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Draft:Thomas Anselm Burge

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  • Comment: The obituaries don't establish the notability, nor are the musical accomplishments passable via WP:NMUSIC. Utopes (talk / cont) 07:46, 24 February 2024 (UTC)

The Right Reverend Thomas Anselm Burge O.S.B., (14 September 1846 - 17 July 1929), aka Laurence Ampleforth, was a Catholic parish priest in Aigburth, Liverpool, England, and became Abbot of Westminster Cathedral. He was also an accomplished musician and expert on Church Music.

Early Life

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Fr. Burge was born in London and educated first at Dr Crookall's School, Woolhampton and then from 1860 to 1865, at Ampleforth College.[1]

Church life

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The following is a summary of key events from several obituaries.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] The fact that these appeared in newspapers in different parts of England shows that he held wide notability.

Fr. Burge entered the Novitiate at Belmont in 1865 and took Solemn Vows and became Subdeacon in 1969. He was ordained Priest in 1874 and, after some other posts, was Prior of Ampleforth from 1885 to 1897. During his time there, he introduced significant developments to college education. These included lectures for small boys in memory and the introduction of public examinations through the Cambridge Higher Certificate. He also made participation in games compulsory and gave lectures in Science, Music and Art. From 1899, he settled as Parish Priest of St Austin's Church, Grassendale and lived at the Presbytery in Aigburth Road, Liverpool, until his death in 1929, havng been nominated as Abbot of Westminster Cathedral in 1917. He is buried at Ampleforth.

Musical life

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Fr. Burge was an accomplished musician and an authority on church music.[11] During his time at Belmont, he undertook duties as organist and choir master.[12] He was a founder of the Rodewald Concert Society in Liverpool,[13][14] but resigned from the Committee in 1913. His compositions include: Songs Ave Maria! O Maiden, O Mother, Poor Lorraine[15][16] and O Sacred Heart.[17] For the Liverpool 700th Anniversary Pageant he also composed Chant of the Monks.[18] For composing, he sometimes used the pseudonym 'Laurence Ampleforth'.

Sources

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  1. Rodewald Concert Society archives
  2. Ancestry
  3. Obituaries, Refs 1-10

References

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  1. ^ a b English Benedictine Congregational History, Obituaries, http://www.plantata.org.uk/obits/matthews/burge_a.htm,
  2. ^ Liverpool Archdiocese Directory and Guide to the Quarant' Ore, 1930, p.29
  3. ^ The Musical Times, 70(1039), 848–848.
  4. ^ Daily Telegraph,19 July 1929
  5. ^ Liverpool Post and Mercury, 18 July 1929
  6. ^ Daily Express 18 July 1929
  7. ^ Evening Dispatch (Birmingham), 18 July 1929
  8. ^ Leicester Mercury, 18 JUly 1929
  9. ^ Derby Daily Telegraph, 18 July 1929
  10. ^ Somerset Guardian & Banstock observe, 26 July 2029
  11. ^ Liverpool Archdiocese Directory and Guide to the Quarant' Ore, 1930, p.29
  12. ^ >English Benedictine Congregational History, Obituaries, http://www.plantata.org.uk/obits/matthews/burge_a.htm,
  13. ^ Rodewald Concert Society Golden Jubilee 1911-1961, booklet published by the Society (780 RCS/8/1/2)
  14. ^ Archives of the Rodewald Concrt Society, Liverpool Record Office, Ref 780 RCS/1/1/1, 27 Apr 1911
  15. ^ "Ave Maria! O Maiden, O Mother (Laurence Ampleforth) - ChoralWiki". www.cpdl.org.
  16. ^ "Ampleforth, Laurence - Ave, Maria! O Maiden, O Mother!". www.avemariasongs.org.
  17. ^ Hymnary.org
  18. ^ "Liverpool 700th Anniversary Pageant | Historical Pageants".