Frederick Dwelly

Frederick William Dwelly (9 April 1881 – 9 May 1957) was the first Dean of Liverpool.

From a modest family background, Dwelly worked as a shop assistant in London before the vicar of the church he attended there spotted his potential, and arranged sponsorship for the young Dwelly to study at Queens' College, Cambridge. After graduation, he became an Anglican priest. In 1916 he took over a parish in the Diocese of Liverpool, and was appointed to devise the form of service for the consecration of the new Liverpool Cathedral in 1924. When the cathedral was sufficiently established to need a dean to run it, Dwelly was appointed to the position, taking office in 1931.

At Liverpool Dwelly was responsible for devising fresh forms of service, refreshing the liturgy. He was consulted by the authorities of other cathedrals including Canterbury to advise on the forms of worship for special services. His willingness to innovate led to controversy in 1934, when he permitted a Unitarian to deliver a sermon in the cathedral; many felt that it was improper to allow non-Anglicans to preach in an Anglican church.

Dwelly's liturgical and other legacies to Liverpool Cathedral are commemorated in a life-size carving of him on the memorial to him in the cathedral, unveiled in 1960, five years after his death.

Life and career Early years Dwelly was born in Chard, Somerset, the youngest of the ten children of Robert Dwelly, a carriage builder, and his wife, Caroline, née Cooper. Robert Dwelly was a local Councillor, and like his wife, a dedicated member of the Church of England. In his later years at the school he frequently played truant, absenting himself to listen to music. The headmaster was indulgent, but when these truancies came to the notice of Robert Dwelly, Frederick was removed from the school and sent in 1898 to live in London. He is thought to have stayed with his elder brother Herbert and sister-in-law Florence. and according to his eventual successor as Dean of Liverpool, Frederick Dillistone, he worked as a salesman in a large department store near Oxford Circus. Dwelly's biographer Peter Kennerley identifies the store as Marshall & Snelgrove,

The rector of All Souls at the time was Prebendary Francis Scott Webster (1859–1920), described by Dillistone as a noted Evangelical leader. He spotted Dwelly's potential; with the assistance of a businessman whose identity is not known he made it possible for the young man to go to Queens' College, Cambridge in 1903, to study theology with a view to ordination. In Lent term 1906 Inge gave a series of lectures under the title "Truth and Falsehood in Religion". His mixture of the down-to-earth and the mystic had a deep influence on Dwelly.

Ordained in 1907, Dwelly began his ecclesiastical career with curacies at St Mary Windermere and Cheltenham Parish Church. In June 1907 he married Mary Bradshaw Darwin (1880–1950), daughter of the physician George Henry Darwin. There were no children of the marriage.

The following year Dwelly was appointed a Canon Residentiary of the cathedral. His guidance was sought by other cathedrals; he was largely responsible for the enthronement service of Cosmo Lang as Archbishop at Canterbury in 1928.

Dwelly was appointed vice-dean of Liverpool in 1928 and at the foundation of the deanery and chapter in 1931 he became the first dean of Liverpool, a position he held until 1955. Later deans were assisted by a Canon Precentor, but Dwelly bore sole responsibility for devising services during his years as dean.

Notoriety arose from a strident controversy in 1934, when Dwelly miscalculated public opinion and permitted a Unitarian to preach at a normal service in the cathedral. Bishop David had earlier permitted another Unitarian to preach at a non-liturgical service, but it was regarded by many as intolerable that a non-Anglican should preach in an Anglican service. David publicly supported Dwelly during the ensuing furore, but was formally reproved by the Archbishop at the synod of the province of York in 1934. Relations between bishop and dean were already strained by David's attempts to interfere in the business of the dean and chapter in running the cathedral, Their relationship was further damaged by the Unitarian episode.

Dwelly's devotion to the cathedral was demonstrated during the Second World War, when he took up residence within the building, making a bedroom of a small, unheated room off a tower staircase. From there he supervised continuous firewatching during the Blitz. In 1947 he accepted an invitation from the University of Cambridge to preach a series of lectures on pastoral theology. she died in 1950. Dwelly suffered a decline in his physical and mental health, and resigned as dean in 1955, being appointed "Dean Emeritus". He died at his home in Toxteth, Liverpool, on 9 May 1957.

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