Even by the remarkable standards of nineteenth century Anglo-Catholic clergy, John Mason Neale was an extraordinary figure. Despite never attaining high office in the Church, and despite having endured an Episcopal prohibition for most of his ministry, Neale nonetheless managed to garner an international reputation as a hymnologist and an expert in the Eastern churches.
Perhaps best known today as the writer of Good King Wenceslas, and of no less than thirty-two of the hymns contained in the current edition of Hymns Old and New, Neale's other achievements as an ecumenist and pioneer in the nineteenth century revival of interest in church architecture, are no less remarkable. He was the author of over twenty books.
From his days at Cambridge when he founded the highly influential Cambridge Camden Society, through his time as Warden at Sackville College, his many battles with his Bishop, his foundation of the Sisterhood of St Margaret, and his numerous publications, Neale remains a figure of enduring interest and a worthy subject for continued study.
In his highly readable but authoritave biography, Michael Chandler offers a balanced appraisal of a man whose fierce attachment to his ideals led him into conflict, but whose humanity and towering intellect led to his commemoration with a substantial memorial dedicated by Archbishop Michael Ramsey a hundred years after his death.
Michael Chandler is a Canon of Canterbury Cathedral.
