Hugh Scott Chignell
Encyclopedia
The Very Revd Hugh Scott Chignell was Dean of Kimberley
, South Africa
, and Rector of St Cyprian's Cathedral
, Kimberley
Choir School. Educated further at London University, his degree equipped him for an initial stint as a schoolmaster before he was ordained at St Asaph Cathedral
in North Wales
.
, South Africa, in 1920.
During four of the following fifteen years he travelled through southern Africa speaking on spiritual healing.
on 3 March 1935, as successor to the Very Revd Thomas Claude Robson
.
It was “no easy task,” Bishop John Hunter
was to note of Dean Chignell’s career, “to follow so widely loved a man as Dean Robson”: but in the six years that he was at St Cyprian’s “he endeared himself to his people.” In Chignell’s term in Kimberley much effort was put into the project of completing the cathedral building.
, dedicated to the memory of Dean Robson, was the first of two major projects that materialised at this time. It was made possible by an outpouring of gratitude by “many friends” (as the memorial plaque states) for the life and work of the late Dean Robson. The foundation stone had been laid by Mrs Euston Brown, and the chapel was consecrated by Bishop Theodore Sumner Gibson
on 24 May 1936. Dean Chignell appealed for further funds to furnish the chapel “according to its merits as a place of worship and beauty.” A pair of Annunciation
windows was set above the altar, with further windows dedicated in the 1930s-40s.
.
Kimberley, Northern Cape
Kimberley is a city in South Africa, and the capital of the Northern Cape. It is located near the confluence of the Vaal and Orange Rivers. The town has considerable historical significance due its diamond mining past and siege during the Second Boer War...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, and Rector of St Cyprian's Cathedral
St Cyprian's Cathedral, Kimberley
The Cathedral Church of St Cyprian the Martyr, Kimberley, is the seat of the Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Kimberley and Kuruman, Anglican Church of Southern Africa. It became a Cathedral when the Synod of Bishops gave a mandate for the formation of the new Diocese of Kimberley and Kuruman in...
, Kimberley
Education and ordination
Hugh Scott Chignell was a scholar at the Salisbury CathedralSalisbury Cathedral
Salisbury Cathedral, formally known as the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an Anglican cathedral in Salisbury, England, considered one of the leading examples of Early English architecture....
Choir School. Educated further at London University, his degree equipped him for an initial stint as a schoolmaster before he was ordained at St Asaph Cathedral
St Asaph Cathedral
St Asaph Cathedral is the Anglican cathedral in St Asaph, Denbighshire, north Wales. It is sometimes claimed to be the smallest Anglican cathedral in Britain.- History :...
in North Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
.
South Africa
Chignell went out to JohannesburgJohannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
, South Africa, in 1920.
During four of the following fifteen years he travelled through southern Africa speaking on spiritual healing.
Kimberley
Chignell was installed as Dean of Kimberley at St Cyprian's CathedralSt Cyprian's Cathedral, Kimberley
The Cathedral Church of St Cyprian the Martyr, Kimberley, is the seat of the Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Kimberley and Kuruman, Anglican Church of Southern Africa. It became a Cathedral when the Synod of Bishops gave a mandate for the formation of the new Diocese of Kimberley and Kuruman in...
on 3 March 1935, as successor to the Very Revd Thomas Claude Robson
Thomas Claude Robson
The Very Revd Thomas Claude Robson was the first Anglican Dean of Kimberley, and Rector of St Cyprian's Cathedral, Kimberley, South Africa.-Background and propects at St Cyprian’s in 1905:...
.
It was “no easy task,” Bishop John Hunter
John Hunter (bishop)
John Hunter was the 3rd Bishop of Kimberley and Kuruman from 1943 until 1951. He was educated at Keble College, Oxford and ordained in 1922. His first post was as a Curate in Harrow but his next post was in South Africa...
was to note of Dean Chignell’s career, “to follow so widely loved a man as Dean Robson”: but in the six years that he was at St Cyprian’s “he endeared himself to his people.” In Chignell’s term in Kimberley much effort was put into the project of completing the cathedral building.
Lady Chapel
The Lady ChapelLady chapel
A Lady chapel, also called Mary chapel or Marian chapel, is a traditional English term for a chapel inside a cathedral, basilica, or large church dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary...
, dedicated to the memory of Dean Robson, was the first of two major projects that materialised at this time. It was made possible by an outpouring of gratitude by “many friends” (as the memorial plaque states) for the life and work of the late Dean Robson. The foundation stone had been laid by Mrs Euston Brown, and the chapel was consecrated by Bishop Theodore Sumner Gibson
Theodore Sumner Gibson
Theodore Sumner Gibson was the 2nd Anglican Bishop of Kimberley and Kuruman and subsequently the 5th Bishop of St John's from 1928 until 1951.-Early life:...
on 24 May 1936. Dean Chignell appealed for further funds to furnish the chapel “according to its merits as a place of worship and beauty.” A pair of Annunciation
Annunciation
The Annunciation, also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary or Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian celebration of the announcement by the angel Gabriel to Virgin Mary, that she would conceive and become the mother of Jesus the Son of God. Gabriel told Mary to name her...
windows was set above the altar, with further windows dedicated in the 1930s-40s.
Cathedral organ
The second of two important building projects was the addition of an organ chamber and vestry and the installation of a new three-manual organ. The organ was a gift from Mr Tom Hill of Kimberley as a memorial to his late mother Amy Henrietta Hill. The Hill family had contributed stained glass as well, including the Great Resurrection Windows in the north transept. Dean Chignell hoped the new organ, by J.W. Walker and Sons, would “make us quicker to praise and adore.” Sadly, at its dedication on 18 November 1937, the late Mr Hill could be present “only in spirit and not in body to hear the results of his great gift.” At the time it was the “only completely electrically operated cathedral organ” in the South Africa: 40 miles of wire had been used to make it work. Cathedral organist Mr Wylie Turnbull, at St Cyprian’s from the 1920s, presented a recital after the dedication service, at which the choir had sung the Te DeumTe Deum
The Te Deum is an early Christian hymn of praise. The title is taken from its opening Latin words, Te Deum laudamus, rendered literally as "Thee, O God, we praise"....
.