Chapter X: Appendix

“17, CLARENCE STREET, LANDPORT,
“_September 28th, 1895_.

“MY LORD BISHOP,

“We are taking possession of our new church on October 27th. It
practically is joined by the vestries to the old church, which
was licensed for celebrations by Bishop Harold Browne, and your
predecessor did not think it would require a new licence.

“As at present the district is not a legal Parish, the question
of consecration does not arise.

“I am, your lordship’s obedient servant,
“R. RADCLYFFE DOLLING.”

“DALMENY PARK, EDINBURGH,
“_4th October, 1895_.

“DEAR MR. DOLLING,

“Your letter of Sept. 28th has only now reached me in Scotland.
Everything has been upset somewhat during our removal from one
house to another.

“I am greatly interested to learn that you hope to enter so
soon upon the use of the new church. I shall be anxious, so
far as possible, to meet your wishes in every way with regard
to licence. If you were told by Bishop Thorold that no fresh
licence would be necessary, I have no doubt such is the case,
but I should, myself, have thought it would probably be better
that a new licence should be given for the new building. This,
however, we can talk over when we meet, and I trust the meeting
may take place ere long, as I am most anxious to see something
of your work, upon the spot. I have heard much of it, and I
pray God to grant you all guidance and blessing among the
difficulties by which you are surrounded.

“Bishop Thorold’s opinion that no fresh licence is required
will, at least, justify you in going forward now with all
your arrangements, and if it turns out hereafter that it is
desirable to issue a fresh licence, there will, I imagine, be no
difficulty in doing so. I hope to be at Farnham next week, and
to enter as speedily as possible upon diocesan work. I know I
may rely upon your giving me the help of your prayers.

“I am, yours very truly,
“RANDALL WINTON.”

“17, CLARENCE STREET, LANDPORT,
“_October 7th, 1895_.

“MY DEAR LORD BISHOP,

“I am most grateful for your kind letter. Bishop Thorold’s idea
was that until the church was consecrated (that would be as soon
as the parish was created), the old licence would suffice. But I
quite feel that your lordship’s wish is most reasonable, and as
soon as convenient to yourself the required formalities could be
performed.

“We have never ceased to pray for your lordship since your
election, and there are no priest or people more desirous to
welcome you.

“The Bishop of Southwell, or the Bishop of Reading, will be with
us at the opening, or during the octave. There is one of my
soldier children on furlough, who needs to be confirmed. Might
he have your permission to do it?

“Yours very obediently,
“R. R. DOLLING.”

“FARNHAM CASTLE, SURREY,
“_10th October, 1895_.

“DEAR MR. DOLLING,

“I thank you for your letter. I will consider the question of
licence. In the meantime, do not let the postponement of a
decision on that point interfere in any way with your plans and
arrangements.

“With regard to the confirmation of the lad you refer to,
I should be quite willing that the Bishop of Southwell or
the Bishop of Reading should confirm him if you think this
desirable, and if such Bishop is willing, at your request, to do
it.

“I am, yours very truly,
“RANDALL WINTON.”

“FARNHAM,
“_17th October, 1895_.

“DEAR MR. DOLLING,

“I have considered the question of a licence for your new
church, or rather, for you to minister therein, and it seems
clear that such a licence ought to be issued. I have, therefore,
asked the Rural Dean, in ordinary course, to send me the usual
report that he has visited the building, and that all is in due
order.

“Of course, in strict accordance with rule, no service should
take place in the building till the proper licence (after the
Rural Dean’s letter) has been received by you.

“But as I know you have been making arrangements for your
opening services, and that it was owing to the change of Bishops
that you did not sooner apply to me, I am quite willing that
your arrangements should be proceeded with, and you will, of
course, understand that, in the very improbable event of any
question arising as to the building or its due ‘appointments,’ I
am not to be regarded as hereby prejudging such question.

“I am sure it will be your wish that all should be in due order,
and I pray that the blessing of God may rest in rich measure on
you and on your work.

“I am, yours very truly,
“RANDALL WINTON.”

“WINCHESTER COLLEGE MISSION, LANDPORT,
“_October 18th, 1895_.

“MY DEAR LORD BISHOP,

“I shall be very glad to see Canon Jacob. I am very distressed
to hear from ... that you are hurt at my action about the
Opening, and I venture to assure you that the arrangements that
I have made are those which I contemplated before there was
any vacancy in the See, arrangements which I had planned in
accordance with the action of the two late Bishops towards the
Mission.

“Bishop Harold Browne would never come here at all, or send
his Suffragan, but allowed me to choose a Bishop to confer
Confirmation.

“Bishop Thorold came himself, and sent his Suffragan, to
Confirm, but otherwise he never took part in any ceremony in the
church, and he personally often told me that he greatly disliked
the ritual. And even when he came to Confirm, as of course the
service was altogether his own and not ours, he did not allow
the acolytes to wear red cassocks, and when I pointed out that
the Crucifix was carried in front of the Procession, he ordered
it not to be used, though when I told him there was another on
the altar, and offered to take it down, he said, ‘No; I shall
not see that one.’ I should certainly never have asked him to
come to any other service at S. Agatha’s, as I am sure it would
have pained him very deeply, and my people here are so very
ignorant, that I could not have altered it, had he happened to
be present.

“I would not have you think from this, that I did not revere
and respect him, even perhaps love him, and we have oftentimes
been very near to each other in prayer. And, therefore, I had
determined not to ask him to take any part in the ceremonies
connected with the Opening of the church, until the time of the
Consecration should come, and for the same reason, of course, I
would not ask his Suffragan, though the Bishop of Southampton
is a Wykehamist, and I should much like to have had him here.

“I do not like to intrude upon your Lordship at such great
length, but I should not like your Lordship to think that I am
at all lacking in respect to your person or to your great office.

Yours very obediently,
“R. R. DOLLING.”

“FARNHAM CASTLE, SURREY,
“_20th October, 1895_.

“DEAR MR. DOLLING,

“I thank you for your letter, but either you must, I think, have
misunderstood ... or he must have misunderstood me. Perhaps both.

“I perfectly understand the position as you now explain it,
namely, that you are simply following out arrangements which
were made in Bishop Thorold’s time, and which were such as you
thought he would desire.

“Nothing could be further from my mind than to be ‘hurt’ by
anything that has passed. I have too much respect for you and
for your work. I feel sure you have wished to do all that is
right, and (as I said in a former letter) I am anxious not to
disturb arrangements which were made before I was responsible.

“I hear to-day from the Rural Dean that he has arranged with you
to pay his visit next Wednesday, so perhaps after all the new
licence may reach you in time.

“I pray that the blessing and guidance of God may be given you
in your difficult task.

“I am, yours very truly,
“RANDALL WINTON.”

“FARNHAM CASTLE, SURREY,
“_24th October, 1895_.

“DEAR MR. DOLLING,

“I have this morning received the Rural Dean’s report of his
visit yesterday to your new church. While expressing his
admiration of the building, he tells me the fittings are not yet
_in situ_, though they will for the most part be ready by
Saturday next. He cannot therefore report upon them in detail.
But speaking generally, it is clear that the arrangements are
in so forward a condition that, if no question of difficulty
arose, a licence might be sent to you forthwith, authorising
you in the usual form to minister the offices of the Church
therein. Of course, if it were a question of now consecrating
the church, and thereby giving legal authority to what stands
therein, I should require, as always, a more detailed report
when everything is _in situ_. But as you do not ask for
Consecration at present, legal questions in the technical sense
do not arise in quite the same manner.

“There is, however, one important matter mentioned by the Rural
Dean which I must at once bring before you. Canon Jacob says:
‘It is proposed to place a third altar in the middle of the
South Aisle ... and the altar is avowedly to be used for Masses
for the Dead. Mr. Dolling said that Bishop Thorold saw this in
the temporary church (there it was simply the second altar,
corresponding to that in the east end of the south aisle of
the new church), and intensely disliked it. Here, however, it
assumes a far greater prominence, for it is not the altar for
ordinary daily use, as in the temporary church, but simply to
be used for Masses for the Dead. Mr. Dolling lays the greatest
stress on this.’

“Now here is a matter of supreme importance. I have no wish
to prejudge any legal question which may arise, and I am not
aware whether any authoritative decision has been given in the
Church Courts respecting the legality of a third altar in such a
position in such a church.

“But I should obviously be treating you unfairly, were I now to
send you a licence virtually sanctioning such an arrangement as
this, and then, hereafter, when the time comes for consecrating
the church, and when your people have grown used to the
arrangement, to direct the removal of so prominent a feature on
the ground that when duly submitted for the consideration of the
Diocesan Court, it is found to be illegal. My belief is that,
if the circumstances are such as Canon Jacob has described,
it would be so declared, though in this I may, of course, be
mistaken.

“I do not know what sanction was originally obtained for the
plans of your church. If plans distinctly exhibiting this
feature received Bishop Thorold’s signature and sanction, I
would ask you to tell me so at once. In lack, however, of such
information, I must ask that the church be not publicly opened
for Divine Service until a question so important as this has
been submitted to the proper authorities for decision, or until
the altar in question has been removed from the building.
I think you must see that this is no matter of subordinate
detail. Were it such, I should not wish, in the very peculiar
circumstances of this case, to be over-particular at this
moment. But large principles are involved, and it would
therefore be quite wrong to prejudge what may be the ultimate
decision on so important a matter, by formally licensing you to
minister in a building containing thus prominently a feature
upon which, if the Rural Dean correctly reports, you lay the
greatest stress.

“I am exceedingly sorry to seem thus to interfere at the last
moment with the arrangements you have made; but you are aware
that this is not my fault, and I think I am only treating you
with such fairness and openness as I should wish myself to meet
with in like circumstances. Let me recall to you briefly what
has passed.

“On October 2nd I received from you a letter telling me, for
the first time, that you proposed taking possession of the new
church on October 27th, and adding that Bishop Thorold did
not think it would require a new licence. In my reply, while
I sanctioned your going forward with the arrangements which
had been already made for the opening services, I said that I
should myself have thought it would probably be better that a
new licence should be given for the new building. To this you
quite assented, and I accordingly directed the Rural Dean to pay
the usual preliminary visit. The first intimation I received
from you that any difficult question would be likely to arise
was in your letter of October 18th, in which you said: ‘I should
certainly never have asked Bishop Thorold to come to any other
service at St. Agatha’s (_i.e._, other than Confirmation),
as I am sure it would have pained him very deeply.’ I merely
recall these facts in order to remind you that I could not have
written sooner on this subject. Had I had reason to suppose
at an earlier date that there were likely to be difficulties
of this kind, I should have asked you to postpone the opening
services until the question of licence had been further
considered.

“You are aware from my former letters how cordially I appreciate
and value your vigorous work at Landport, and how anxious I
am to promote and help it in every legitimate way. I am most
anxious not to make a fuss about trifles, and I desire to
recognise to the full the due elasticity and variety desirable
in the services of the Church, especially in such neighbourhoods
as yours. You will never find me inclined to be needlessly rigid
about comparative trifles, but a Bishop’s responsibility is so
grave that when large questions arise he must of necessity act
with the utmost care.

“I trust that it may be possible for you so to modify the
arrangements as to enable your proposed opening services to
take place, postponing for the present the decision upon the
particular point to which I have called attention.

“If you desire to see me upon the subject, I shall be at your
service here at any hour to-morrow, except 1.30 to 3, when I
have another engagement. If you are coming, please telegraph to
say so.

I am, yours very truly,
“RANDALL WINTON.

“Since writing the above I have thought it may be a convenience
to you that I should send it to you by hand. My chaplain
accordingly bears it.”

An interview took place on October 25th. (See p. 167.)

“FARNHAM CASTLE, SURREY,
“_25th October, 1895_.

“DEAR MR. DOLLING,

“I must send a few lines to thank you for the honest and simple
straightforwardness and frankness with which you this morning
put before me your position in the question which has arisen,
and for your ultimate acquiescence in the suggestion I made as
to your proper course of procedure.

“I pray God that to each of us, in our respective positions of
anxious and responsible work, may be given from on high that
right judgment in all things for which we are accustomed to
ask; and whatever may ultimately be decided with respect to the
particular point which is now under consideration, I feel sure
we shall not lose or loose that bond of fellowship which unites
in heart and spirit those who have in common the one great aim
of advancing to the best of our power, and in accordance with
what seems to us to be the due order of our Church of England,
the Kingdom of our Blessed Lord.

“I am, with kindest regards,
“Very truly yours,
“RANDALL WINTON.”

“WINCHESTER COLLEGE MISSION, LANDPORT,
“_25th October, 1895_.

“MY DEAR LORD BISHOP,

“I send you the statement I read out to my people. I have
directed the architect to prepare you the plans. I shall be
grateful if, when you receive them, you will give me a date when
I may expect your decision.

“I am, yours very obediently,
“R. R. DOLLING.”

“As our new church practically joins on to the old church, the
late Bishop considered that no new licence would be needed. When
I communicated this fact to our new Bishop, he desired that a
new licence should be granted, and therefore sent the Rural Dean
to report on the fabric and ornaments of the church.

“Acting on his report, the Bishop feels that it is impossible
to grant this licence until he has consulted authorities as to
the legality of the Third Altar, the one which you beautified in
memory of Henry Ross, and which used to stand in the old church
with the Memorials of the Dead around it. He therefore wrote to
me that the licence would not be granted until the Altar was
removed. My own feelings under these circumstances were that it
would be better for us to remain in the old church, and not to
open the new church. But when I saw the Bishop this morning, he
very much disliked this idea, and suggested, as an alternative,
that we should proceed with the opening, screening off the Altar
and the Memorials of the Dead; that the plans should be at once
submitted to him, showing every detail; and that he should
proceed after due time to deliver judgment; if he can license
the Altar, I am to remove the screen; if he cannot, I am at once
to resign, so that a successor may be appointed who will remove
the Altar and the Memorials.”

“FARNHAM CASTLE, SURREY,
“_26th October, 1895_.

“DEAR MR. DOLLING,

“I have just received your letter enclosing a copy of the
intimation you read yesterday to your people. I feel sure it
was not your wish to say anything which would convey a mistaken
impression of what has passed between us on the question at
issue, but you have certainly done so, however unintentionally.

“Your words, ‘The Bishop wrote to me that the Licence would not
be granted until the Altar was removed,’ are surely inconsistent
with the purport of the actual letter, in which I tried to
point out to you that the question was one which I ought not to
prejudge, and that it required time for consideration.

“Again, I never, either in letter or conversation, desired you
to screen off the ‘Memorials of the Dead.’ If the temporary
screening off of the site intended for the proposed third altar
necessarily involves this--which I did not understand--it is
merely incidental, and your words would convey the wholly false
impression that I had objected to the erection of ‘Memorials of
the Dead.’ I have not seen them, and I do not know their precise
character, nor did I mention them in any way.

“Most important of all, your final sentence practically says
that in the event of such a third altar being found to be
inadmissible, it is my wish that you should resign.

“You will remember that on the contrary I expressed my great
regret at hearing from you that such would in that event be
your course of action, although you assured me that in any
circumstances you had already settled to leave S. Agatha’s a
few months hence. My own wish would be strongly against your
resignation.

“I feel sure, as I have said, that it was not your intention to
mislead any who may have heard or read your words, and I do not
doubt that you will desire at once to set the matter right, by
giving publicity to this letter or otherwise.

“I am, dear Mr. Dolling,
“Yours very truly,
“RANDALL WINTON.

“REV. R. R. DOLLING.”

“WINCHESTER COLLEGE MISSION, LANDPORT,
“_October 28th, 1895_.

“MY DEAR LORD BISHOP,

“I am very sorry, indeed, if I have in any way misrepresented
our conversation, but in your letter to me of the 24th, you say:

“‘I must ask that the church be not publicly opened for Divine
Service, until a question so important as this has been
submitted to the proper authorities for decision, or until the
altar in question has been removed from the building.’

“You yourself told me, when I saw you, that it would be a
scandal if the church was not opened, and, therefore, surely
it was only left to me by your letter of the 24th, to create a
scandal or to remove the altar.

“Secondly, the memorials are practically a part of the altar,
as a frame is to the picture, and without these memorials,
the altar would, I take it, be unobjectionable, or rather, as
I think you said yourself, the question is not the red-tape
question whether there is to be a third altar, but whether it is
to be an altar of this kind--_i.e._, Dedicated to the Dead.
There will be the twelve Celebrations said at it every week, and
only two of them will be said for the Dead. I certainly supposed
that your injunction, therefore, referred to the character of
the thing as a whole.

“Thirdly, I certainly do not say that you would wish me to
resign. What I do say is, ‘If he cannot license the altar, I
am at once to resign, so that a successor may be appointed,
who will remove the altar and the memorials.’ This surely does
not convey the meaning that you wish me to resign, but that
the action which you quite conscientiously may be compelled to
take, may necessitate my resignation, which is quite a different
thing. I believe that there is not a man in all the Diocese
more anxious that I should remain than you are. I have written
to the Portsmouth paper which mentioned the fact. I enclose you
the letter.

“Canon Jacob’s letter which I enclose, and which please return,
may enable the question to be decided in a more satisfactory way
than by your Lordship’s personal judgment.

“I hope that in a few weeks the fabric of the church will be
free of debt. I have built a Parsonage House, and I have £1100
in hand towards the endowment. If on these terms the district
can be created into a parish, the question would then be one
which could be decided by the highest ecclesiastical legal
authorities.

“I should be very grateful for your Lordship’s opinion on this
matter.

“Ever your obedient servant,
“R. R. DOLLING.”

“FARNHAM CASTLE, SURREY,
“_29th October, 1895_.

“DEAR MR. DOLLING,

“I thank you for your letter of yesterday. If, as I suppose,
the letter to the _Evening News_ which you send me in
manuscript has been published in that paper, it meets the chief
objection I felt to the wording of the memorandum you sent me,
and I am obliged to you for making the point clear to those who
might have misunderstood it. If you are satisfied, I do not wish
to dwell further upon the other points mentioned in my letter
to you, although I still think your words would convey to most
hearers or readers a different impression from that which you
can yourself have intended. With regard to the suggestion, that
an endeavour should now be made to have the district legally
assigned, and the church duly consecrated as a parish church,
I should like a little time for consideration and consultation
with others before giving you definite advice. You will remember
that the Diocese is still new to me, and that in a matter like
this local knowledge is almost essential to a right decision.
Such knowledge I will do my best to acquire speedily. I retain
in the meantime Canon Jacob’s letter upon the subject.

I am, yours very truly,
“RANDALL WINTON.”

“S. AGATHA, LANDPORT,
“_November 4th, 1895_.

“MY DEAR LORD BISHOP,

“I send you plans of east end, with its two apses and altars,
and north and south side of church, showing stations and third
altar. The only place not shown is the baptistery under the
tower. I had intended putting an altar in this for the use of
parents on the morning of the baptism of their children. I did
not speak of this to Bishop Thorold, for it was only suggested
to me when I showed the baptistery and font to some of the
mothers, and they said what a comfort and help it would be to
take Communion in the baptistery. I will send you a little plan
of this. I mentioned it to Canon Jacob, but he said there was no
use in speaking of it to you. Most of the columns, paintings,
&c., are memorials; they will all have on them, ‘Pray for the
soul of,’ &c. The altars all have candlesticks on them. There is
a large crucifix by the pulpit.

“Ever yours very truly,
“R. R. DOLLING.”

We always have confession in public in church, so there would be three seats for this purpose in the church.

“FARNHAM CASTLE, SURREY,
“_6th November, 1895_.

“DEAR MR. DOLLING,

“I received last night your letter of the previous day,
enclosing the plans. Now that I have these before me I can
better consider the subject, and ask such counsel as seems
desirable. It is difficult for me to say by what day I may be
able to give you my decision upon the matter.

“I am much pressed at present with work of every kind, but I
will take care that there is no unnecessary delay. I should
hope, in a fortnight’s time at the latest, to be able to write
to you definitely.

“It is possible I may wish to see you again. May I ask you
to tell me whether any particular day in the week would be
specially convenient or inconvenient to you for the journey to
Farnham?

“Nothing could, I think, be gained by my seeing the architect,
as the plans seem perfectly clear.

“I am, yours very truly,
“RANDALL WINTON.”

“FARNHAM CASTLE, SURREY,
“_11th November, 1895_.

“DEAR MR. DOLLING,

“Would it suit you to call here next Saturday morning, November
16th, or, if more convenient, to dine and sleep here on Friday
night, the 15th, leaving as early as you like on Saturday
morning?

“I am anxious, if possible, not to postpone our interview beyond
next week. Please let me know when I may expect you.

“I am, yours very truly,
“RANDALL WINTON.”

A prolonged interview took place on November 15th. (See p. 170.)

“CLARENCE STREET, LANDPORT,
“_15th November, 1895_.

“MY DEAR LORD BISHOP,

“I am very grateful to you for your patience this afternoon. You
will he glad to hear that I do not feel any the worse. It would
be a great relief to me if your lordship could tell me about
the date when your lordship is likely to deliver judgment. Of
course, we do not mean for one moment to hasten you, but our
own minds would be more at rest if we knew about the date.

“Mr. Gresham desires to join with me in many thanks to Mrs.
Davidson for her great kindness.

“Yours very obediently,
“R. R. DOLLING.”

“WINCHESTER COLLEGE MISSION, LANDPORT,
“_16th November, 1895_.

“MY DEAR LORD BISHOP,

“I send you our Vespers of the Blessed Sacrament, our Stations,
our Mass for the Dead, and our children’s Mass book, and
the rules of our Communicants’ Society. Our conversation of
yesterday was so different from what I have had with Bishops
in former days. They seemed to desire to deal with things
concerning which complaint had been made to them, and so, when
I had ventured on other details of our service here, they
stopped me, as though to say, ‘That question is not before me,
I do not desire to know it.’ It seemed to me, yesterday, that
your attitude was the very opposite of this. You wanted to know
everything we do at S. Agatha’s, and, therefore, praying over
it all last night, and thinking about it, I was very anxious to
discover if I was perfectly honest and straightforward, and I
think I was. But when I was leaving your room you said to me,
‘Have you anything more to say?’ I took that, at the moment, to
mean, ‘Is there any defence more that you would like to make
concerning your doings?’ But, on thinking it over, it seems to
me it may have meant, ‘Are there any other services or practices
that you ought to tell me about?’ If this is your meaning, pray
let me know, and I will send to you, in detail, everything else
that we do. If, on the other hand, this thought of mine is over
scrupulosity, please don’t answer this letter.

“Your obedient servant,
“R. R. DOLLING.”

“FARNHAM CASTLE, SURREY,
“_21st November, 1895_.

“DEAR MR. DOLLING,

“I have not had a moment in which to reply to your letter
received two days ago.

“When I asked you at our recent interview whether you had
anything more to say, I did not in the least mean to ask you
for a detailed account of all the services you hold. Some day I
should be interested to hear from you about everything, in order
that I may thoroughly understand your position and teaching.
But all I desired in our recent interview was to understand the
present situation in all its bearings, so that my decision may
be based upon a really sufficient knowledge.

“I have been so much pressed during this last week by unexpected
matters, including the illness and death of a dear friend,
that I have been ceaselessly on the railway, and it has been
impossible for me to give to S. Agatha’s matters the attention
they deserve. Hence there may be a little delay in my sending
you the formal letter I have promised. I can only say that I am
doing my best.

“I remain, yours very truly,
“RANDALL WINTON.”

“FARNHAM CASTLE, SURREY,
“_7th December, 1895_.

“DEAR MR. DOLLING,

“I am now able to write to you definitely upon the question
which has arisen with regard to S. Agatha’s church, and as
you may probably wish to make my letter public, it will be
convenient that I should briefly recall what has taken place. On
October 2nd, a few days after I had become Bishop of Winchester,
I heard from you that you had made arrangements to open the
new church for divine service on October 27th. With a view,
therefore, to your receiving the necessary licence, I directed
Canon Jacob, as Rural Dean, to pay the customary preliminary
visit to the church, and to report to me whether all was in due
order. On October 24th I received this report. He told me of the
beauty and dignity of the building, and its general suitableness
for divine service in a great parish. The fittings and ornaments
were not yet _in situ_, and he was, therefore, unable
to report upon them in detail. But he directed my attention,
as in duty bound, to the structural arrangements for Holy
Communion. These, as shown in his report, and in his subsequent
explanations to me with appended plans, are as follows: One
large Holy Table or Altar in the usual position in the centre of
the east end of the church; a second (for less largely attended
services) at the east end of the south aisle; and a third in
the south aisle, placed against the side wall of the church. It
is also your wish to place a fourth in your Baptistery at the
west end of the north aisle, but that question is not at present
before us.

“When Canon Jacob paid his official visit to the church, the
proposed third altar had not yet been erected; and after full
correspondence and conversation between yourself and me upon
the subject, it was decided that the opening services should be
held in accordance with the arrangements you had already made
before I became Bishop, but that the site of the proposed third
altar should be temporarily curtained off, and its erection
at the least postponed, so that I should have time before
issuing formal licence for the conduct of divine service in the
building, to consider the arrangements proposed. You urged me to
give you an answer as speedily as possible, as in the event of
my being unable to sanction the proposed arrangements you would
feel it necessary to withdraw immediately from S. Agatha’s,
instead of remaining until Easter next, when you proposed in any
case to resign.

“As it is not proposed that the church should be consecrated at
present, the question raised does not, and, indeed, cannot, now
come formally before the Diocesan Court. Pending consecration,
it rests with the Bishop to grant or withhold at his discretion
the necessary licence for the conduct of divine service in the
new building. In order, therefore, to understand in all its
bearings the question to which you attach so much importance,
I have, in addition to our correspondence, had two prolonged
interviews with you; and I am anxious again to express to you
my appreciation of the honest and straightforward readiness you
have throughout shown to give me all possible information as
to your usages and the opinions on which they are based. In a
matter of this kind, where we have but one object--namely, to
arrive at a right conclusion in accordance with the doctrines
and laws of the Church of England--it is of paramount importance
that there should be no concealment or reserve in setting the
facts before the Bishop, on whom lies the grave responsibility
of decision.

“I am cordially grateful to you, therefore, for freeing me from
any difficulty of that sort. After deliberately weighing all
that you have put before me, I have come to the conclusion that
I should act wrongly were I, on my personal authority, now to
sanction the erection and use of the proposed third altar in the
situation and for the purposes you have described to me. When
the church is consecrated it would, of course, be possible for
you, or your successor, to apply to the Diocesan Court for a
faculty for the erection of such a third altar; and, were the
faculty refused, you would have the opportunity--which you tell
me you desire--of bringing the question before the higher Courts
on appeal from the decision of the Chancellor.

“In the meantime, as I have fully explained to you in
conversation, I cannot, in exercising my discretion upon a
proposition so unusual, regard the question as merely the
technical one--may there be three altars or holy tables in one
church?

“It is easy to conceive a church or cathedral of such dimensions
or construction as to render it desirable to extend yet further
the principle upon which a second altar or holy table has been
sanctioned in many of our churches for more convenient use when
the number of communicants is small; and, whatever might be
the legal decision on such a point, no question of doctrine or
principle need thereby be raised. But such is not the case at
S. Agatha’s. You do not ask for my sanction of the third altar
on grounds of convenience (in the ordinary sense of the word);
and, indeed, it is obvious that in that respect it would have no
advantage over the second, or subsidiary, altar, to which I have
raised no objection. You have explained to me that your wish for
the addition rests, in the main, on quite different grounds. The
altar in question is intended to have special association with a
deceased friend, whose memory is rightly cherished in the parish.

“You desire that it should be surrounded with memorials of the
dead, and that its special, though not exclusive, use should be
for the celebration of what you describe as ‘Mass for the Dead.’

“I endeavoured, in our recent conversation, to ascertain exactly
what you mean by this term, and you explained candidly and
clearly what it is that you believe and teach. You regard the
Celebration of Holy Communion ‘for the dead’ as having the
effect [you add, ‘we know not how’] of shortening the period
during which the souls of the faithful departed are in a
state of ‘purgation’ or ‘preparation,’ and of hastening their
admission to the Beatific state.

“Now, I have no wish to dictate to you, or to dogmatise, upon
the mysterious and difficult question of what is known as
‘prayer for the dead’--a term obviously capable of a great
variety of meaning, ranging from the words we use in the Prayer
for the Church Militant to doctrines of quite another sort.
The whole subject is of great importance, and I will gladly
discuss it with you hereafter; but, whatever liberty of private
opinion and individual devotion may be permissible, I have no
hesitation in saying that I should depart both from the spirit
and the letter of our Church’s formularies were I definitely
to sanction the addition of a third altar to S. Agatha’s with
the knowledge that one main purpose of its erection is that it
should be a centre for services and teaching of the character
above described.

“I myself believe your teaching on this subject to be
contrariant to some of the distinctive principles of the Church
of England, and I am bound to add further that I am unable to
reconcile your usages in celebrating the Holy Communion with the
specific directions in the Book of Common Prayer, which both
you and I have solemnly pledged ourselves to follow. You tell
me, for example, that in S. Agatha’s Church, where you have
about twenty celebrations of the Holy Communion every week, more
than half the celebrations on week-days, ‘perhaps eight out of
fifteen,’ are in ordinary circumstances without communicants.
You have so arranged that the celebrant shall know beforehand if
any desire to communicate, and, if not, the celebrant omits the
Exhortation, Confession, and Absolution from the Service.

“On week-days, unless they are festivals, the Creed and the
_Gloria in Excelsis_ are always omitted.

“It is impossible for me to disregard these facts in coming to
a decision as to what I ought, at this juncture, to do. You
have, as it seems to me, dealt practically at your will with our
Church’s Rules.

“I do not, for a moment, doubt that your motive is a good one.
Your services are those which, in your individual opinion, are
best calculated to lead your people into a knowledge of what you
believe to be the truth.

“But the Church of England does not allow us thus to deal at
our will with the Book of Common Prayer, and in the event of
your deciding to remain at S. Agatha’s, I must carefully discuss
with you what modifications are required in order to bring your
services into harmony with the Prayer Book.

“I need not repeat to you what I have so often said as to my
sense of the value of your devoted work in the midst of special
difficulties. Many of your distinctive Church Services seem to
me to have a special value, as bringing home to the minds of
unlearned people, by the use of anniversaries and memorials and
otherwise, the links which bind us to the world unseen.

“These are, I believe, compatible with perfect loyalty to the
Book of Common Prayer.

“I earnestly trust you may not think it necessary to sever
yourself at present from a parish in which God has signally
blessed your energy, your self-devotion, and your enthusiasm;
and you may rely upon my constant endeavour to help and further
your work in every legitimate way.

“I am, my dear Mr. Dolling,
“Yours very truly,
“RANDALL WINTON.”

“WINCHESTER COLLEGE MISSION,
“LANDPORT, PORTSMOUTH,
“_9th December, 1895_.

“MY DEAR LORD BISHOP,

“I have to-day sent to Dr. Fearon my resignation. I think your
account of our interviews is quite correct, except in one
detail. I did not intend to say that I did not know how the
Service of the Holy Communion affected the state of the dead.
There is, however, one practical question.

“I must conduct the Services as I have for the last ten years.
Do you wish me and my staff to go away at once, or to wait until
Dr. Fearon has appointed my successor? I am ready to follow
either course; only for fear of mistakes arising, I should like
to say that as long as I am in charge the Sunday and daily
services remain the same.

I am, your lordship’s obedient servant,
“R. R. DOLLING.”

“FARNHAM CASTLE, SURREY,
“_10th December, 1895_.

“DEAR MR. DOLLING,

“I am exceedingly sorry to learn that you feel it to be your
duty to leave St. Agatha’s forthwith, but, of course, I
recognise that your decision is perfectly consistent with what
you said to me at our first interview.

“With regard to your question, What is to be done as to the
services until your resignation takes effect, I have no sort of
wish to press unfairly upon you, and I think it would be a grave
misfortune were St. Agatha’s Church to be closed pending the
appointment of your successor.

“I think that until that appointment is made you had better
continue to officiate. This will, I hope, be in accordance
both with your own wish and with the wish of your people; and,
though I must not be supposed to be giving formal sanction to
the teaching or usages to which I have called your attention,
and must adhere to my decision respecting the third altar, I
am far from wishing to cause unnecessary difficulty in any
way. Should anything lead you to modify your decision, and to
desire to remain at St. Agatha’s, it will be a pleasure to me
to hear from you to that effect. I am glad that I succeeded
in my endeavour to represent fairly what you told me at our
interviews. The particular words to which alone you take
exception in my account, are contained in the memorandum I made
at the moment, and read to you for your approval. But the point
is comparatively unimportant, and, of course, I accept the
correction you desire to make.

“I am, yours very truly,
“RANDALL WINTON.”

“WINCHESTER COLLEGE MISSION, LANDPORT,
“_11th December, 1895_.

“DEAR LORD BISHOP,

“You will not blame me if I say that your letter amazes me. If
my teaching is so contrary to the mind of the Church of England
that it necessitates a step so disastrous as the disruption of a
work like this, I cannot imagine how you can allow me to remain
here one single day.

“I want, therefore, to make it clearly understood that I have
unscreened the altar, and am using it, and that I shall conduct
the services exactly as I have conducted them for the last eight
years. I know you will understand that I do not say this in
any spirit of bravado, but I desire, above all things, to be
perfectly plain with you. Having said this, I am content to stay
here for a short time, but there are two reasons that urge me
to request you to fix a date not later than January 10th--(1)
The Mission expenses are nearly £100 per month, and I am already
very much overpressed with debts; in fact, winding up all the
different charities and other expenses here, and repairing the
parsonage and other property I have bought, and the paying for
the church, will, I think, necessitate my begging £1500 before
I leave, perhaps even more, and your action will very likely
dry up some of our sources of charity. (2) I have to consider
my own and my sister’s health. I doubt if your lordship could
imagine what it is to be here. It is almost impossible for us to
go out of doors; the tears and lamentations of our poor people
are more than we can bear for any length of time. I write this
all with more confidence because your letter of to-day confirms
my own remembrance of our interviews when I assured you I should
have to leave, and, therefore, I am assured you have already
considered the difficult question of a successor.

“I am, your lordship’s obedient servant,
“R. R. DOLLING.”

“OXFORD,
“_13th December, 1895_.

“DEAR MR. DOLLING,

“Owing to ceaseless pressure of other work I have not, since
your letter reached me yesterday, had a free moment for writing
to you.

“I can only repeat that I have no sort of wish to expedite the
resignation on which you have, to my great regret, and in spite
of my remonstrance, decided.

“I cannot easily reconcile your action in ‘unscreening’ the
third altar with what you said to me on our first interview,
but in present circumstances I say no more upon that, and I am
anxious to make every allowance for your acts and words at a
time of such stress and strain.

“I have just read in the _Times_ what you are reported to have
said at a meeting last night. I can hardly doubt that the report
must be inaccurate. You could not, I feel sure, have represented
me, after all that has passed, as thinking it ‘necessary that
disruption should take place,’ or as harassing you with minute
insistence on matters of mere rubrical detail. A grave question
of Church order has come formally before me for decision as
Bishop of the Diocese. With anxious care, and with an earnest
wish to consider your difficulties, I have decided in accordance
with what seems to be my duty, and thereupon, to my great
regret, you have resigned at once, instead of waiting until
the time you have publicly announced. I can scarcely conceive
that anyone who studies our Ordinal, and realises a Bishop’s
obligations and responsibilities, could wish me to have acted
otherwise than I have.

“I must in all kindness remonstrate against your
resignation--even at a time of excitement--as though it were my
act rather than your own. Few things in my life have caused me
more sorrow and anxiety than this.

“With regard to the date when you cease to officiate at St.
Agatha’s; the appointment of your successor rests, as you know,
with others, and not with me.

“I earnestly trust that if you persist in your resignation you
will consider the difficulties of the Mission District, or
Parish, and of those with whom the appointment rests, and will
do what you can to meet, or to relieve them.

“I am, yours very truly,
“RANDALL WINTON.”

“WINCHESTER COLLEGE MISSION, LANDPORT,
“_14th December, 1895_.

“MY DEAR LORD BISHOP,

“I cannot quite understand what you mean by ‘in spite of my
remonstrance you are resigning.’

“Under your two predecessors we conducted service exactly as we
desire to do in our new church. The little altar is the same,
the memorials are the same, except that they are put on better
materials. But no single act do we desire to perform, no single
word to say, that was not done and said in old S. Agatha’s. That
is, as far as I can judge, if your predecessor had been here, we
should not have gone away.

“He objected personally to the little altar, but not officially.
The people here feel this so strongly that they want to lock up
the new church and return to the old. Therefore it is surely
through your action--unwilling action, I am sure--that I must
either alter things or go away. Is there any other alternative?
I cannot alter things, because I should be declaring to my own
people that doctrines which have been taught among them for the
last eight years I could conscientiously change at your bidding.

“I quite recognise your difficulty in the matter, and I hope
that you will, in the enclosed paper, from which report that
in the _Times_ is condensed, read what I say about your
action. It is your condemnation of my teachings, which you deem
so erroneous and contrary to the forms of the Church of England,
that necessitates the disruption.

“Dr. Fearon has already consulted with your Lordship about my
successor; and has already, with your consent, offered the post
to another man. So there is no difficulty about my going. Indeed
he thinks the date--January 10--reasonable. I have told him that
I shall be delighted to show the new Priest the details of the
work here, and introduce him to the church workers, etc.; and I
have sent him a few statistics about the parish, copies of which
I send to your Lordship, and I am sure they will interest you.

I am,
“Your Lordship’s obedient servant,
“R. R. DOLLING.”

“FARNHAM CASTLE, SURREY,
“_17th December, 1895_.

“DEAR MR. DOLLING,

“I thank you for your letter of the 14th. It followed me to
Bournemouth, where I was busy all day yesterday. Hence the delay
in my reply. The cutting you kindly sent me shows that, as I
supposed, the summary published in the London papers failed,
perhaps necessarily, to represent quite fairly what you really
said; and I thank you for the tone of many parts of your speech,
and for the statistics you have enclosed.

“Pardon me if I say that it still seems to me to be true that
‘you are resigning in spite of my remonstrance.’ When, at our
first interview, you told me of your intention, I deprecated it,
and I do so still. Elementary principles of Church order seem
to me to suggest a different course as at least possible, but I
realise that you have made up your mind, and that it is useless
to press you further.

“With regard to your reference to my predecessors in the See,
you cannot, I think, suppose that if the question which came
formally before me had come formally before either Bishop
Thorold or Bishop Harold Browne, the ultimate decision would
have been a different one.

“I am, yours very truly,
“RANDALL WINTON.”

“WINCHESTER COLLEGE MISSION, LANDPORT,
“_17th December, 1895_.

“MY DEAR LORD BISHOP,

“The question would not have come before Dr. Thorold officially.
He provided for that by not requiring a new licence.

“From memory I cannot speak with much authority of Bishop
Harold Browne’s attitude towards us, except that several times
different Protestant Societies complained to him about us; and
though, as far as I remember, he wrote letters showing that he
personally did not approve of our methods, he never publicly or
officially condemned them.

“But about Dr. Thorold I can speak with assurance. Directly he
was designated by the Crown for the Bishopric, he asked me to
stay with him in London, and we had two very long conversations
about our work here; and I quite well remember his saying to me,
when I told him how many celebrations we had on Sundays and on
week-days, ‘Surely it is not good for your people to go so often
to Communion.’ And when I explained to him that at some of the
celebrations on Sundays, and many on week-days, there were no
communicants, he turned round sharply, and said, ‘Mr. Dolling, I
do not like that at all.’

“After I had explained my difficulties to him, and the power
that I believed these celebrations were to us and to my people,
though I do not think he was convinced by my argument, he made
no further objection.

“The first time he stayed here to confirm he went with me to
look over the church. He was delighted with the memorials of
the confirmed, &c.; but when he came to our little altar he
said, ‘I think that is the ugliest thing I ever saw.’ And when
I explained to him more about celebrations for the departed and
prayers for the dead, he said, ‘I don’t believe in it for a
moment.’

“We talked over the point for a long time, but I am positively
sure that he never forbade me; and when I showed him at
Farnham the plans of the new church, after he had said, ‘I
am so glad you are building a basilica,’ though objecting to
the baldacchino which was in the picture, I enlarged upon my
intention of making the church as beautiful as I could by
paintings, mosaics, &c. I said, ‘We are going to have nothing
ugly or unworthy in it; even the little altar which you thought
so ugly the people have collected money to beautify, in memory
of Ross’--and I told him the story. I think there were tears in
his eyes when I had finished, and I am quite certain he said
nothing.

“Of course I have written all this from memory, but I can give
you an exact proof. Some years ago he was approached by the
Protestant Alliance, on the subject of a book which our children
used at their Celebration, and at his request, I withdrew it,
and wrote a new book, which though he could not personally
sanction, he permitted us to use. In the enclosed copy you will
find in pages 25, 26, the words which the children use aloud
directly after the Consecration, and especially on page 26, you
will see the Memorial of the Dead. On pages 10–12 you will see
what I teach about representing to the Eternal Father, both for
the Living and the Dead, the Propitiatory Sacrifice, which our
Lord made once for all upon the Cross.

“You will see, therefore, that he perfectly understood my
attitude with regard to these two questions, and my method of
teaching them to my children.

“If by going back to our old church, we could put back our
altars in their former places, and be authorised by you to
use the exact services we have used in the past under your
predecessors, it might solve the difficulty.

“Or the alternative, whether in the new church at the High Altar
or at the Subsidiary Altar, we could use the services we have
used under your predecessor, is, I think, a question for your
Lordship to suggest to me.

“But the two points which your letter seemed to forbid, were
the offering of the Blessed Sacrifice for the Dead, and the
Celebrations without Communion, and not the merely technical
point whether there may be three altars in the church.

“Of course, Winchester is the chief factor in the question, and
I think that the enclosed letter of Dr. Fearon, when I told him
that our people had proposed, as a _modus vivendi_, that we
should settle the question by going back into the old church,
determines the matter as far as I am concerned.

I am, your Lordship’s obedient servant,
“R. RADCLYFFE DOLLING.”

“FARNHAM CASTLE, SURREY,
“_19th December, 1895_.

“DEAR MR. DOLLING,

“I thank you for your letter of yesterday, telling me further
details of what passed between my predecessors and yourself.
What you say seems to make it quite clear that, whatever may
have passed in conversation, the question now at issue was never
formally submitted to either of them.

“My replies addressed yesterday to the two memorials from
‘The Church Workers of S. Agatha’s’ and from ‘Communicants of
S. Agatha’s,’ taken in connection with my previous letters
to yourself, will, I hope, have made clear to you what is my
position in the matter, and I do not think you will feel it to
be necessary that I should add anything further.

I am, yours very truly,
“RANDALL WINTON.”

“WINCHESTER COLLEGE MISSION, LANDPORT,
“_20th December, 1895_.

“MY DEAR LORD BISHOP,

“I cannot bear to close this correspondence without saying that
if, by any word of mine, I have spoken with disrespect either of
you personally, or of your high office, I beg you will pardon
it, and believe that it was perfectly unintentional.

“We leave on the morning of January 11th, and I shall be here
every day till then getting matters finally arranged.

“I hardly like to suggest to your Lordship, because, of course,
you know what is best; but I think it would materially help your
guidance of this most needy place, in the future, if you could
spare a few hours to see it before I go.

“There are matters about the church schools, which I won with
great difficulty, which are especially pressing.

“I would offer to come to Farnham, if you would receive me, but
I do not think you would be able to judge unless you came here.

“I am, your Lordship’s obedient servant,
“R. R. DOLLING.”

“_Friday Night, 20th December, 1895._

“MY DEAR MR. DOLLING,

“In the stress of Ember days, with an ordination pending
to-morrow, and some thirty men in the house, I can but send
you a single line to reply to your letter just received. Pray
believe that nothing could be further from my thoughts than to
find cause of offence in any word you have said during this time
of extreme trial for both of us. I have felt far too deeply for
you to even think of such trifles. I remember you many times
daily in my prayers.

“It can seldom, I hope, happen to anyone in a position of
responsible authority in the Church to have to give a decision
so painful to himself in the consequences it is found to
involve, as that which it was my duty to give in this matter.
I can but rest on the firm belief that He who calls one to the
discharge of such responsibilities, will give ear to the prayer
for grace that they may be discharged aright.

“While the question of what you would finally resolve to do
remained in any way open, I felt that I might seriously confuse
the issue to the minds of your people, were I to visit the
parish, as though to judge of the work going on; whereas, as it
seemed to me, the point at issue was quite independent of this.
Now that you have come to a final decision, I should esteem it a
privilege to go quietly and privately over the ground with you,
and learn any details that you can tell me. Next week is not,
perhaps, a good one for such a purpose, but it seems my only
chance. If I go on Friday, 27th, would it suit you? I could be
with you on that day from 11.39 to 2.15.

“I am, yours very truly,
“RANDALL WINTON.”

SOME OPINIONS OF THE PRESS.

“_It is the record of a work very remarkable in all its aspects, written with all modesty; and we think that to not a few weary workers among the sinful and degraded it may bring fresh lessons of courage and hopefulness._”--CHURCH TIMES.

“_Will be read with the greatest interest by all who desire to learn the secret of Mr. Dolling’s wonderful success in a most difficult task._”--GUARDIAN.

“_A vivid and breezy account, from Mr. Dolling’s own unconventional pen, of the singularly successful work done by him in connexion with the Winchester College Mission, in the regeneration of the district of St. Agatha’s, Landport._”--TIMES.

“_Simply it is the record of ten years’ stupendous work, performed by Mr. Dolling among the poor of the difficult district of Portsmouth known as Landport; and, moreover, it is a record most modestly--even pathetically modestly--presented; a record that is convincing in its bare truth, and in every line of it beyond expression interesting. He has given lay readers a picture of such work that they should, in all humility, most carefully study. It is not too much to say that the book is absorbingly full of incentives to thought; for every page reveals something wonderful in the way of resource, self-restraint, and accomplishment, not only on Mr. Dolling’s part, but on the part of those connected with him at St. Agatha’s._”--PALL MALL GAZETTE.

“_It would be wholly impossible for us to give any detailed account of the working of the Mission described in Mr. Dolling’s book. But the full account will be found in the book itself. A record of ministration to little children, to boys and girls, to young men and women, to old men and women, to sailors and soldiers, to waifs and outcasts, to prostitutes and thieves. A story which is alive with human interest._”--DAILY NEWS.

“_We cannot lay down his book without regretting that its author should be whipped from pillar to post in the Church of England. We know of no slum record so well told or so important in its practical significance. Mr. Dolling gives the reader an excellent idea of the district and people. Liberal Churchmen ought to consider these chapters, as they have an important bearing upon the future of the Church of England; and the book should be carefully read by everyone interested in the practical work of social reform. Mr. Dolling’s method, as the world knows, is religion of the broadly sympathetic and ceremonial kind._”--PROGRESSIVE REVIEW.

“_It is the story of a genial, vigorous, unconventional, and thoroughly liberal-minded worker._”--SPEAKER.

“_His Mission has been, from first to last, a triumph of the voluntary principle._”--DAILY CHRONICLE.

“_A book to make men think and act._”--THE COMMONWEALTH.

“_The book is enthrallingly interesting, and this value is greatly enhanced by the illustrations._”--CHURCH REVIEW.

PLYMOUTH:
WILLIAM BRENDON AND SON,
PRINTERS.

Transcriber’s Notes:

1. Obvious printers’, punctuation and spelling errors have been corrected silently.

2. Some hyphenated and non-hyphenated versions of the same words have been retained as in the original.

3. Italics are shown as _xxx_.

3. Different font is shown as =xxx=.