William Collings Lukis
Encyclopedia
Rev. William Collings Lukis MA. FSA
(8 April 1817, Guernsey
- 7 December 1892, Wath
, North Yorkshire
) was a British antiquarian
, archeologist and polymath
.
William Collings Lukis was the third son of Frederick Corbin Lukis,of the Colonel of Guernsey Militia. He was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge
. He was married to Lucy Adelaide daughter of Admiral Sir Thomas Fellowes
.
Lukis is best remembered in England for his work on the megaliths of Great Britain and France; with his university friend Sir Henry Dryden he surveyed the megalithic monuments of Brittany
. He was ordained in Salisbury in 1845, and after holding several livings in Wiltshire
he moved to Wath
in Yorkshire, where he carried out a number of excavations. He published a treatise on ancient church plate in 1845 and was a regular contributor to the journals of the British Archaeological Association
and other learned societies. His collection of artefacts was bought by the British Museum
after his death.
Society of Antiquaries of London
The Society of Antiquaries of London is a learned society "charged by its Royal Charter of 1751 with 'the encouragement, advancement and furtherance of the study and knowledge of the antiquities and history of this and other countries'." It is based at Burlington House, Piccadilly, London , and is...
(8 April 1817, Guernsey
Guernsey
Guernsey, officially the Bailiwick of Guernsey is a British Crown dependency in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy.The Bailiwick, as a governing entity, embraces not only all 10 parishes on the Island of Guernsey, but also the islands of Herm, Jethou, Burhou, and Lihou and their islet...
- 7 December 1892, Wath
Wath, Harrogate
Wath, sometimes known as Wath-in-Nidderdale to distinguish it from other places named Wath, is a village in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. It is near Gouthwaite Reservoir and about 1 mile north of Pateley Bridge....
, North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...
) was a British antiquarian
Antiquarian
An antiquarian or antiquary is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient objects of art or science, archaeological and historic sites, or historic archives and manuscripts...
, archeologist and polymath
Polymath
A polymath is a person whose expertise spans a significant number of different subject areas. In less formal terms, a polymath may simply be someone who is very knowledgeable...
.
William Collings Lukis was the third son of Frederick Corbin Lukis,of the Colonel of Guernsey Militia. He was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
. He was married to Lucy Adelaide daughter of Admiral Sir Thomas Fellowes
Thomas Hounsom Butler Fellowes
Rear Admiral Sir Thomas Hounsom Butler Fellowes, KCB was an officer in the Royal Navy during the Victorian era.-Life:Born in 1827 to the physician James Fellowes , he joined the Royal Navy and achieved the rank of rear admiral. He lived at Woodfield Park, Stevenage and died in 1923 at the...
.
Lukis is best remembered in England for his work on the megaliths of Great Britain and France; with his university friend Sir Henry Dryden he surveyed the megalithic monuments of Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
. He was ordained in Salisbury in 1845, and after holding several livings in Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
he moved to Wath
Wath, Harrogate
Wath, sometimes known as Wath-in-Nidderdale to distinguish it from other places named Wath, is a village in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. It is near Gouthwaite Reservoir and about 1 mile north of Pateley Bridge....
in Yorkshire, where he carried out a number of excavations. He published a treatise on ancient church plate in 1845 and was a regular contributor to the journals of the British Archaeological Association
British Archaeological Association
The British Archaeological Association was founded in 1843; it was established by Charles Roach Smith. It is aimed at the promotion of the studies of archaeology, art and architecture and the preservation of antiquities. After disagreements arose, it was split into two organizations, the newer one...
and other learned societies. His collection of artefacts was bought by the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
after his death.
Works
- Prehistoric Stone Monuments of the British Isles : Cornwall With 40 tinted litho plates, accurately drawn to scale by W.C. Lukis and W.C. Borlase. Society of AntiquariesSociety of AntiquariesSociety of Antiquaries can refer to:*Society of Antiquaries of London*Society of Antiquaries of Scotland*Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne*Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland...
, 1885. - An Account of Church Bells: With Some Notices of Wiltshire Bells and Bell Founders. Containing a copious List of Founders, a comparative scale of tenor bells, and inscriptions from nearly five hundred parishes in various parts of the Kingdom. 1857.
- A Guide to the Principal Chambered Barrows and other Pre-historic Monuments in the Islands of the Morbihan, the communes of Locmariaker, Carnac, Plouharnel and Erdeven, and the peninsulas of Quiberon and Rhuis, Brittany. 1875.
- On the class of rude stone monuments which are commonly called in England cromlechs, and in France dolmens, and are here shown to have been the sepulchral chambers of once-existing mounds. Prevailing errors on the subject refuted by a critical examination of the monuments referred to by the maintainers of these errors. 1875.
- "Danish Cromlechs and Burial Customs compared with those of Brittany, the Channel Islands, and Great Britain". Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History MagazineWiltshire Archaeological and Natural History MagazineWiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine is a county journal published by the Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society . It has been published almost annually since 1853 and is distributed to its members, subscribers and exchanged with other linked societies.-External...
8 (1864) pp. 145–69. - A Pocket guide to the principal rude Stone monuments of Brittany. 1875.
- Specimens of Ancient Church Plate 1845.