The Thousandth Anniversary OF KING ALFRED THE GREAT 1901
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King Alfred died (according to the accustomed authorities) in October 901 A.D., and it is proposed to hold in 1901, the Thousandth Anniversary of his Death, a NATIONAL COMMEMORATION of the King to whom this Empire owes so much in many various ways. The antiquity of the Monarchy still held by his descendants has no parallel in Europe, and the traditions which have gathered round his name are those of religion, learning, defence, seamanship, law, and culture. It is hoped that all who use our mother tongue will join, without distinction of creed, race, nation, or party, in honour to one who was both Hero and Saint.
Her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen
has been pleased to signify her approval of the proposal.
It is decided that the City of Winchester, which was the Capital of Wessex, the Royal Residence and Burial Place of the King, shall occupy a prominent position in the celebration.
The National Commemoration & Memorial.
At a Meeting convened by the Lord Mayor of London at the Mansion House on the 18th of March 1898, the Lord Mayor in the Chair,
It was proposed by the Bishop of London, seconded by the Rt. Hon. J. Bryce, M.P., and unanimously resolved, that: “The Thousandth Anniversary of the Death of King Alfred, which occurs in October 1901, should be celebrated by a National Commemoration.”
Among the speakers at the Mansion House, when a National Memorial was also decided on, and the Committee appointed, were the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Bishop of Winchester, Lord Wantage, Sir Frederick Pollock, Bart., the Chief Rabbi, Dr. Clifford, Professor Burrows, Mr. Louis Dyer (representing the Chicago Historical Society), and several others.
The Committee appointed—
Chairman—The Right Hon. The Lord Mayor of London.
Treasurer—The Right Hon. Sir John Lubbock, Bart., M.P.
Honorary Secretary—Mr. Alfred Bowker (Mayor of Winchester, 1897-8).
Their Worships the Mayors of Cities and Boroughs.
Lord Aberdare
The Earl of Aberdeen, G.C.M.G.
Lord Acton
Lord Bishop of St. Albans
Mr. Alderman and Sheriff Fred. P. Alliston
Sir W. R. Anson, Bart. (Vice-Chancellor of Oxford)
Sir Arthur Arnold
Sir Edwin Arnold, K.C.I.E., C.S.I.
The Lord Bishop of St. Asaph
The Right Hon. Evelyn Ashley
Lord Balcarres
The Right Hon. A. J. Balfour, M.P. (Chancellor Edinburgh University)
Sir Squire Bancroft
Mr. Godfrey Baring
Lord Basing
Lord Battersea
Mr. W. W. B. Beach, M.P.
Mr. W. à Beckett
Mr. E. H. Beerbohm Tree
The Lord Mayor of Belfast
Rev. G. C. Bell (Headmaster Marlborough College)
Canon Benham, F.S.A.
Mr. E. F. Benson
Sir Walter Besant
The Lord Mayor of Birmingham
Mr. Augustine Birrell, Q.C., M.P.
Sir James Blyth, Bart.
Mr. Albert Brassey, M.P.
Lord Brassey
Professor James W. Bright (Honorary Secretary to the United States Committee)
The Lord Bishop of Bristol
Sir H. W. Campbell (Chairman of London and South-Western Railway Company)
Mr. Andrew Carnegie (New York)
The Hon. D. Carnegie
Mr. J. Bonham-Carter (High Sheriff of Hampshire)
Mr. A. Bonham-Carter
Rev. Stopford Brooke
Mr. Oscar Browning (Cambridge)
The Right Hon. J. Bryce, M.P.
Sir Henry Burdett, K.C.B.
Sir Philip Burne-Jones, Bart.
Professor Montagu Burrows, M.A. (Chichele Professor of Modern History, Oxford)
Sir Frederick Burton
Dr. H. M. Butler (Cambridge)
Lord Bishop of Calcutta
Lord Calthorpe
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Dean of Canterbury
Lord Bishop of Carlisle
The Earl of Carlisle
Mr. R. K. Causton, M.P.
The Lord Chief Justice
The Chief Rabbi (The Rev. Dr. Adler)
Professor E. C. Clark (Regius Professor of Civil Law, Cambridge)
Dr. John Clifford (Westbourne Park Baptist Chapel)
The Master of the Clothworkers’ Company
Mr. W. G. Clough, M.P.
Mr. J. Colman
Professor Albert S. Cook (Yale University, U.S.A.)
The Master of the Coopers’ Company
Viscount Cromer, G.C.B.
Dr. Cunningham
Mr. Lionel Cust (National Portrait Gallery)
Col. Sir Horatio Davies, K.C.M.G., M.P.
Mr. Dewar
Professor Albert V. Dicey, Q.C. (Vinerian Professor of Law, Oxford)
Viscount Dillon (President of the Royal Archæological Institute)
Alderman Sir Joseph Dimsdale
Dr. Conan Doyle
The Master of the Drapers’ Company
The Lord Mayor of Dublin
Marquess of Dufferin and Ava, K.P.
Lord Bishop of Durham
The Dean of Durham
Mr. Louis Dyer (Representing the Chicago Historical Society and other American Societies)
Professor J. Earle (Oxford)
The Lord Provost of Edinburgh
Sir Whittaker Ellis, Bart.
Mr. A. J. Evans (Ashmolean Museum)
Sir John Evans, K.C.B. (Treasurer Royal Society)
Sir Francis H. Evans, K.C.M.G., M.P. (Chairman of the Union Steamship Company)
Mr. C. E. Fagan (British Museum)
Dr. Fearon (the Headmaster of Winchester College)
The Duke of Fife, K.T.
Mr. J. Staats Forbes (Chairman of London, Chatham, and Dover Railway Company)
Mr. E. A. Onslow Ford, R.A.
Professor M. Foster (Cambridge, President British Association)
Mr. Lewis Fry, M.P.
Professor Gayley (Representing the Universities of Berkeley and Michigan, U.S.A.)
Professor S. R. Gardiner, D.C.L.
Dr. R. Garnett (British Museum)
The Right Hon. H. Gladstone, M.P.
The Lord Provost of Glasgow
Lord Glenesk
Mr. E. L. Godkin
The Right Hon. G. J. Goschen, M.P. (First Lord of the Admiralty)
Mr. Edmund Gosse
Sir Mountstuart E. Grant Duff, G.C.S.I. (President Royal Historical Society)
Lord Grantley
Mr. Alderman Frank Green
Sir E. Grey, M.P.
The Lord Bishop of Guildford
The Right Hon. W. C. Gully, M.P. (Speaker of the House of Commons)
Sir Francis Seymour Haden, F.R.C.S. (President Royal Society of Painter Etchers)
Mr. Rider Haggard
Professor Hales, F.S.A.
Mr. W. Hamilton Yatman
The Right Hon. Sir William Harcourt, Bart., M.P.
Mr. Thomas Hardy
Mr. G. W. Harper
Mr. Frederic Harrison
Sir F. Dixon Hartland, Bart., M.P.
Lord Hawkesbury
Mr. Anthony Hope Hawkins
Admiral Sir J. C. Dalrymple Hay, Bart., K.C.B.
The Hon. J. S. Hay (Secretary of State, America)
Mr. J. K. J. Hichens (Chairman of the Stock Exchange)
Mr. Hubert Herkomer, R.A.
Dr. Alexander Hill (Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge)
Rev. Hugh Price Hughes
Sir Robert Hunter
Sir Henry Irving
Mr. T. H. Ismay
Lord Iveagh, K.P.
Professor R. C. Jebb, M.P. (Cambridge)
The Earl of Jersey, G.C.M.G.
The Right Hon. Sir F. H. Jeune, K.C.B. (President Probate Division)
Field-Marshal Lord Roberts of Kandahar, K.P., G.C.B.
Mr. A. Barton Kent (The Skinners’ Company)
Mr. Rudyard Kipling
Mr. H. L. W. Lawson, L.C.C.
The Lord Mayor of Leeds
Mr. G. D. Leslie, R.A.
Lord Bishop of Lichfield
Sir J. D. Linton (President Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours)
Lord Lister (President Royal Society)
The Lord Mayor of Liverpool
Lord Llangattock
Lord Loch, G.C.B., K.C.B.
Professor R. Lodge (Glasgow University)
The Lord Bishop of London
The Marquess of Lorne, K.T.
Mr. Albert G. Sandeman (President of the London Chamber of Commerce)
The Right Hon. Sir John Lubbock, Bart., M.P.
Sir A. C. Lyall
Rev. Edward Lyttelton, M.A. (Headmaster of Haileybury College)
Mr. G. Macmillan
Dr. J. R. Magrath (Oxford)
Professor F. W. Maitland (Cambridge)
The Lord Mayor of Manchester
Sir C. R. Markham, K.C.B. (President Royal Geographical Society)
Mr. Justin M’Carthy, M.P.
Lord Monkswell
Lord Morpeth
Sir Lewis Morris
Mr. Walter Morrison, M.P.
The Right Hon. Sir J. R. Mowbray, Bart., M.P.
Mr. John Murray
Mr. W. H. Myers, M.P.
The Lord Bishop of Oxford
The Warden of Merton College (Oxford)
Professor Napier (Oxford)
Lord Bishop of Newcastle
Mr. William Nicholson
Dr. Joseph Parker (City Temple)
Sir Walter Parratt
Mr. Passmore Edwards
The Dean of St. Paul’s
Mr. C. Arthur Pearson
Viscount Peel
Mr. E. H. Pember, Q.C.
Lord Bishop of Peterborough
The Earl of Pembroke, G.C.V.O.
The Master of the Pewterers’ Company
The Poet Laureate
Sir Frederick Pollock, Bart. (Corpus Professor of Jurisprudence, Oxford)
Rev. B. Pollock, M.A. (Headmaster of Wellington College)
Mr. Melville Portal
Mr. Wyndham S. Portal (Ex-Chairman of London and South-Western Railway Company)
Mr. W. W. Portal
The Bishop of Portsmouth
The Earl of Portsmouth
Sir E. J. Poynter (President Royal Academy)
Professor York Powell (Regius Professor of Modern History, Oxford)
Captain E. G. Pretyman, M.P.
Mr. Sheriff Clifford Probyn
Professor G. W. Prothero (Edinburgh University)
Sir James H. Ramsay, Bart.
Canon Rawnsley
Lord Reay, G.C.S.I. (Chairman of London School Board)
Sir Wemyss Reid
Sir W. B. Richmond, K.C.B., R.A.
Marquess of Ripon, K.G., G.C.S.I.
Mr. Briton Riviere, R.A.
Sir J. R. Robinson
Lord Bishop of Rochester
Lord Rothschild
Mr. John Ruskin
Sir Richard Rycroft, Bart.
The Marquess of Salisbury, K.G.
The Earl of Sandwich
The Earl of Scarborough
Sir Samuel Scott, Bart.
Mr. W. J. Sedgefield (Cambridge)
The Earl of Selborne
Rev. E. C. Selwyn, M.A. (Headmaster of Uppingham School)
The Right Hon. G. Shaw Lefevre, L.C.C.
The Lord Mayor of Sheffield
Mr. T. W. Shore, F.G.S.
Professor W. W. Skeat (Cambridge)
Professor H. Sidgwick (Cambridge)
Mr. W. B. Simonds
Hon. W. F. D. Smith, M.P.
Mr. Henry Sotheran
Mr. W. J. Soulsby, C.B.
The President of the Southampton Chamber of Commerce
Lord Bishop of Southwell
Lord Stalbridge (Chairman of London and North-Western Railway Company)
Lord Stanmore
Mr. Leslie Stephen
Lord Strathcona and Mount Royal
Sir Arthur Sullivan
His Excellency the U.S. Ambassador
The Right Hon. J. G. Talbot, M.P.
The Master of the Temple (Rev. Canon Ainger)
Lord Tennyson
Mr. William L. Thomas
Sir E. Maunde Thomson, K.C.B. (British Museum)
Lord Bishop of Truro
Viscount Valentia, M.P.
Cardinal Vaughan
Lord Bishop of Wakefield
Sir Spencer Walpole, K.C.B.
Lord Wantage, V.C.
Rev. Edmund Warre, D.D. (Headmaster of Eton College)
Mr. Ernest A. Waterlow (President Royal Society of Painters in Water Colours)
Sir Richard E. Webster, G.C.M.G., M.P.
Lord Welby, G.C.B.
The Duke of Wellington
Mr. Julius Wernher
Rev. F. B. Westcott, M.A. (Headmaster of Sherborne School)
The Duke of Westminster
The Dean of Westminster
The Lord Bishop of Winchester
The Dean of Winchester
The Dean of Windsor
Field-Marshal Viscount Wolseley, K.P.
Dr. J. Wood (Headmaster of Harrow School)
Sir H. T. Wood (Secretary Society of Arts)
The Archbishop of York
The Executive Committee.
Chairman—The Right Hon. The Lord Mayor of London
Treasurer—The Right Hon. Sir J. Lubbock, Bart., M.P.
The Right Hon. the Earl of Carlisle
Mr. R. K. Causton, M.P.
The Right Hon. the Lord Lister
The Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of Winchester
The President of the Royal Academy
The Right Hon. J. Bryce, M.P.
His Excellency the Ambassador of the United States
Sir Walter Besant
Mr. Frederic Harrison
The Right Hon. G. Shaw Lefevre, L.C.C.
The President of the Royal Geographical Society
Mr. Walter Morrison, M.P.
Sir Frederick Pollock, Bart.
Sir E. Maunde Thompson, K.C.B.
The President of the London Chamber of Commerce
The Rt. Worshipful the Mayor of Winchester
Sir Arthur Arnold
Sir W. B. Richmond, K.C.B., R.A.
Lord Edmund Fitzmaurice, M.P.
The Chairman of the Committee of the London Stock Exchange
Mr. William Wyndham Portal
The Honourable the Warden of Merton College, Oxford
Mr. Alfred Bowker, Honorary Secretary
At a Meeting of the General Committee at the Mansion House, held on the 3rd November 1898, it was unanimously resolved:—
“That the National Memorial decided on at the Mansion House Meeting of March 18th shall be at Winchester, and consist of a Statue of King Alfred, together with a Hall to be used as a Museum of Early English History.”
The Site considered most appropriate for the Statue has been given by the unanimous vote of the Corporation of Winchester for that purpose.
The Executive Committee have under consideration the expediency of holding an exhibition of objects pertaining to the Alfred period, in London, during the anniversary year.
Several other suggested means of Commemoration are before the Committee, and receiving their consideration, including a Military Review, Naval Display, Historic Pageant, and a Meeting of Learned Societies.
It is proposed that the Government be approached with a view to obtaining their co-operation in the Commemoration, on which the execution of some of the suggestions before the Committee obviously depend.
It is estimated that £30,000 will be required in order to provide a Memorial worthy of the nation and to cover incidental expenses. It is hoped that the Memorial will be completed by the time of Commemoration, so that Funds are now needed that the work may be undertaken forthwith.
Subscriptions are invited (payment of sums of £25 and upwards may be spread over two years), and may be forwarded either to The Right Hon. the Lord Mayor of London, the Mansion House, The Right Hon. Sir John Lubbock, Bart., M.P., care of Messrs. Robarts, Lubbock, and Co., 15 Lombard Street, London, or will be received by any of the following Banks:—The Bank of England; Messrs. Barclay and Co.; Brown, Janson, and Co.; Capital and Counties; Coutts and Co.; Cox and Co.; Glyn, Mills, and Currie; Lloyds; London and County; London and Provincial; London and South-Western; London and Westminster; London Joint Stock; National Provincial; Parrs; Prescott and Co.; Smith, Payne, and Smith; Stillwell and Sons; or may be forwarded to the Honorary Secretary, Guildhall, Winchester, to whom all communications should be addressed.
By SIR WALTER BESANT