diary was begun. At first a mere record of school events written by the boys themselves it very soon took on a more literary and artistic character. This developed into the Journal, the first number of which appeared in July, 1895.

The development of the monastic property did not escape the Prior’s solicitude, and in March, 1887, Mr Perry, an expert in agricultural matters, was placed in charge of the farm with results well known throughout the country. We may here mention that in 1894, when a Parish Council was established, the Prior was its first chairman.

All this time the community was still crowded in the old house and in 1891 preliminary steps were taken, material and financial, to provide for the building of a new monastery. This entailed much work for the Prior, and in 1894 he had the satisfaction of seeing the first stone laid.

We must now look back to the year 1890 in which Pope Leo XIII, by the Bull, Religiosus Ordo, decreed the union of the Missions with the Monasteries. He required that a Commission should be set up to deal with the division of the Missions and their resources, and to prepare the way for revising the Constitutions. The assignment of the Missions took place in 1891, and this change entailed the visitation by each Prior of those subject to his own Monastery. In all the deliberations connected with these important matters, Prior Burge took an active part. Meanwhile developments which were taking place in several of the Missions made further calls on his time and co-operation. St Anne’s Priory was completed in 1893; St Alban’s Church in Warrington, and those of Dowlais and Brownedge were considerably enlarged, and, in 1894 a new church was opened in Merthyr Tydfil.

The Prior took his part in public, social, and religious functions. In 1892, with the Community and School Choir he joined in the first Ransom Pilgrimage to York and in the following year he went to Rome to attend the first meeting of Abbots at St Anselmo and the laying of the foundation stone of the international Benedictine College. He was a member of a committee formed in January, 1896, to arrange for a Conference of Catholic Head Masters, and at the first meeting of that body in May, he read a paper. This led to his being asked later to assist in the preparation of Scripture Manuals for the use of students in examination.

In 1897 came the crowning event of Prior Burge’s educational work. Permission had been given by the Holy See for Catholics to enter the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge under certain safeguards, and he determined at once to avail himself of its advantages. In July two in the Upper School gained Honours in the Senior Oxford Local Examination – a success which excused them from Responsions. In October a residence was opened in the Woodstock Road, Oxford, and thither went two members of the community and the two students who now became postulants. Shortly after it was regularized by the authorities as a Private Hall, to be succeeded later by a larger Hall in Beaumont Street and now by St Benet’s Hall in St Giles’.

Fr Prior’s health which had been failing under pressure of work, became worse in the autumn and a visit to France brought little improvement. At the end of the year he resigned, and was succeeded in January, 1898, by Fr Oswald Smith. He went for a year to the quiet Mission of Petersfield in Hampshire and then to Aigburth near Liverpool, where he spent the rest of his life. Before passing on to this period something must be said of his life-long interest in music, and the part it played in his work at Ampleforth.

He was withdrawn from Belmont to his Alma Mater in 1867, two years before the completion of his course, to take up the duties of organist and choir-master, and to these he devoted himself for the next ten years. At the Exhibition of 1869, Professor Von Tugginer, at that time music-master, put upon the stage an operetta, ‘The Miller of Sans Souci,’ and at that of 1870 what was more ambitiously called an opera, ‘King Robert of Sicily.’ After Tugginer’s departure Fr Anselm kept up the tradition, and produced in successive years, with the co-operation of Fr Placid McAuliffe as librettist, ‘Robin Hood,’ ‘The Silver Cross,’ or ‘The Conversion of King Lucius,’ ‘Saul and David,’ ‘Ina of Croyland,’ and ‘The Masque of King Time.’ No one would claim that they were works of great merit, but at the time they gave an interest and an impetus to music and singing, and upon Amplefordians of that generation they left an impression quite their own. Their haunting melodies, their picturesque setting, and the high quality of the singing of successive first trebles, combined to make them a marked attraction at the Exhibitions of those years.

In the period between his leaving Ampleforth in 1877 and his return in 1885, Fr Burge’s tastes took a more classical turn, and in the opening year of his Priorship he initiated and took part in evenings of chamber music, gave expositions of the sonatas and symphonies of classic masters to the boys and such of the community as were interested, and encouraged the attendance of both at a series of oratorios given at Hovingham Hall, where the principals and leading voices of the chorus were drawn from the Minster and other choirs of York and Leeds. He also enlivened the recreation hour of the community from time to time, not only by playing for us the masterpieces of Beethoven, Mozart, Mendelssohn, and other composers, but by his singing of favourite airs. No one then in the community will forget the delicacy and pathos with which he rendered many of Park’s songs, or the passion he put into Schubert’s ‘Erl King.’ The facility with which he accompanied himself and the effect with which he used a voice, not of rich tone, but of unusual compass and flexibility, gave a charm to his singing which lasted to his latest years. As his cares and outside duties multiplied he was unable to take so active a part as he did at first in directing things, but by placing the musical interests of the College in the capable hands of Fr Clement Standish and Mr Oberhoffer he secured not only the maintenance of his high ideals, but an advance upon them. This was seen particularly in the development of a very efficient orchestra, and in the concerts, vocal and instrumental, which were given at the College and in the surrounding district.

In 1897, the last year of his Priorship, the attention of Fr Burge, already a lover of the liturgy and of the Gregorian Chant, was called to the studies and conclusions of the Solesmes School associated with the name of Dom Pothier. The nuns of Stanbrook Abbey were the first to bring these before the English Catholic public in a work entitled ‘Gregorian Music: An Outline of Musical Palaeography.’ In an article in the Ampleforth Journal in December, 1897, Prior Burge wrote with warm appreciation of Dom Pothier and his work. He had already begun to apply himself to the practical rendering of the Graduale according to Solesmes principles, though he had only the Mechlin edition of the chant to work upon. However, by discarding the time values traditionally given to the three classes of notes, by disregarding the division of bars, and by grouping the notes of a phrase in a rhythmical succession of twos and three, with duration and emphasis much as indicated in Dom Pothier’s rules, he succeeded in putting a new life and melody into the stereotyped Mechlin chant. Whatever the defects of his somewhat free-lance method, it may be claimed that he did not a little to prepare the way for a whole-hearted acceptance of the Solesmes principles and methods which followed under his successor, when the authentic edition of the chant was introduced, and acknowledged masters of the School were called in to teach it. Later, when he was settled in Liverpool and was able to avail himself of the approved text, he did valuable work at the request, first of Archbishop Whiteside and afterwards of Archbishop Keating, in teaching the students of the Seminary at Upholland and of the Training College at Mount Pleasant.

On resigning his Priorship Fr Burge, as has been said, took charge of the country Mission of Petersfield in Hampshire. The change in great measure restored his health and after a year he was able, early in 1899, to take up a more active life at Aigburth on the outskirts of Liverpool. During the thirty years of his incumbency he was seldom away from his post. Though always ready to entertain his brethren and to minister to their recreation he took little himself. Intellectual and scientific subjects maintained the attraction they had for him in earlier years and occupied his leisure hours. His gifts to the meteorological department and the science rooms of the College are a monument to his zeal in this respect. Spiritualism and psychoanalysis amongst others were topics upon which he spoke and wrote.

Perhaps the most remarkable feature of his pastoral work was the unfailing freshness of his sermons and discourses. Even in his last years he wrote, often very fully, before speaking. He commented on and expounded the Epistles of St. Paul and other parts of the New Testament, availing himself of the latest publications of French writers as well as of earlier authorities. It was only a little over a fortnight before his death that he gave his last discourse sitting before the altar as he was no longer able to stand.

In 1916, when he was already seventy years of age, he underwent a most grave operation, but his robust constitution and his indomitable will enabled him to survive it and to regain an amount of vigour surprising at his time of life. At the Conventual Chapter of this year an appreciation of his merits and of his work for his Alma Mater was shown him. He was nominated by general consent of his brethren for the vacant Abbacy of Westminster and at the General Chapter of the following year the dignity was conferred upon him. He attained the Golden jubilee of his Priesthood in 1924 and at the Chapter of that year he sang the Mass of thanksgiving and received the congratulations of his brethren.

He was now entering upon his eightieth year, and a recurrence of his old complaint necessitated another operation which taxed his strength severely. Again however he rallied and with some assistance, reluctantly accepted, he was able to serve his flock for another three years. His intellectual interests were still maintained and his pen was busy with reminiscences for the Journal almost to the end. The last few months of his life were a veritable martyrdom of pain borne with heroic patience and unfailing cheerfulness. At length early in July last he was forced to relinquish Holy Mass, the source of spiritual strength to which he had clung so faithfully. At three o’clock in the afternoon of Wednesday, July 17th, fortified with the rites of Holy Church he peacefully gave up his soul to God. His body lay in his own church at Aigburth throughout Sunday, the 21st, when Mass was said for him by Bishop Dobson in the presence of his congregation. On Monday evening it was taken to St Anne’s, Edge Hill, and a dirge was chanted. Fr Abbot pontificated at the Solemn Requiem sung the following day by his brethren and some of the priests he had trained at Upholland. Abbot Cummins, his class-mate, and fellow-novice, preached his panegyric. The same evening his remains were brought to the Abbey, and after the Community had paid the last tribute with Dirge and Requiem, were laid to rest in the hill-side cemetery of the Alma Mater he loved and served so well.

We add some passages from the panegyric preached at Abbot, Burge’s funeral by the Abbot of St. Mary’s, York: –

“Thomas Burge came to Ampleforth in 1860 from London, a clever, intelligent lad with some attractive gifts and talents above the average. Arriving a few days late he found himself last in a big class, but at the first examination he skipped to the top place, and never had any difficulty to retain it. In the novitiate at Belmont, which he entered five years later, he was full of fervour and of monastic ideals; one still recalls the youthful enthusiasm with which he would discuss ascetic points, religious questions, and even plans for the simple life of which he dreamt; he was to live on sixpence a day and had schemed out details of its expenditure. It was before the War of course, and we may smile at the premature gravity of the young idealist, – but we don’t expect discretion in the young, and I wonder whether youthful clerics in these days ever even dream of such indiscreet excesses. In his case the ideal never wholly faded in spite of the disappointments of years or the cynicism of age. Details might change but not the high ideal. He led mostly a solitary life, simple, and in some ways austere, and personal habits remained throughout life unworldly and priestly.”

After 13 years of strenuous rule his health gave way, and resigning the cares and the honours of prelacy he retired to private life and began pastoral duties at Grassendale that have lasted for some 30 years. His activities were wider than his parish, in particular he worked with enthusiasm for the restoration of Church music and liturgical chant. He had talents and attractive gifts and he used them in the Church’s service.

For many years past Abbot Burge endured very serious infirmities, and had more than once to undergo terrible operations that brought him to the brink of the grave. Most men, I suppose, with his sufferings and disabilities would have laid aside all public duties and lain down waiting for the end. That was not his way of meeting misfortunes. He took up his cross with fortitude. Ready enough 30 years ago to resign office and honours, he would not now shirk labour, but in spite of continual discomfort or pain he clung to work as he had never clung to prelacy. With indomitable spirit he conquered agony, ignored the gravest disabilities, and went on faithfully with his Sunday Masses and instructions and parochial duties, prolonging useful years far beyond the span of man’s life, and so died in full work to the last. Such a one is a faithful minister.

Source: Ampleforth Journal  35:1 (1930) 16

Page 14, 20th August 1910

OBITUARY.

MR. JUSTICE WALTON.It is with very deep regret that we have to announce the death of Sir

Joseph Walton, who had been a Judge of the King’s Bench Division since 1901, which occurred

with startling suddeness at his residence at Shinglestreet, near Woodbridge, Suffolk. Since the

Courts rose a few days ago Sir Joseph Walton had been enjoying a well-earned rest. Apparently

he was in the best of health and spirits. On Friday evening, indeed, he went for a short walk. On

his return home he had dinner, and shortly after was seized with an attack of heart failure,

expiring before mediCal aid could he summoned. There was no necessity to hold an inquest, Sir

Joseph’s London physician having informed the authorities that the late judge was recently

attended by him for an affection of the heart, and upon that report it was decided to issue a

certificate of death. Joseph Walton was a Lancashire man, being born at Fazakerley, Liverpool, in

1845. He was educated at Stonyhurst College and in 1865 graduated at the University of

London with First Class Honours in Mental and Moral Science. In November, 1888, he was called

to the Bar at Lincoln’s Inn. He was a favourite pupil of Charles Russell, afterwards Lord Chief

Justice, then a prosperous junior on the Northern Circuit. The earlier years of his professional

life were passed as a local practitioner in Liverpool, where he remained for the first ten or a

dozen years. A member of the Northern Circuit, he established a substantial business not only

before the Judges of Assize, but in the local tribunals with which Lancashire is so well equipped.

He had established a large practice when in the early eighties he came to London, where his

reputation as an advocate in commercial cases steadily increased. He took silk in 1892, and

three years later he was appointed Recorder of Wigan, a position which he held until his

elevation to the Bench. In 1896, he was made a Bencher of his Inn. His success as a junior was

fully maintained after his call within the Bar, and for some years he was a ” leader” in fact as

well as name on the Northern Circuit, where he and Mr. Bigham were generally briefed on

opposite sides. Among other positions which he held at the Bar was that of counsel to the

Jockey Club, where he succeeded Sir Charles Russell. As such he helped to argue the famous

case in which the courts decided that Tattersall’s ring at Kempton Park was not a “place” within

the meaning of the Betting Acts. Mr. Walton who had previously acted as a Commissioner of

Assize, was made judge of the King’s Bench Division in 1901, on the promotion of Mr. Justice

Mathew—also a Catholic—to the Court of Appeal. Both at the Bar and on the Bench he

displayed his strength mainly in commercial and especially shipping business. When he came to

London his position was well established, and he did not lose by the change. The only alteration

was the addition to the number of his clients’of large City firms familiar with charter parties and

bill of lading and other mercantile instruments. But his general practice in the common law was

considerable, and he was also concerned in some of those painful litigations of which the

subject is children’s religious education. Two of these were conflicts between the late Dr.

Barnardo and the Catholic authorities, and were taken to the House of Lords, where Walton

carried the day. Even from behind the Bar the late judge was engaged now and again in

maritime cases in the Privy Council. ” He possessed,” says The Daily Telegraph,” a singular

charm or manner, of which the root lay in a real grace of character and a genuinely religious

spirit. His style in court was precisely that which commends itself to a iudge sitting without a

jury or to a Court of Appeal. It was polished and urbane, and, above all, it was both clear and

concise. Not a word was wasted, and when once Walton realised that the argument had

reached the judge’s mind he was content to leave it and not irritate his hearer by repetition.”

 

“His was one of the best of Lord Halsbury’s appointments,” says The Manchester Guardian,

and it was received with acclamation at the Bar, which had shown its appreciation of Mr. Walton’s amiable qualities no less than of his eminence as a practitioner in 1899 by electing him chairman of its general council—the mouthpiece of the profession. It is pleasant to add that unlike that of some other judges, Mr. Walton’s popularity at the Bar survived his appointment to the Bench. He was the embodiment of courtesy and patience, and, helped by a gentle pilot, the bashful junior and the timid witness soon lost their nervousness in his presence. Like Lord Eldon, he was rather given to the cunctative. He spared no pains in sifting both evidence and argument, and his extreme conscientiousness sometimes rather impeded the dispatch of business in his court. But in his case slowness went with sureness, and his decisions always commanded the respect of the profession and of those who sometimes had to review them. In the Crown Court at Assizes Mr. Justice Walton showed himself a mild criminal judge. He will be remembered with gratitude by those who are interested in the reformation of the criminal, for the precedent which be set—a precedent which has been followed since—at the Manchester Assizes in April, 1905, when, accompanied by Mr. Justice Bray, and escorted by the javelin men, with all the impressive panoply of a Judge of Assize, he attended the annual meeting of the local Discharged Prisoners’ Aid Society. A sentence from the speech which he then made may be fittingly quoted as giving an insight into the workings of the mind of a merciful judge. “His Majesty’s judges,” he said, “feel so often in doing that which their duty calls upon them to do that they are perhaps making sacrifices of lives. When the unfortunate criminal comes before them, and they remember what his or her chances in life have been, what the temptations have been, what the surroundings have been, it is often a very painful thing to pass those sentences which we are bound to pass. One feels that so far as the individual personally is concerned the law may be doing more harm than good.”

The Times in its obituary notice pays the following tribute to the deceased Judge’s memory : “Sir Joseph Walton was a Judge of a high order of merit, learned, courteous, and patient. No appointment in recent years was more thoroughly approved by the profession. The last man to seek popularity, he attained it in full measure by the charm of a sunny nature and of genuine humility. His promotion for the last few years of his professional life was recognised as inevitable, and the profession would have made it earlier than the Lord Chancellor if it had been in their hands. But the admission must regretfully be made that Walton did not quite realise the high expectations which had been formed, and will hardly rank with the first men of his time among the occupants of the Bench. The cause of this result was in itself a merit, for it was his over-conscientiousness and a certain want of confidence in himself.”

In 1871 he married Teresa, daughter of Mr. N. D’Arcy, of Ballyforan, co. Roscommon, who survives him. One of his sons died of fever caught in South Africa, where he served in the war. Another son is a secular priest, and two others are members of the Society of Jesus.

A South London correspondent writes : “The death of Mr. Justice Walton has occasioned the deepest regret in all parts of the diocese of Southwark, where he was exceedingly popular amongst his co-religionists, and in the churches in South London. On Sunday prayers were asked for the eternal repose of his soul. Since his elevation to the Bench, Mr. Walton seldom attended public meetings, because as he himself said on one occasion at a meeting in Southwark, ‘he was not allowed to talk politics.’ He was an ardent educationalist and one of the few occasions on which he visited South London was in connexion with a bazaar at Lewisham held only a few months ago to raise funds for the erection of a Catholic school for the locality. He was then careful to explain that he desired to say nothing which would be considered of a controversial character, but his address was nevertheless a clever and learned exposition of the rights of Catholic parents to teach religion in the schools which they had erected at their own expense. Mr. Justice Walton was also a generous supporter of various South London charities and as a member of the Prisoners’ Aid Society he was instrumental in securing a fresh start in life for many prisoners discharged from Wandsworth Gaol. He also evinced a deep interest in the work of the League of the Cross, and at several of the meetings of that body on Sunday in South London resolutions of sympathy were carried.” R.I.P.

THE FUNERAL.

The body of the deceased Judge was brought to London from Suffolk on Tuesday, and taken to his parish church, St. James’s, Spanish-place, where it remained all night on a bier before the sanctuary. The funeral took place on Wednesday. At eleven o’clock a Low Mass of Requiem was celebrated by the Rev. James Alexander Walton, a son of the late Judge. Two other sons, the Rev. Edmund Walton, S.J., and the Rev. Joseph Walton, S.J., served the Mass, during which the “Pie Jesu,” ” Quando Corpus,” and the ” Beati Mortui” were sung. There was a large congregation, which included the Lord Chief Justice, Mr. Justice Phillimore, Mr. Justice Warrington, Lady Day, widow of Mr. Justice Day ; Lady Prirrrose, Father Pinnington, S.J., Father Gerard, S.J., the Rev. Father Bodkin, S.J., rector of Stonyhurst ; the Rev. C. C. Martindale, S.J., the Rev. John Rickaby, S.J., Major F. J. A. Skeet, Mr. George Lewis, Mr. E. R. Cook, representing the Law Society ; Mr. W. Hanbury Aggs, of the Northern Circuit ; Mr. Laing, K.C., and a number of Sisters from the Providence-row Refuge, of which Mr. Justice Walton was a trustee. The chief mourners were Mr. Arthur Walton and Mr. Philip Walton, Sons; Mrs. Jasper White, sister ; and the Rev. Mother Theresa Walton, Superior of the Convent at St. Leonards, sister ; Mr. Jasper White, brother-in-law ; and Mrs. Arthur Walton, sister-in-law. After the absolutions had been given at the conclusion of the Mass by Father Walton, the cortke was formed and proceeded to Kensal Green where the body was laid to rest, Father Walton, attended by Canon Gildea and Father Pinnington, S.J., reciting the last prayers.

A BROTHER JUDGE’S TRIBUTE.

Sir Samuel Evans in the Vacation Court on Wednesday referred to the death of Mr. Justice Walton as follows : “If the Courts had been sitting to-day there would have been general expressions of sadness at the great loss the profession has sustained in the death of Mr. Justice Walton. As this is the only Court sitting I cannot refrain from saying a few words offering sympathy to the members of his family. He lived a strenuous life in the profession which he adorned, and he died in full harness, as I know he would have wished to do. We all remember him as an advocate at the Bar. He was a superb advocate in the law in which his practice lay. He was lucid in thought, and clear and cogent and most persuasive in his reasoning. When he was called upon to fill the office of Judge his appointment was hailed with gratification by every member of the Bar. In words which were written long ago : ‘He was eminently qualified for the high office, which he filled with the greatest reputation to himself and satisfaction to the public. His knowledge was sound and extensive ; the clear and comprehensive manner in which he delivered his opinions could not but make the dullest hearer sensible of their weight. He shone in those chief characteristics of a Judge—temper and patience. He heard all with attention and then decided with readiness, enforcing his decrees with such convincing reasoning as equally gave information to the Bar and satisfaction to the parties. He greatly encouraged industry in young members of the Bar by showing particular attention to their argument and noticing what would admit of approbation. He was engaging and polite in his maner, and yet failed not in every point to support the dignity of his office. He commanded univeral esteem and reverence.”

“As a man,” continued his lordship, “he was of the kindliest nature and of the sunniest disposition. No one in the profession was more beloved by its members than the late Judge, and no one better deserved their admiration and esteem. In the name of the Bench and of the Bar I respectfully offer sympathy to all those who have suffered by this bereavement.”

Mr. Bramwell Davis, K.C., and Mr. L. Edmonds, K.C., responded for the Bar.

from the Tablet,Page 28, 9th September 1911

MR. C. HUSSEY-WALSH.

We regret to announce the death of Mr. Charles William Hussey-Walsh, aged 18, son of Major Wm. Hussey Walsh, Reserve of Officers, and grandson of the late Mr. Walter Hussey-Walsh, who was for so many years the Honorary Secretary of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. Mr. C. Hussey-Walsh was educated at Beaumont and Repton Colleges, and had just passed into the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. A boy of rare promise he died very suddenly at the Château du Fayel, Canly, Oise, France, the residence of his uncle, Mr. V. Hussey-Walsh. R.I.P.

Charles Booth  literally walked the streets of London. He was an English social researcher and reformer,and set out to discover the true extent of poverty in London. He published Life and Labour of the People in 1889, and a second volume,  Labour and Life of the People,  in 1891. His research showed 35% of people in the East End were living in abject poverty.A third expanded edition  Life and Labour of the People in London appeared 1902-3.

Booth mapped the entire city (colour-coded from black for poorest to red for richest) and classified the population into eight classes. All the research is available online, including the original notebooks. It’s useful in getting a picture of what sort of neighbourhood people lived in.

Booth Classification Description of class

A The lowest class which consists of some occasional labourers, street sellers, loafers, criminals and semi-criminals. Their life is the life of savages, with vicissitudes of extreme hardship and their only luxury is drink

B Casual earnings, very poor. The labourers do not get as much as three days work a week, but it is doubtful if many could or would work full time for long together if they had the opportunity. Class B is not one in which men are born and live and die so much as a deposit of those who from mental, moral and physical reasons are incapable of better work

C Intermittent earning. 18s to 21s per week for a moderate family. The victims of competition and on them falls with particular severity the weight of recurrent depressions of trade. Labourers, poorer artisans and street sellers. This irregularity of employment may show itself in the week or in the year: stevedores and waterside porters may secure only one of two days’ work in a week, whereas labourers in the building trades may get only eight or nine months in a year.

D Small regular earnings. poor, regular earnings. Factory, dock, and warehouse labourers, carmen, messengers and porters. Of the whole section none can be said to rise above poverty, nor are many to be classed as very poor. As a general rule they have a hard struggle to make ends meet, but they are, as a body, decent steady men, paying their way and bringing up their children respectably.

E Regular standard earnings, 22s to 30s per week for regular work, fairly comfortable. As a rule the wives do not work, but the children do: the boys commonly following the father, the girls taking local trades or going out to service.

F Higher class labour and the best paid of the artisans. Earnings exceed 30s per week. Foremen are included, city warehousemen of the better class and first hand lightermen; they are usually paid for responsibility and are men of good character and much intelligence.

G Lower middle class. Shopkeepers and small employers, clerks and subordinate professional men. A hardworking sober, energetic class.

H Upper middle class, servant keeping class.

Class Description Map colour for streets

A The lowest class of occasional labourers, loafers and semi-criminals Black

B Casual earnings: “very poor” (below 18s. per week for a moderate family) Dark blue

C Intermittent earnings Together “the poor” between 18s. and 21s. per week for a moderate family Light blue Purple

D Small regular earnings

E Regular standard earnings – Above the line of poverty Pink

F Higher class labour – Fairly comfortable good ordinary earnings

G Lower middle class – Well-to-do middle class Red

H Upper middle class – Wealthy

The Rock of Dunamase partially reads:

“Dunamase from prehistoric times was the stronghold and chief residence of the rulers of Leix.About the time of the Christian era there flourished in Ulster a leader of the Red Branch Knights, called Conall Cearnach.the Knights under him waged war against the men of Leinster to enforce the payment of the Burumean tribute.They defeated the Leinstermen at the battle of Ros-naRigh (Rosnaree), and settled Leix, which they divided into seven tribe lands.This Celtic heptarchy was subject to the jurisdiction of an arch-king, claiming descent from Canall Cearnach, and called the O’More, with his chief residence at Dunamase.”Dunamase changed hands several times and “In 1342 Lysaght O’more, of Dunamase was killed by his servant. . . . Two years after his death the O’mores were dipossessed of Dunamase by De Mortimer.”. . . The O’mores controlled it around 1538 and 1542 . . .“In 1642 the Confederate Catholics were in Possession of Dunamase; . . .”

From Lord Walter Fitzgerald,the Journal of the County Kildare Archaeological Society, Volume VI . The  edited papers were published in Dublin in 1911.