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475_23 | Reception |
475_24 | Critical response |
475_25 | The episode received critical acclaim from critics. Critical review aggregate website Metacritic assigned "LA X" a score of 89/100, indicating "universal acclaim" and making it the best-reviewed season premiere of the 2009-2010 television season. Chris Carbot of IGN gave the episode a strong positive review, stating that "season six is off to a fantastic start", although he criticized the first hour of the premiere for its pacing and lack of "information that needs to be imparted to the audience." Overall he gave the episode a score of 9.2. Noel Murray of The A.V. Club also praised "LA X", stating that he "loved pretty much every minute", and grading it A. Variety's Cynthia Littleton praised the premiere as well, calling it "worth the ten-month wait." Maureen Ryan of Chicago Tribune gave the episode a perfect score, stating "This was a fantastic season premiere. I was on the edge of my seat as all the revelations and heartbreaks and the dual timelines unfolded". Alan Sepinwall of the |
475_26 | Star-Ledger reviewed the episode positively as well, calling it "fun" and comparing it to the pilot episode. |
475_27 | Ben Rawson-Jones of Digital Spy gave the episode four out of five stars, explaining that "the skilful hands who craft that show assembled everything so intricately that we were treated to a thoroughly compelling adventure … On this evidence, Lost will go out on a high". He particularly enjoyed the "breathtaking camera swoop" from Oceanic 815 to the submerged island, saying that it "showcased [a] cinematic, visceral texture". Rawson-Jones commended Terry O'Quinn's dual-role performance, but lamented the treatment of Juliet's death, assessing it as melodramatic and predictable and calling it "the only real sore point of the generally brilliant season premiere."
Ratings
The episode was watched by 12.1 million American viewers, 1.70 million Canadian viewers, 1.406 million viewers in the United Kingdom,
References
External links
"LA X" at ABC
Lost (season 6) episodes
2010 American television episodes
Television episodes written by Damon Lindelof
fi:LA X |
476_0 | Liverpool Cathedral is the Cathedral of the Anglican Diocese of Liverpool, built on St James's Mount in Liverpool, and the seat of the Bishop of Liverpool. It may be referred to as the Cathedral Church of Christ in Liverpool (as recorded in the Document of Consecration) or the Cathedral Church of the Risen Christ, Liverpool, being dedicated to Christ 'in especial remembrance of His most glorious Resurrection'. Liverpool Cathedral is the largest cathedral and religious building in Britain, and the eighth largest church in the world. |
476_1 | The cathedral is based on a design by Giles Gilbert Scott and was constructed between 1904 and 1978. The total external length of the building, including the Lady Chapel (dedicated to the Blessed Virgin), is making it the longest cathedral in the world; its internal length is . In terms of overall volume, Liverpool Cathedral ranks as the fifth-largest cathedral in the world and contests with the incomplete Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City for the title of largest Anglican church building. With a height of it is also one of the world's tallest non-spired church buildings and the fourth-tallest structure in the city of Liverpool. The cathedral is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building. |
476_2 | The Anglican cathedral is one of two cathedrals in the city. The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Cathedral of Liverpool is situated approximately half a mile to the north. The cathedrals are linked by Hope Street, which takes its name from William Hope, a local merchant whose house stood on the site now occupied by the Philharmonic Hall, and was named long before either cathedral was built.
History
Background |
476_3 | J. C. Ryle was installed as the first Bishop of Liverpool in 1880, but the new diocese had no cathedral, merely a "pro-cathedral", the parish church of St Peter, Church Street. St Peter's was unsatisfactory; it was too small for major church events, and moreover was, in the words of the Rector of Liverpool, "ugly & hideous". In 1885 an Act of Parliament authorised the building of a cathedral on the site of the existing St John's Church, adjacent to St George's Hall. A competition was held for the design, and won by William Emerson. The site proved unsuitable for the erection of a building on the scale proposed, and the scheme was abandoned. |
476_4 | In 1900 Francis Chavasse succeeded Ryle as Bishop, and immediately revived the project to build a cathedral. There was some opposition from among members of Chavasse's diocesan clergy, who maintained that there was no need for an expensive new cathedral. The architectural historian John Thomas argues that this reflected "a measure of factional strife between Liverpool Anglicanism's very Evangelical or Low Church tradition, and other forces detectable within the religious complexion of the new diocese." Chavasse, though himself an Evangelical, regarded the building of a great church as "a visible witness to God in the midst of a great city". He pressed ahead, and appointed a committee under William Forwood to consider all possible sites. The St John's site being ruled out, Forwood's committee identified four locations: St Peter's and St Luke's, which were, like St John's, found to be too restricted; a triangular site at the junction of London Road and Monument Place; and St James's |
476_5 | Mount. There was considerable debate about the competing merits of the two possible sites, and Forwood's committee was inclined to favour the London Road triangle. However, the cost of acquiring it was too great, and the St James's Mount site was recommended. An historian of the cathedral, Vere Cotton, wrote in 1964: |
476_6 | Fund-raising began, and new enabling legislation was passed by Parliament. The Liverpool Cathedral Act 1902 authorised the purchase of the site and the building of a cathedral, with the proviso that as soon as any part of it opened for public worship, St Peter's Church should be demolished and its site sold to provide the endowment of the new cathedral's chapter. St Peter's place as Parish Church of Liverpool would be taken by the existing church of St Nicholas near the Pier Head. St Peter's Church closed in 1919, and was finally demolished in 1922. |
476_7 | 1901 competition
In late 1901, two well-known architects were appointed as assessors for an open competition for architects wishing to be considered for the design of the cathedral. George Frederick Bodley was a leading exponent of the Gothic revival style, and a former pupil and relative by marriage of Sir George Gilbert Scott. Richard Norman Shaw was an eclectic architect, having begun in the Gothic style, and later favouring what his biographer Andrew Saint calls "full-blooded classical or imperial architecture". |
476_8 | Architects were invited by public advertisement to submit portfolios of their work for consideration by Bodley and Shaw. From these, the two assessors selected a first shortlist of architects to be invited to prepare drawings for the new building. It was stipulated that the designs were to be in the Gothic style. Robert Gladstone, a member of the committee to which the assessors were to report said, "There could be no question that Gothic architecture produced a more devotional effect upon the mind than any other which human skill had invented." This condition caused controversy. Reginald Blomfield and others protested at the insistence on a Gothic style, a "worn-out flirtation in antiquarianism, now relegated to the limbo of art delusions." An editorial in The Times observed, "To impose a preliminary restriction is unwise and impolitic … the committee must not hamper itself at starting with a condition which is certain to exclude many of the best men." Eventually it was agreed that |
476_9 | the assessors would also consider "designs of a Renaissance or Classical character". |
476_10 | For architects, the competition was an important event; not only was it for one of the largest building projects of its time, but it was only the third opportunity to build an Anglican cathedral in England since the Reformation in the 16th century (St Paul's Cathedral being the first, rebuilt from scratch after the Great Fire of London in 1666, and Truro Cathedral being the second, begun in the 19th century). The competition attracted 103 entries, from architects including Temple Moore, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Charles Reilly, and Austin and Paley. |
476_11 | In 1903, the assessors recommended a proposal submitted by the 22-year-old Giles Gilbert Scott, who was still an articled pupil working in Temple Moore's practice, and had no existing buildings to his credit. He told the assessors that so far his only major work had been to design a pipe-rack. The choice of winner was even more contentious with the Cathedral Committee when it was discovered that Scott was a Roman Catholic, but the decision stood. |
476_12 | Scott's first design
Although young, Scott was steeped in ecclesiastical design and well versed in the Gothic revival style, his grandfather, Sir Gilbert Scott, and father, George Gilbert Scott, Jr., having designed numerous churches. George Bradbury, the surveyor to the Cathedral Committee, reported, "Mr. Scott seems to have inherited the architectural genius so marked in the Scott family for the last three or four generations ... He is very pleasant, agreeable, enthusiastic, tall and looks considerably older than he actually is." Appearances notwithstanding, Scott's inexperience prompted the Cathedral Committee to appoint Bodley to oversee the detailed architectural design and building work. Work began without delay. The foundation stone was laid by King Edward VII in 1904. |
476_13 | Cotton observes that it was generous of Bodley to enter into a working relationship with a young and untried student. Bodley had been a close friend of Scott's father, but his collaboration with the young Scott was fractious, especially after Bodley accepted commissions to design two cathedrals in the US, necessitating frequent absences from Liverpool. Scott complained that this "has made the working partnership agreement more of a farce than ever, and to tell the truth my patience with the existing state of affairs is about exhausted". Scott was on the point of resigning when Bodley died suddenly in 1907, leaving him in charge. The Cathedral Committee appointed Scott sole architect, and though it reserved the right to appoint another co-architect, it never seriously considered doing so.
Scott's 1910 redesign |
476_14 | In 1909, free of Bodley and growing in confidence, Scott submitted an entirely new design for the main body of the cathedral. His original design had two towers at the west end and a single transept; the revised plan called for a single central tower high, topped with a lantern and flanked by twin transepts. The Cathedral Committee, shaken by such radical changes to the design they had approved, asked Scott to work his ideas out in fine detail and submit them for consideration. He worked on the plans for more than a year, and in November 1910, the committee approved them. In addition to the change in the exterior, Scott's new plans provided more interior space. At the same time Scott modified the decorative style, losing much of the Gothic detailing and introducing a more modern, monumental style. |
476_15 | The Lady Chapel
The Lady Chapel (originally intended to be called the Morning Chapel), the first part of the building to be completed, was consecrated in 1910 by Chavasse in the presence of two Archbishops and 24 other Bishops. The date, 29 June — St Peter's Day — was chosen to honour the pro-cathedral, now due to be demolished. The Manchester Guardian described the ceremony:
The richness of the décor of the Lady Chapel may have dismayed some of Liverpool's Evangelical clergy. Thomas suggests that they were confronted with "a feminised building which lacked reference to the 'manly' and 'muscular Christian' thinking which had emerged in reaction to the earlier feminisation of religion." He adds that the building would have seemed to many to be designed for Anglo-Catholic worship. |
476_16 | The décor includes a stained glass featuring women of various backgrounds and professions, who are considered to have contributed significantly to society. These include:
Theologian Julian of Norwich (1343-1416)
Mother of Methodism Susanna Wesley (1669-1742)
Social reformer Elizabeth Fry (1780-1845)
Feminist and social reformer Josephine Butler (1828-1906)
Charlotte Stanley, Countess of Derby, who led a siege during the First English Civil War (1599-1664)
English poet Christina Rossetti (1830-1894)
Queen Victoria (1819-1901)
Wife of prime minister William Ewart Gladstone Catherine Gladstone, known for founding orphanages and her wit (1812-1900)
Philanthropist and the wealthiest woman in England in 1837, Angela Burdett-Coutts, 1st Baroness Burdett-Coutts (1814-1906)
Prominent figure in the Wars of the Roses and founder of two University of Cambridge colleges, Lady Margaret Beaufort (1441/3 - 1509)
English poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861) |
476_17 | Suffragist and first principal of Newnham College, Anne Jemima Clough (1820-1892)
Courtier Margaret Godolphin (1652-1678)
Anglican nun Mother Cecile (1862-1906)
The lightkeeper's daughter who participated in the rescue of the shipwrecked Forfarshire, Grace Darling (1815-1842)
Kitty Wilkinson (1786-1860), who opened the first public washhouse in Liverpool during a cholera epidemic
Martyr and missionary Louisa Stewart (1852-1895)
Doctor and missionary Alice Marval (1865-1904)
First trained Nursing Superintendent of Liverpool Workhouse Infirmary Agnes Jones (1832-1868)
Missionary Anna Hinderer (1827-1870)
Mary Ann Rogers (1855-1899), Stewardess of the Stella passenger steamboat, who gave her life to save passengers when the boat sank in 1899. |
476_18 | Second phase
Work was severely limited during the First World War, with a shortage of manpower, materials and donations. By 1920, the workforce had been brought back up to strength and the stone quarries at Woolton, source of the pinkish-red sandstone for most of the building, reopened. The first section of the main body of the cathedral was complete by 1924. It comprised the chancel, an ambulatory, chapter house and vestries. The section was closed with a temporary wall, and on 19 July 1924, the 20th anniversary of the laying of the foundation stone, the cathedral was consecrated in the presence of King George V and Queen Mary, and Archbishops and Bishops from around the globe. Major works ceased for a year while Scott once again revised his plans for the next section of the building: the tower, the under-tower and the central transept. The tower in his final design was higher and narrower than his 1910 conception. |
476_19 | From July 1925 work continued steadily, and it was hoped to complete the whole section by 1940. The outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 caused similar problems to those of the earlier war. The workforce dwindled from 266 to 35; moreover, the building was damaged by German bombs during the May Blitz. Despite these vicissitudes, the central section was complete enough by July 1941 to be handed over to the Dean and Chapter. Scott laid the last stone of the last pinnacle on the tower on 20 February 1942. No further major works were undertaken during the rest of the war. Scott produced his plans for the nave in 1942, but work on it did not begin until 1948. The bomb damage, particularly to the Lady Chapel, was not fully repaired until 1955.
Completion |
476_20 | Scott died in 1960. The first bay of the nave was then nearly complete, and was handed over to the Dean and Chapter in April 1961. Scott was succeeded as architect by Frederick Thomas. Thomas, who had worked with Scott for many years, drew up a new design for the west front of the cathedral. The Guardian commented, "It was an inflation beater, but totally in keeping with the spirit of the earlier work, and its crowning glory is the Benedicite Window designed by Carl Edwards and covering 1,600 sq. ft." |
476_21 | The version recorded in Gavin Stamp's obituary of Richard Gilbert Scott, which appeared in The Guardian on 15 July 2017, differs slightly: "When his father died the following year (1960), Richard inherited the practice and was left to complete several jobs. He continued with the great work of building Liverpool Cathedral but, after adding two bays of the nave (using cheaper materials: concrete and fibreglass), he resigned when it was proposed drastically to alter his father's design. The cathedral was eventually completed with a much simplified and diminished west end drawn out by his father's former assistant, Roger Pinckney".
The completion of the building was marked by a service of thanksgiving and dedication in October 1978, attended by Queen Elizabeth II. In the spirit of ecumenism that had been fostered in Liverpool, The Most Rev. Derek Worlock, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Liverpool, played a major part in the ceremony. |
476_22 | Funding
In October 2021, the building was one of 142 sites across England to receive part of a £35-million injection into the government's Culture Recovery Fund.
Dean and chapter
As of 8 December 2020:
Dean — Sue Jones (since 5 May 2018 institution)
Vice Dean & Canon Precentor — Myles Davies (canon since 2006; Precentor since 2008; Acting Dean, 2011–2012 & 2017–2018; also Vicar of Stanley until 2011)
Canon Chancellor and Diocesan Director of Social Justice — Ellen Loudon (since 5 June 2016 installation)
Canon for Mission and Faith Development — Neal Barnes (since 13 July 2019 installation)
Canon Scientist — Mike Kirby (SSM; since 9 February 2020 installation)
Completed building
The cathedral's official website gives the dimensions of the building as
Length:
Area:
Height of tower:
Choir vault:
Nave vault:
Under tower vault:
Tower arches: |
476_23 | The cathedral was built mainly of local sandstone quarried from the South Liverpool suburb of Woolton. The last sections (The Well of the Cathedral at the west end in the 1960s and 1970s) used the closest matching sandstone that could be found from other NW quarries once the supply from Woolton had been exhausted.
The belltower is the largest, and also one of the tallest, in the world (see List of tallest churches in the world). It houses the world's highest () and heaviest () ringing peal of bells, and the third-heaviest bell () in the United Kingdom. |
476_24 | Services and other uses |
476_25 | The cathedral is open daily all year round from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm (except Christmas Day, when it closes to the public at 3 pm), and regular services are held every day of the week at 8:30 am: Morning Prayer (Holy Communion on Sundays). 12:05 pm Monday–Saturday (Communion) and Monday–Friday at 5:30pm (Evensong or said Evening Prayer according to day and time of year). At the weekend, there is also a 3pm Evensong service on Saturdays and Sundays with a main Cathedral Eucharist at 10:30 am, which attracts a large core congregation each week. It also has a more intimate Communion on Sundays at 4 pm. Since early 2011, the cathedral has also offered a regular, more informal form of cafe-style worship called "Zone 2", running parallel to its main Sunday Eucharist each week and held in the lower rooms in the Giles Gilbert Scott Function Suite (formerly the Western Rooms). The core services at 5:30pm on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, 10:30am on Sundays and 3pm Saturdays and Sundays |
476_26 | are supported on each occasion during term time by the cathedral choir. |
476_27 | Following the closure of their building in Rodney Street in 1975, the Liverpool St. Andrew's congregation of the Church of Scotland used the Radcliffe Room of the cathedral for Sunday services. The congregation finally disbanded in November 2016.
Admission to the cathedral is free, but with a suggested donation of £5. Car parking is available on site on a pay-on-exit basis. Parking is free for attendance at all services. Access to the main floor of the cathedral is restricted during services and some of the major events.
The building also plays host to a wide range of events and special services including concerts, academic events involving local schools, graduations, exhibitions, family activities, seminars, conferences, corporate events, commemorative services, anniversary services and many more. Its maximum capacity for any major event including special services is 3,500 standing, or about 2,300 fully seated. The ground floor of the cathedral is fully accessible. |
476_28 | Liverpool Cathedral has its own specialist constabulary to keep watch on an all-year 24-hour basis. The Liverpool Cathedral Constables together with the York Minster Police and several other cathedrals' constable units are members of the Cathedral Constables' Association.
Liverpool Cathedral also features on a page of the latest design of the British passport.
Bells |
476_29 | At above floor level, the bells of Liverpool Cathedral are the highest and heaviest ringing peal in the world.
Two lifts are provided for the use of the bellringers and other visitors to the tower. The peal proper (hung for full-circle change ringing) consists of thirteen bells weighing a total of , which are named the Bartlett Bells after Thomas Bartlett (died 4 September 1912), a native of Liverpool who bequeathed the funding. The bells vary in size and note from the comparatively light treble to the tenor weighing . The 13th bell (sharp 2nd) is extra to the main 12-bell peal, and its purpose is to make possible ringing in a correct octave on lighter bells. All thirteen bells were cast by Mears & Stainbank of Whitechapel in London. The initial letters of the inscriptions on the thirteen bells spell out the name "Thomas Bartlett" (from tenor to treble). |
476_30 | The Bartlett bells are hung in a circle around the bourdon bell "Great George". At , Great George is the third most massive bell in the British Isles. (Only the "Great Paul" of St Paul's Cathedral in London, and the 2012 Olympic Bell (22.91 tonnes) are heavier.) However, as the ringing mechanism of "Great Paul" is currently broken (and has been for several years), and the Olympic bell is never rung, Great George is currently the largest ringing bell in the British Isles. Great George, cast by Taylors of Loughborough and named in memory of George V, is hung in a pendant position and is sounded by means of a counterbalanced clapper.
Music |
476_31 | Organ
The organ, built by Henry Willis & Sons, is the largest pipe organ in the UK, and one of the largest musical instruments in the world. It has two five-manual consoles (one sited high up in one of the organ cases and the other, a mobile console, on the floor of the cathedral), 10,268 pipes and a trompette militaire. There is an annual anniversary recital on the Saturday nearest to 18 October, the date of the organ's consecration. There is a separate two-manual Willis organ in the Lady Chapel.
Organists and Directors of Music
1880–1916 — Frederick Hampton Burstall (died 1916)
1915–1955 — Walter Henry Goss-Custard (Cathedral Organist)
1931–1982 — Ronald Woan (Director of Music)
1955–1980 — Noel Rawsthorne (Cathedral Organist)
1980–present — Ian Tracey (Organist and Master of the Choristers - 1982–2008. Organist Titulaire - 2008-)
2008–2017 — David Poulter (Director of Music)
2017–present — Lee Ward (Director of Music)
Assistant organists |
476_32 | Noel Rawsthorne 1949–1955 (afterwards organist)
Lewis Rust (part-time) student at Liverpool Institute and ex-chorister
Ian Tracey 1976–1980 (afterwards organist)
Ian Wells 1980–2007
Daniel Bishop 2010–present
Organ scholars
Lewis Rust (approx dates 1960–70)
Ian Tracey (organist) (later organiste titulaire)
Ian Wells (later, Holy Trinity, Southport)
Geoff Williams 1983-85 (now Director of Music, St Anne's Stanley)
Stephen Disley (now assistant organist and director of the girls' choir, Southwark Cathedral)
Paul Daggett
Martin Payne 1994–95
David Leahey 1995–97
Keith Hearnshaw 1997–98
Michael Wynne
Gerrard Callacher
Daniel Bishop (later associate organist)
Shean Bowers 2004–06 (later assistant director of music at Bath Abbey)
Samuel Austin 2007–08 (later assistant director of music at Aldenham School)
Martyn Noble (2009–11)
James Speakman (2011–12)
Daniel Mansfield (2014–2019)
William Jeys (2019-)
Artists and sculptors |
476_33 | In 1931, Scott asked Edward Carter Preston to produce a series of sculptures for Liverpool Cathedral. The project was an immense undertaking which occupied the artist for the next thirty years. The work for the cathedral included fifty sculptures, ten memorials and several reliefs. Many inscriptions in the cathedral were jointly written by Dean Dwelly and the sculptor who subsequently carved them.
In 1993 "The Welcoming Christ", a large bronze sculpture by Dame Elisabeth Frink, was installed over the outside of the west door of the cathedral. This was one of her last completed works, installed within days of her death.
In 2003 the Liverpool artist, Don McKinlay, who knew Carter Preston from his youth, was commissioned by the cathedral to model an infant Christ to accompany the 15th century Madonna by Giovanni della Robbia Madonna now situated in the Lady Chapel. |
476_34 | In 2008 a work entitled "For You" by Tracey Emin was installed at the west end of the cathedral below the Benedicite window. The pink neon sign reads "I felt you and I knew you loved me", and was installed when Liverpool became European Capital of Culture. The work was originally intended to be a temporary installation for one month as part of the Capital of Culture programme, but is now a permanent feature.
Another work by Emin, "The Roman Standard" takes the form of a small bronze sparrow on a metal pole, and was installed in 2005 outside the Oratory Chapel close to the west end of the cathedral. The sparrow was stolen (twice) in 2008, but on both occasions was returned and replaced.
Stained glass |
476_35 | The firm of James Powell and Sons (Whitefriars), Ltd., of London, provided most of the stained glass designs. John William Brown (1842–1928) designed the Te Deum window in the east end of the cathedral, as well as the original windows for the Lady Chapel, which was heavily damaged during German bombing raids in 1940. The glass in the Lady Chapel was replaced with designs, based on the originals, by James Humphries Hogan (1883–1948). He was one of the most prolific of the Powell and Sons designers; his designs can also be seen in the large north and south windows in the central space of the cathedral (each 100 feet tall). Later artists include William Wilson (1905–1972), who began his work at Liverpool Cathedral after the death of Hogan, Herbert Hendrie (1887–1946), and Carl Edwards (1914–1985), who designed the Benedicite window in the west front. The cathedral has approximately 1,700 m2 of stained glass. |
476_36 | Burials
Bishop Chavasse and Sir Giles Gilbert Scott are buried in the precinct of the cathedral, the former in Founder's Plot, and the latter at the west end of the site. Clergy buried within the cathedral include the bishops Albert David and David Sheppard. Among the benefactors whose remains are buried in the cathedral are The 1st Baron Vestey and his brother, Sir Edmund Vestey, and Frederick Radcliffe. The ashes of the donor of the cathedral bells, Thomas Bartlett, are interred in a casket in the ringing room. At the rear of the memorial to the 55th (West Lancashire) Division rest the ashes of Lieutenant-General Sir Hugh Jeudwine, who commanded the division from its formation in 1916 until the end of the First World War.
See also
Grade I listed churches in Merseyside
Architecture of Liverpool
Liverpool Cathedral Constables
Giles Gilbert Scott
Notes and references
Notes
References
Sources
Further reading
External links |
476_37 | Liverpool Pictorial Images of Liverpool Anglican cathedral
Catherdral Blog website containing daily Cathedral blog, and all sermons, talks, lectures and courses given in the Cathedral in text and mp3 file format
The Liverpool Shakespeare Festival Annual theatrical performance inside the Cathedral
Virtual Tours of Liverpool Cathedral Virtual Tours of Liverpool Cathedral
New Bridge design
Description and pictures of the cathedral organ.
Details of the main organ from the National Pipe Organ Register
Details of the organ in the Lady Chapel from the National Pipe Organ Register
Details of the Cathedral bells from Dove's Guide for Church Bell Ringers
Interview with Canon Justin Welby, dean of Liverpool Cathedral
St. Andrew's Church of Scotland Liverpool website |
476_38 | Anglican cathedrals in England
Cathedral
British churches bombed by the Luftwaffe
Churches completed in 1978
Churches in Liverpool
Giles Gilbert Scott church buildings
Gothic Revival architecture in Merseyside
Gothic Revival church buildings in England
Cathedral
Grade I listed cathedrals
Sandstone churches in England
Tourist attractions in Liverpool |
477_0 | Martin Anthony Lunde (born September 20, 1958), better known by the ring name Arn Anderson, is an American professional wrestling road agent, author, and retired professional wrestler. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a manager. Although he is widely regarded as one of the finest tag team wrestlers in history, he also had a successful singles career and became a four-time NWA/WCW World Television Champion, which he often called his "World Title".
Anderson's career has been highlighted by his alliances with Ric Flair and various members of the wrestling stable The Four Horsemen in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW). After his retirement, he worked as a producer for WWE until 2019, when he joined AEW. On March 31, 2012, Anderson was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as a member of the Four Horsemen. His son, Brock Anderson also pursued a career in professional wrestling, performing for AEW. |
477_1 | Early life
Martin Anthony Lunde was born in Rome, Georgia, on September 20, 1958.
Professional wrestling career |
477_2 | Early career (1982–1984) |
477_3 | Lunde began his career on February 1, 1982, having been trained by Ted Lipscomb (Allen). He spent much of the year wrestling in various independent wrestling companies across the United States, including a minor run in Mid South Wrestling for Bill Watts from 1982 to 1983. By the middle of 1983, he made his way to Southeastern Championship Wrestling, an NWA affiliated promotion operating out of Tennessee and Alabama. Taking the name of Super Olympia, Lunde soon became a member of Ron Fuller's Stud Stable before the year was out. Lunde saw success in the tag team ranks by winning the NWA Southeastern Tag Team Championship three times with Mr. Olympia and once with Pat Rose throughout 1984. It was also here in this promotion that Lunde met and began what would become a lifelong friendship with Ric Flair. By the end of the year, however, Lunde left the company and joined Mid South Wrestling based out of Shreveport. Lunde's time in Mid South was coming to an end, and during a TV taping |
477_4 | the Junk Yard Dog mentioned to Bill Watts, the owner of Mid South Wrestling, that Lunde looked like an Anderson. Watts called Jim Crockett and convinced him to book Lunde. |
477_5 | Jim Crockett Promotions/World Championship Wrestling (1984–1988) |
477_6 | Becoming an Anderson (1984–1985) |
477_7 | Lunde made his way to Jim Crockett, Jr.'s Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, based in the Virginias and the Carolinas. By this time, the company extended its range into Georgia after rival promoter Vince McMahon purchased Georgia Championship Wrestling. There was a strong physical resemblance between Lunde and Ole Anderson, who had achieved legendary status in the Georgia and Mid-Atlantic territories as a tag team wrestler. Ole noticed that Lunde's style was a no nonsense approach in the ring and specialized in working over a part of an opponent's body throughout the match, much like Ole himself. Anderson agreed to work with Lunde, helping to hone his capabilities, and re-formed the Minnesota Wrecking Crew with Lunde replacing Gene Anderson and taking on the name of Arn Anderson, Ole's kayfabe nephew. The team quickly became a force in the territory by capturing the NWA National Tag Team Championship in March 1985. Arn and Ole defended the titles throughout the year, with their |
477_8 | highest profile match being part of the card for Starrcade 1985 on Thanksgiving night. The Crew successfully defended the titles against Wahoo McDaniel and Billy Jack Haynes. |
477_9 | The Four Horsemen (1985–1988) |
477_10 | In the latter half of 1985, the Andersons formed a loose knit alliance with fellow heels Tully Blanchard and Ric Flair, as they began to have common enemies. The foursome frequently teamed together in six-man, and sometimes, eight-man tag matches or interfered in each other's matches to help score a victory or, at least, to prevent each other from losing their titles. The alliance quickly became a force within the territory, working in feuds against some of the biggest stars in the company like Dusty Rhodes, Magnum T.A., The Road Warriors and the Rock 'n' Roll Express. Anderson also saw success as a singles wrestler on January 4, 1986, by winning the vacant NWA Television Championship. Simultaneously, Anderson was still one half of the NWA National Tag Team Champions and, even though Crockett promotions abandoned the National Tag titles in March, Anderson's success as a dual champion elevated his status within the territory. It was also during this time (in 1986) that the Andersons, |
477_11 | Blanchard, and Flair began calling themselves The Four Horsemen with James J. Dillon serving as the group's manager. Anderson also had a tremendous ability to do interviews to further the storylines he participated in. His ability to improvise in interviews allowed him to coin the "Four Horsemen" moniker for the stable, as he likened their coming to wrestle at an event and the aftermath of their wrath as being akin to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, and the name stuck. Anderson continued his reign as NWA Television Champion for most of the year, holding the championship for just over 9 months before losing it to Dusty Rhodes on September 9, 1986. |
477_12 | The first real setback with the Horsemen occurred at Starrcade 1986 after Anderson and Ole lost a Steel Cage match to The Rock 'n' Roll Express, with Ole getting pinned. The subsequent storyline positioned Ole as the weak link within the team, possibly attributed to his age. Ole's position with the group was only further weakened after he decided to take two months off after Starrcade. After Ole's return in February 1987, the other Horsemen turned on him and threw him out of the group, resulting in Ole incurring numerous attacks over the next several months. Afterwards, Ole was replaced with Lex Luger and the Horsemen resumed their dominance of the company.
Teaming with Tully Blanchard (1987–1988) |
477_13 | As a member of the Horsemen, Anderson continued to be involved in high-profile angles within the company. By mid-1987, Anderson and fellow Horsemen Tully Blanchard began regularly competing as a tag team and rose quickly through the tag team ranks. The duo faced the Rock 'n' Roll Express for the NWA World Tag Team Championship on September 29, 1987, and were victorious. This win further solidified the group's dominance in the company as Lex Luger was the reigning NWA United States Heavyweight Champion and Ric Flair spent most of 1987 as the NWA World Heavyweight Champion, losing it to Ron Garvin in September, only to regain it at Starrcade 1987 on Thanksgiving night. Anderson and Tully continued to feud throughout the rest of the year and first few months of 1988 with the Road Warriors, the Rock 'n' Roll Express and the Midnight Express being their most frequent rivals. |
477_14 | By December 1987, Luger had defected from the Horsemen and began a heated feud with the group, with Ric Flair especially. In early 1988, Luger formed a tag team with Barry Windham and began challenging Anderson and Blanchard for the NWA World Tag Team Championship. The bigger, stronger team of Windham and Luger were eventually successful, winning the titles on March 27, 1988. The reign would be short lived, however, as Anderson and Blanchard regained the titles less than a month later after Barry Windham turned on Luger during their match and joined the Horsemen. Though Anderson and Blanchard were two of the biggest stars in Crockett's company, they were frequently in dispute with Crockett over their pay. Despite the fact that the two, along with the Horsemen, were helping to generate millions of dollars in revenue for the company, they considered themselves to be underpaid. Their last contracted match with the company took place on September 10, 1988, when they dropped the NWA World |
477_15 | Tag Team Championship to the Midnight Express before leaving for the WWF. |
477_16 | World Wrestling Federation (1988–1989)
Anderson and Blanchard left Crockett's company to join Vince McMahon's World Wrestling Federation. Upon being named the Brain Busters, the team took Bobby "The Brain" Heenan as their manager and quickly began rising through the tag team ranks, eventually coming to challenge Demolition for the WWF Tag Team Championship. On July 18, 1989, the Brain Busters won the titles, ending Demolition's historic reign of 478 days; the match would air on the July 29 edition of Saturday Night's Main Event XXII. Although they would lose the titles back to Demolition just over three months later, the Brain Busters continued to be a force in the WWF's tag team division.
Return to WCW (1990–2000) |
477_17 | World Television Champion (1989–1990) |
477_18 | In December 1989, Anderson left the WWF and went back to WCW. Blanchard was slated to return as well but WWF accused him of testing positive for cocaine. Crockett's company was now called World Championship Wrestling and was under the ownership of billionaire mogul Ted Turner. Anderson helped to reform the Horsemen and he quickly found success in the company, winning the NWA World Television Championship on January 2, 1990. Anderson remained the champion almost the entire year before dropping it to Tom Zenk. Zenk's reign would be short lived, however, as Anderson regained the title, having been renamed the WCW World Television Championship on January 14, 1991. His third reign with the title was also considered successful as he held the title a little more than five months before dropping it to "Beautiful" Bobby Eaton on May 19, 1991. Afterwards, with Horsemen members Ric Flair and Sid Vicious gone to the WWF and Barry Windham having turned face, Anderson entered the tag team ranks of |
477_19 | WCW. |
477_20 | World Tag Team Champion (1991–1993) |
477_21 | In the summer of 1991, Anderson formed a tag team with Larry Zbyszko and they called themselves The Enforcers. After competing for several months and moving up in the tag team ranks, they successfully captured the WCW World Tag Team Championship on September 2, 1991. The reign would be short lived, however, as they lost the titles roughly two and a half months later to Ricky Steamboat and Dustin Rhodes. Anderson and Zbyszko went their separate ways shortly afterward. Anderson quickly rebounded from his split with Zbyszko and formed a tag team with Beautiful Bobby Eaton, a long-time friend and best known for his time as one half of the Midnight Express. At this point, they were members of Paul E. Dangerously's Dangerous Alliance. They quickly moved up the tag team division and were soon a threat to Steamboat and Rhodes. Anderson and Eaton quickly won the titles on January 16, 1992, and defended the titles against all comers for the next four and a half months before losing the titles |
477_22 | to The Steiner Brothers in May. |
477_23 | Four Horsemen reunion (1993–1994)
In May 1993, Anderson joined Ole Anderson and Ric Flair to re-form the Four Horsemen. The Horsemen introduced Paul Roma as their newest member. Although athletic and a skilled in-ring competitor, Roma had spent much of his career as a jobber in the WWF. As part of an interview segment for the Ric Flair and the Four Horsemen DVD, Triple H stated that he thought the addition of Roma made the membership the weakest in the history of the group, and Arn himself referred to Roma as "a glorified gym rat". Although Anderson and Roma won the WCW World Tag Team Championship in August, the group quickly split and was seen as a dismal failure by WCW.
In May 1994, Anderson wrestled at the Eastern Championship Wrestling event When Worlds Collide as part of a talent exchange between WCW and ECW. |
477_24 | The Stud Stable, Four Horsemen reunion (1994–1997)
Anderson remained a regular, on-screen performer in WCW over the next few years. He wrestled as a face, even teaming with Dustin Rhodes to feud with the Stud Stable. However he turned heel again and betrayed Rhodes by rejoining Col. Rob Parker's Stud Stable in 1994 with Terry Funk, Bunkhouse Buck, "Stunning" Steve Austin and Meng. The Stud Stable feuded heavily with Dusty and Dustin Rhodes until late 1994 when Funk left. In early 1995, Meng eventually left to join the Dungeon of Doom. |
477_25 | Anderson's last championship run began on January 8, 1995, after winning the World Television Championship from Johnny B. Badd. Anderson helped restore the prestige of the title, which he held for just over six months before dropping it to The Renegade. He briefly feuded with long-time friend Flair, and was assisted by Brian Pillman in his efforts. However, it was a swerve to reunify the Horsemen with Flair, Anderson, Pillman, and a partner to be named later (who ended up being Chris Benoit).
By the end of 1996, Anderson rarely competed in the ring as years of wear and tear on his body finally started to catch up with him. On the November 25 edition of Nitro, Anderson fought Luger to a double count-out in a quarter-final tournament match for the vacant WCW United States Championship. |
477_26 | Retirement (1997–2001)
On the August 25, 1997, episode of Monday Nitro, Anderson formally announced his retirement from the ring. While standing in the ring, surrounded by Ric Flair and newest Horsemen members Steve McMichael and Benoit, Anderson declared that his last official act as the "Enforcer" for the Four Horsemen was to offer his "spot" in the group to Curt Hennig, as he was forced to retire due to extensive neck and upper back injuries. He worked a couple tag matches afterward, including teaming with David Flair on an episode of WCW Thunder, but his physical involvement was extremely limited in those bouts. |
477_27 | On the September 14, 1998, edition of Nitro, alongside Steve McMichael, Dean Malenko, and Chris Benoit, Anderson ceremoniously reintroduced Ric Flair to WCW after his 12-month hiatus. In doing so, they reformed the Horsemen who then feuded with WCW President Eric Bischoff. Flair won the presidency of WCW from Bischoff on the December 28, 1998, episode of Nitro followed by winning the WCW World Heavyweight Championship at Uncensored 1999 and turn heel in the process. Anderson remained Flair's right-hand man during this time as he attempted to keep Flair's delusional hunger for power at bay.
In 2000, Anderson was a member of the short-lived Old Age Outlaws. Led by Terry Funk, the group of veteran wrestlers battled the revived New World Order. On May 9, Anderson wrestled in two matches losing to David Flair and a week later teaming with Ric to defeat David Flair and Crowbar.
WCW was purchased by the World Wrestling Federation in 2001, ending Anderson's tenure there. |
477_28 | World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (2001–2019) |
477_29 | WCW and partnership with Flair (2001–2005) |
477_30 | Not long after the closing of WCW, Anderson became a road agent for WWF, renamed World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in May 2002. He occasionally appeared on WWE television trying to, with the help of other WWE management, pull apart (kayfabe) backstage brawls. Before the WCW/ECW Invasion storyline, Anderson took up color commentary for a WCW World Heavyweight Championship match between Booker T and Buff Bagwell, WCW Cruiserweight Championship match with Billy Kidman and Gregory Helms as well as another WCW Championship match between Diamond Dallas Page and Booker T, which would be his only appearances as a commentator in WWE. He made an appearance on Raw in 2002 delivering a video to Triple H before he was supposed to renew his wedding vows to then-heel, Stephanie McMahon. Anderson was also assaulted on Raw by The Undertaker leading up the Undertaker vs. then-babyface, Ric Flair match at WrestleMania X8. During that bout, Anderson made a brief in-ring appearance, delivering his |
477_31 | signature spinebuster to The Undertaker. He would later turn heel once again by helping Ric Flair in his feud with Stone Cold Steve Austin, leading to Austin (kayfabe) urinating on him. Several months later he became a face once again and attempted to help a then-babyface Flair gain (kayfabe) sole ownership of WWE during a match with Vince McMahon, but backed down from a confrontation with Brock Lesnar, who entered the ring to assist McMahon. |
477_32 | Various appearances and departure (2006–2019)
Anderson made a special appearance at the October 2006 Raw Family Reunion special, in which he was in Ric Flair's corner for his match against Mitch of the Spirit Squad. Anderson was in the corner of Flair, Sgt. Slaughter, Dusty Rhodes, and Ron Simmons at Survivor Series 2006, where the four faced the Spirit Squad, but was ejected from the arena during the match. On the March 31, 2008 Raw, Anderson came out to say his final goodbye to Ric Flair and thank him for his career. At No Mercy, he was backstage congratulating Triple H for retaining the WWE Championship against Jeff Hardy. |
477_33 | On an episode of Smackdown Live in August 2016, Anderson made an appearance as one of the people asked by Heath Slater to be his tag team partner for the tournament to determine the inaugural winners of the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship. Anderson refused to help Slater upon learning that he was not Slater's first choice as a tag team partner. On the August 8, 2017, episode of Smackdown Live, Anderson made a guest appearance on Fashion Police, revealing himself to be the one who destroyed Breezango's toy horse, Tully, and boasting he was the best horse from the Four Horsemen, and that "Tully" should have been named "Arn". |
477_34 | On February 22, 2019, it was reported Anderson had been fired from the WWE. It was later reported this was due to Anderson allowing an intoxicated Alicia Fox to wrestle a match at a WWE Live Event on February 10. At Starcast II, Anderson spoke briefly about his release saying he didn't want to be somewhere he was not wanted and the hours had become too much for him. He couldn't say much due to being bound by a non-disclosure agreement.
All Elite Wrestling (2019–present)
On August 31, 2019, Anderson made a surprise appearance at the All Elite Wrestling (AEW) pay-per-view event, All Out, assisting Cody in his match against Shawn Spears by hitting Spears with a spinebuster. On November 6, 2019, Anderson would be a guest commentator on AEW Dark. |
477_35 | On December 30, 2019, AEW announced that Arn Anderson has signed a contract with the company as Cody's personal advisor and head coach. He would make his AEW Dynamite debut on the January 1, 2020, episode, assisting Cody to win his match against Darby Allin.
On June 3, 2020, Anderson announced that he had signed a new multi-year contract with AEW.
On the June 11, 2021 episode of Dynamite, in an interview with Tony Schiavone, Anderson (alongside his son Brock and Cody Rhodes) announced that Brock would be wrestling with AEW and would join the Nightmare Family. The interview was interrupted by QT Marshall and a fight ensued. On the June 18 episode of Dynamite, Anderson accompanied Brock to the ring for his debut match. Brock, teaming with Cody Rhodes defeated QT Marshall & Aaron Solow. After the match Anderson hugged Brock and raised his hand. |
477_36 | On the September 29 episode of Dynamite, Anderson dumped Rhodes, who was on a losing streak, and left the ring with Lee Johnson, who had just successfully scored a winning pinfall while teaming with Rhodes. During the promo when he dumped Rhodes, Anderson (a real-life gun enthusiast) told him that Rhodes would allow a carjacker to steal his car while Anderson would "pull out the Glock, put it on his forehead, and spill his brains all over the concrete". The promo, which received approval in advance from both Tony Khan and TNT, received universal critical praise from fans and other wrestlers, as the quote got Anderson trending on Twitter; AEW promptly released a T-shirt featuring the quote due to the reaction. However, Anderson would afterwards resume coaching Rhodes, who would later go on to have another reign as AEW TNT Champion. |
477_37 | Personal life
Although he was billed as such at various times, Anderson is not related to the Anderson family or Ric Flair. He was given the "Anderson" name and was originally billed as Ole Anderson's brother, and then later billed as Ole's nephew, because of his resemblance to Ole in appearance and wrestling style. He was also billed as Flair's cousin. Flair is not related to any of the Andersons, but he is a longtime friend of Anderson.
Anderson married Erin Lunde in 1985. They reside in Charlotte, North Carolina, and have two sons named Brock and Barrett. Brock followed in his father's footsteps and became a professional wrestler. Anderson stated on an episode of his podcast The Arn Show that the only reason he had stayed in the business for so long was to make sure Brock was able to get his start in it. |
477_38 | During a WCW tour of Europe, Anderson and Sid Eudy (better known as Sid Vicious or Sycho Sid) were involved in an argument at a hotel bar in the English town of Blackburn on October 27, 1993. Anderson threatened Eudy with a broken bottle; after being sent to their rooms by security chief Doug Dillinger, Eudy later came to Anderson's room and attacked him with a chair leg, and Anderson retaliated with pair of scissors. Eudy received four stab wounds and Anderson received 20, losing a pint and a half of blood in the process. The fight was broken up by fellow wrestler 2 Cold Scorpio, who was credited with saving Anderson's life. Neither man pressed charges against the other, and British police declined to do so since both men would soon be leaving the country. Eudy was later fired over the incident. |
477_39 | As stated in his biography, Anderson was thrown into the ring ropes during a match in 1994. The top rope broke from the turnbuckle, but he was able to land on his feet. Six months later, the same event happened again, but this time he landed full-force on to the concrete and hit his head, neck, and upper back. He never took time off to heal. As time passed, with no down time, the injuries worsened. In his biography, Anderson states that the first sign of problems was his left arm suddenly going numb and unresponsive during a match. Doctors found that a rib, possibly torn away from the spine during the accident, was popping in and out of the joint and causing shoulder discomfort and weakness. |
477_40 | Upon seeing his chiropractor in Charlotte, North Carolina, and consulting medical experts in Atlanta, Georgia, the damage to Anderson's body was found to be much more severe than previously thought and surgery was deemed the only option to keep his left arm functioning at all. Surgery occurred in Atlanta in late 1996 (resulting in a left posterior laminectomy of the 3rd, 4th, and 5th cervical bones and a fusion of the 7th cervical and 1st thoracic bones) and was successful in repairing most of the damage, but Anderson still has some muscle weakness, loss of fine motor control, and loss of muscle mass in his left arm. He spent many weeks in the hospital during that time, crediting his recovery to his wife, his physical therapist, and the fact he did not want his children to be fatherless. He would be readmitted in March 1997 with symptoms akin to cardiac arrest and pulmonary failure, but was released soon afterwards. |
477_41 | Other media
Anderson's book, Arn Anderson 4 Ever, was released on April 30, 2000.
Anderson has appeared in the video games WWE Legends of WrestleMania, WWE '12, WWE 2K16 (as DLC), and WWE 2K17 as a member of The Enforcers with Larry Zbyszko.
Anderson's podcast, The Arn Show with Conrad Thompson, debuted in 2019.
He stars on the reality show Rhodes To The Top. |
477_42 | Championships and accomplishments
Cauliflower Alley Club
Art Abrams Lifetime Achievement/Lou Thesz Award (2016)
Jim Crockett Promotions / World Championship Wrestling
NWA/WCW World Television Championship (4 times)
NWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Paul Roma
NWA National Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Ole Anderson
NWA (Mid-Atlantic)/WCW World Tag Team Championship (5 times) – with Tully Blanchard (2), Larry Zbyszko (1), Bobby Eaton (1), and Paul Roma (1)
Pro Wrestling Illustrated
Ranked No. 9 of the 500 best wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 1991
PWI Feud of the Year (1987) – Four Horsemen vs. The Super Powers and The Road Warriors
PWI Tag Team of the Year (1989) – with Tully Blanchard
PWI Tag Team of the Year (1991) – with Larry Zbyszko
PWI Stanley Weston Award (1997)
Ranked No. 62 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003
Southeastern Championship Wrestling
NWA Southeastern Tag Team Championship (4 times) – with Jerry Stubbs (3) and Pat Rose (1) |
477_43 | Southern States Wrestling
Kingsport Wrestling Hall of Fame (Class of 2001)
World Wrestling Federation/WWE
WWF Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Tully Blanchard
WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2012) as a member of The Four Horsemen
Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
Best on Interviews (1990)
Worst Worked Match of the Year (1996) – with Ric Flair, Meng, The Barbarian, Lex Luger, Kevin Sullivan, Z-Gangsta, and The Ultimate Solution vs. Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage in a Towers of Doom match at Uncensored |
477_44 | References
Further reading
Autobiography: Anderson, Arn. Arn Anderson 4 Ever: A Look Behind the Curtain. Kayfabe Pub Group, 1998
External links
ARN on Westwood One Podcast Network
Arn Anderson Tribute Site
1958 births
All Elite Wrestling personnel
American color commentators
American male professional wrestlers
American men podcasters
American podcasters
Anderson family
Living people
NWA/WCW World Television Champions
Professional wrestlers from Georgia (U.S. state)
Professional wrestlers from North Carolina
Professional wrestling announcers
Professional wrestling managers and valets
Professional wrestling podcasters
Professional wrestling trainers
Sportspeople from Charlotte, North Carolina
Sportspeople from Rome, Georgia
Stabbing survivors
The Dangerous Alliance members
The Four Horsemen (professional wrestling) members
The Heenan Family members
The Stud Stable members
WWE Hall of Fame inductees |
478_0 | David Ivon Jones (18 October 1883 – 13 April 1924) was a Welsh Communist, newspaper editor, and political prisoner, most famous as a leading opponent of South African racial segregation and for being one of the first white activists in South Africa to fight for equal rights for black South Africans. Jones was also one of the founders of the Communist Party of South Africa, and in 1917 played a leading role in the formation of South Africa's first all-black trade union, the Industrial Workers of Africa (IWA). Later in life he became one of the first people to translate Vladimir Lenin's works into English. He also started some of the first night-classes for African workers, and in 1919 was convicted and imprisoned for publishing a leaflet supporting both communism and racial equality, in what was the first major court case against communism in South Africa's history. He is credited as being the most influential South African socialist of his time. |
478_1 | Upon first arriving in South Africa in 1910, Jones was a Christian Liberal and became a supporter of the pro-segregationist party, the South African Labour Party (SALP), becoming their general secretary in 1914. However, shortly afterwards he resigned as the leader of the SALP in 1915, became a Communist and an atheist, and spent the remainder of his life fighting against racial segregation, capitalism, and colonialism. In later life, Jones's became a strong supporter of the Bolsheviks and their leader Vladimir Lenin, who in turn was impressed with Jones's reports of class and racial divisions in South Africa. |
478_2 | Jones was also a supporter of the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) and is considered an iconic figure and hero by many socialist and anti-apartheid political parties, including the South African Communist Party, the Communist Party of Britain, and the African National Congress. According to historian Baruch Hirson, Jones's early Welsh nationalist and love of Welsh literature gave him a "life-long hatred of tyranny and national oppression".
Early life, family and background |
478_3 | Childhood and family
David Ivon Jones was born on 18 October 1883, in Aberystwyth a town located in Wales. His parents died when he was very young, leaving him to be raised by various family members. In both Aberystwyth and Lampeter, Jones worked as a grocer in the family business. The Jones family hailed from a poor and mountainous farming region of Wales called Mynydd-Bach, which had once been the centre of a guerrilla war of small farmers and squatters fighting against attempts by English landowners to enclose common land. His grandfather, John Ivan Jones, was a leading campaigner for radical causes and Liberalism in Aberystwyth. It is believed that his grandfather's beliefs were a strong influence on David Ivon Jones. |
478_4 | Early religious beliefs |
478_5 | In his youth, he became strongly influenced by the beliefs of the former Unitarian minister George Eyre Evans, inspiring Jones to abandon his family's Calvinistic Methodist beliefs and adopt Unitarianism. In 1901 Jones moved to live in Lampeter where he encountered many differing views on Christianity before returning to his native Aberystwyth and joining the Unitarian congregation. Jones was often berated by his neighbours for his Unitarianist beliefs and confronted by religious opponents at his workplace and on the streets for his choice to join the people of the 'Y Smotyn Du' (The Black Spot). Among Jones's shop account records, it was discovered by historians that Jones had an interest in philosophy, often writing quotes by Immanuel Kant and Plato. According to historian Baruch Hirson, Jones's early Welsh nationalist and love of Welsh literature gave him a "life-long hatred of tyranny and national oppression". Jones became the treasurer and secretary of the Aberystwyth Unitarian |
478_6 | chapel, which soon developed into a centre for radical left-wing politics. The records of this chapel show that striking miners were invited by the congregation and that the congregation also raised money for Penrhyn quarrymen who had been locked out of work for three years. The chapel records also show that the congregation hosted Gertrude von Petzold who was famous for being the first woman to be ordained in Britain. |
478_7 | According to researcher Islwyn ap Nicholas, Jones was at this point a "Christian humanist:"Ivon appeared to be a Christian Humanist, unless this is a contradiction in terms. Indeed he was more of a humanist than anything else and he always stressed the social and economic teachings of Jesus".
Leaving Wales
At some point during his 20s, Jones contracted tuberculosis, a common disease in Wales in the early 20th century. Records from his chapel note that Jones left Cardiganshire "to seek health in New Zealand", following many people in his family who had migrated to British colonies. In 1907 Jones left Wales and then spent three years living in New Zealand. In 1920 Jones moved to the Orange Free State in South Africa where he worked in a shop which was owned by two of his brothers.
Activities in South Africa (1910-1920) |
478_8 | Arrival in Africa (1911) |
478_9 | David Ivon Jones arrived in South Africa in November 1910, seeking treatment for tuberculosis. Before arriving in South Africa, Jones had admired the Boers and their resistance to British imperialism during two wars, and viewed them as a brave and heroic force of resistance against "the machinations of Randlordism." However, he soon became disenchanted with the Boers, viewing them as ignorant and bigoted, and viewed their beliefs as similar to the Calvinists he knew in Wales. Early during his arrival in South Africa, Jones became increasingly aware of the oppression of native black Africans, especially women, viewing their oppressed position in racist South African society as 'slaves in everything but name'. Although at this point in his life Jones still held many bigoted views towards Africans, witnessing the oppression of black people in South Africa triggered Jones to begin questioning his own views on race, and his views gradually became more ambivalent. Although he had not yet |
478_10 | broken with segregation, Jones's writings from mid-1911 record his gradual shift in attitudes towards black people, attacking people who used derogatory language against black workers.Further commenting on his early views on the mistreatment of black workers, Jones writes: "the white man only considers his marketable value. When he begins to find that he has responsibilities towards the black man other than sending him missionaries, there will be a changed South Africa'. |
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