Obituary :- Dr Francis Grayling Leland Lewis Duncan, M.V.O., O.B.E., F.S.A. Henry Mapleton Chapman Rev Christopher Wilkie

( 217 ) ©bituavu. DR. FRANCIS GRAYLING. John Francis Grayling, to give him his full names, although his friends always knew him as Frank Grayling, came of an •old Kentish family. He lived and practised in Sittingbourne until within some twelve years of his death, which occurred at Hove, Sussex, on 3rd November 1923. He was the only .son of the late Dr. John Grayling, who brought him up to follow his own profession. Although he attained to the age of 70, Frank Grayling was never of robust health, a circumstance which no doubt tended to develop his studious tastes. He was a man of singular gentleness and modesty—so much so, indeed, that only those whose privilege it was to be acquainted with him intimately were aware of the many varied gifts and expert knowledge which lay beneath the -surface of an unusually shy and retiring exterior. On an archaeological expedition one would not want a more entertaining companion than Dr. Grayling, with his .sympathetic and extensive store of information, aided by a marvellous memory and a quaint sense of humour. The range of his attainments included astronomy, geology, •chemistry, natural history, heraldry, architecture, bells and bell ringing, and in fact every branch of ecclesiology. He was an eminent authority on painted glass, of which indeed he had been fortunate enough to gather together a valuable and interesting collection. In the matter of church restoration and improvements many incumbents in Kent were indebted to Dr. Grayling for .-sound and practical advice—-advice which, though never obtruded, was always at the service of those who sought it. For a long period Dr. Grayling was a member of K.A.S., •and, not only that, but he also acted as Local Secretary for the Sittingbourne district, until, to our great loss, he withdrew from the county on relinquishing his practice in 1911. His contributions to Archceologia Cantiana, though not voluminous, are of solid and permanent value, notably his 218 OBITUARY. papers on Sittingbourne and Milton Churches in Yol. XXIII. More recently he published, in two volumes, a work on the Churches of Kent for George Allen's " County Churches '^ Series, in 1913. Some thirty-eight years before his death Dr. Grayling married a widow, Mrs. Mary Christian, who survives him- He died without issue. A. V. LELAND LEWIS DUNCAN, M.Y.O., O.B.E., F.S.A. Leland Lewis Duncan died at Lewisham on 26 December 1928, aged 61. He had for some time been in poor health,, but so sudden an end was quite unexpected and came as a great shock to his friends. He was born on 24 August 1862 at Lewisham andl educated at the Colfe Grammar School there, from which he passed into the Civil Service, being appointed to the War- Office in 1882, and there he remained until he retired in 1922 at the age of 60. While in the War Office he steadily improved his position iu the office, his services being recognized by an M.Y.O. in 1902 and an O.B.E. later. He lived all his life at Lewisham, and from one point of view his life was quite uneventful. From another point of view bis life was full of events, marked by productions of archseological. interest of many kinds to be set out later, for, from his. earliest years, he took interest in matters archasological, and. he frequently amused his friends in his later years by stories of how he would, when a junior clerk, slip out of the War Office during the luncheon hour and make for the underground chamber at Somerset House, where those interested were allowed to copy the wills entered in the various registers. He would copy a will or two and then return tothe office, and he was full of amusing tales of his various adventures in this connection. Luckily the time when Duncan first began copying wills was when Challenor Smith had succeeded, in the teeth of all kinds of opposition, in getting the records indexed and put in tolerable order, and, under OBITUARY. 219' the influence of Cballenor Smith's enthusiasm for accurateand exhaustive study, Duncan was inspired to take up the line of work upon wills, to which he devoted himself down tothe time of his death, and he was privileged, as one of the general editors of the Index Library of the British Record Society, to supervise the publication in 1893 of Cballenor- Smith's index of P.C.C. wills from the earliest date to 1558, which was soon seen to be a model of its kind, neither toojejune nor too copious. Duncan became a member of the K.A.S. before 1887,. and bis first contribution to Archceologia Cantiana was an< admirable list of Kentish Administrations 1559—1603, which appeared in the early pages of Yol. XYIII. and has been an immense boon to Kentish students ever since. The exeellenceof this and of some subsequent contributions led the Council to take an unusual course in 1906 of printing an extra volume called Testamenta Cantiana, consisting of extracts from wills of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries concerning the various churches of the county. For this volume- Duncan found a collaborator of his own calibre in Mr. Hussey,. who undertook the East Kent portion, mainly from Canterbury wills, while Duncan dealt with the West Kent portion from the P.C.C. and Rochester wills. The result was admirable, and it is unfortunate that this new experiment, breaking absolutely fresh ground, has not up to the present inspired antiquaries of other counties to attempt a similar volume. In general form and arrangement the work would be hard to rival, but it might well be imitated with advantage. Duncan, besides finding rich store of matter in the testamentary dispositions of the dead, paid very special attention to their existing memorials in our churches and churchyards,, and his soul was often vexed by the treatment meted out tothem at the "restoration" of churches and in the "improvements" in churchyards. He bad a well-thought-out plan of plotting the churchyards, so as not to miss getting an accurate copy of all the legible inscriptions remaining, and the collection of such things which he made is likely to be of great value to the student. The memorials he copied at 220 OBITUARY. 'Tenterden were printed at his own expense in 1919, and he very handsomely presented a copy to every member of our Records branch. Those of many other parishes were left in manuscript at his death and presented by bis sisters (he was never married and was an only son) as his administrators Tto the K.A.S., who will preserve them as priceless records, which may, it is hoped, eventually be printed in full as historians come forward to write each the particular history of his own parish. The fast perishing nature of these memorials makes such records of importance in the highest degree. I might here have attempted some appreciation of the man as apart from his work, but that has been done so beautifully by our member Dr. F. W. Cock in a contribution from his pen inserted in the Kentish Express of 9 February 1924, that I could in no wise hope to rival its felicity and its eloquence, so with bis consent and that of the publisher of •the paper it is reprinted below. It remains for me only to finish the account of his work by collecting here a slight bibliography of his printed productions, little alas ! though it be in comparison with what we hoped he was to do, when his leisure was more abundant, after his retirement from the public service. 'The Parish Church of St. Mary, Lewisham, and an account of its Yicars and Curates. 1902. The History of the borough of Lewisham. 1908. 'The History of Colfe's Grammar School and a life of its founder. 1910. CONTEIBUTIONS TO Archceologia Cantiana OTHEK THAN THAT MENTIONED ABOVE. The Renunciation of Papal Authority in West Kent, 1534. Yol. XYII. 'The Rectory of Cowden with a list of Rectors. Yol. XXI. The Will of Abp. Courtenay. Yol. XXIII. Ecclesiological Notes on Shoreham. Yol. XXIII. The Will of Cardinal Bourgchier. Yol. XXIY. .Extracts from some lost Parish Registers. Yol. XXXI. OBITUARY. 221 CoNTEIBtTTIONS TO THE TRANSACTIONS OF THE S T . PAUL'S ECCLESIOLOGICAL SOCIETY. The dedication, altars, images and lights in parish churches in- West Kent. Yol. III. On the commemoration of John Potter of Westerham at Westminster. Yol. IY. CONTEIBUTIONS TO THE PUBLICATIONS OE THE LEWISHAM ANTIQUAEIAN SOCIETY. The Register of St. Margaret's, Lee. 1888. Monumental Inscriptions in St. Mary's, Lewisham. 1889. Calendar of Kentish Wills in P.C.C. 1890. The Eegister of St. Mary's, Lewisham. 1891. R. G. Who would have thought that he who delighted us inlast summer's [1923] K.A.S. expedition with his illuminativedescription of Warehorne Church should so soon have ceased from teaching, and that never again should we hear that quiet voice and see that kindly smile as be put us in possession of all that was to be known of an ancient siteor building? Under that pleasant friendly exterior was a wealth of knowledge of the past, a persistent diligence in recording it, and a charm of expression which is given tofew. Never in a hurry to overwhelm a more eager, but less-informed brother, Ids "Don't you think it may be soand so ? " saved many of us from too quick a judgment and fixed the truth which was obvious to him so firmly in his hearer, that he in turn could almost believe that he himself had discovered it. Ars est celare artem, and this art he had. in perfection. Of his published work the list is a long one, and this outside of a very responsible post in the War Office,, and when, but a short year ago, he retired from his public work, he seemed to be endued with a renewal of his untiring energy. In that year he had copied all the ancient inscriptions iu fifteen East Kent churchyards, had transcribed a large number of the "Aid" lists in the Record Office, besides many other documents noted and epitomized for his• 222 OBITUARY. !Kent work. The present writer can but add this little •tribute to bis old friend. How, after the meetings of the •Society of Antiquaries be used to walk home with him through the darkened streets of London during the long years of the war and discuss many things, seldom of raid or other dangers, largely of Kent antiquarian topics, and hardly • ever missing asking advice how he could be of service to his •"boys" of the War Office, who were on service at the front, home on furlough, or wounded in hospital. Always •thoughtful of others, with no delight in contradiction, his friendship was a liberal education to me as we took sweet •counsel together, and in thought were not divided. Vale • amice, vale. F. W. C. HENRY MAPLETON CHAPMAN. Henry Mapleton Chapman was born at Leatherhead on 9 July 1841, being the youngest son of the late Rev. Benjamin Chapman, Yicar of that place. He died at St. Martin's Priory, Canterbury, on 6 January 1924, at the age of 81 years. Mr. Chapman obtained his first appointment at the Prin- • cipal Probate Registry, Doctors' Commons, from the hands • of the late Sir Creswell Creswell, and in 1884 he was appointed Registrar of the District Probate Registry at •Canterbury, resigning in 1922. Mr. Chapman on coming into Kent joined our Society. For many years he was the Local Honorary Secretary for •Canterbury, and in September 1901 was elected a member of Council and a Trustee. In 1922, on his resignation from these appointments, Mr. Chapman was elected a Yice-President, a recognition which gave him much pleasure. Our late member lived in a late Elizabethan house of considerable interest. Here he collected furniture and bric-a-brac with commendable taste, as well as a large and carefully ; selected library of books, topographical, archseological, and ..historical, all of which be would exhibit to bis friends with OBITUARY. 223 pardonable pride. Mr. Chapman will be remembered by the Society as a kindly and most hospitable member. It was his and his wife's custom to entertain the Council every year at luncheon at the meeting held in Canterbury, and their generous hospitality will not soon be forgotten. Mr. Chapman was a devout member of the Church of England. His long life was full of acts of charity and philanthropy ; he was the friend alike of rich and poor. His distressing illness was borne with Christian fortitude, and the manifestation he looked forward to was realized on the .Epiphany 1924. C. COTTON. REV. CHRISTOPHER HALES WILKIE. By the death on 14 March 1924 of the Rev. Christopher Hales Wilkie, the Society has lost one of its oldest members, Mr. Wilkie having joined in 1873. He was a younger .son of our former member, Mr. E. C. H. Wilkie, late of .Ellington Park, Ramsgate, and brother of another old member, the late Kenyor W. Wilkie, also of Ellington. The subject of this notice was of Exeter College, Oxford, where he took his M.A. degree in 1866. He proceeded to Wells Theological College, after which he was ordained in .1864. Mr. Wilkie held curacies at Glenham in Suffolk, St. Margaret's, Rochester, Cranbrook, Sunninghill, Berks, and •St. Peter's in Thanet. In 1874 the Archbishop presented him to Edburton in Sussex, where he at once restored the fine old church under Norman Shaw, R.A., in 1877, and at the re-opening Bishop Durnford wrote thus: " His exertions are beyond all praise in the matter of a most difficult restoration." Mr. Wilkie transcribed and edited the following Parish Registers: Edburton, Sussex; Elmstone, Kent; Kingston, Kent; Bekesbourne, Kent; Wymenswold, Kent; and he •completed the first Parish Register of St. Lawrence-in- 'Thanet, which had been begun by his brother, Mr. Kenyor "W. Wiilrie. This work was a labour of love, and demanded 224 OBITUARY. an immense amount of patience and industry, but the value of such transcription is well recognized by the historian and antiquary, and a deep debt of gratitude is owing to our latefriend for bis work in this direction. Mr. Wilkie was elected to the Council, and remained a member of that body for upwards of sixteen years. As a clergyman of the Church of England he was of the old school, and was much beloved by his parishioners in all the cures he served, he himself setting the example to his flock in life and conduct. He lived for over fourscore years, and lies buried in the Canterbury Cemetery. For his extreme courteousness and gentleness be will be remembered by a large circle of friends. C. COTTON.