Randall Davidson

The Most Reverend The Lord Davidson of Lambeth GCVO, PC
Archbishop of Canterbury
Randall Davidson, by Leslie Ward, 1901.
Enthroned	1903
Reign ended	1928
Predecessor	Frederick Temple
Successor	Cosmo Lang
Personal details
Born	7 April 1848 Edinburgh
Died	25 May 1930 London

Randall Thomas Davidson, 1st Baron Davidson of Lambeth GCVO, PC (7 April 1848 – 25 May 1930) was an Anglican bishop of Scottish origin who served as Archbishop of Canterbury from 1903 to 1928.

Background and education

Davidson was the son of Henry Davidson, a grain merchant, of Edinburgh and Henrietta, daughter of John Campbell Swinton of Kimmerghame; his parents were Scottish Presbyterians. His education was mostly in small private schools that he later described as unsatisfactory and long lamented his lack of proficiency in Latin and Greek. Later, he studied at Harrow, where Brooke Westcott was his final year housemaster, and at Trinity College, Oxford. In his final year of schooling, he was involved in a shooting accident that threatened the loss of his leg. According to his own account, it was only much later in his life, after the discovery and use of X-ray technology, that it was found that a considerable number of shotgun pellets still remained in his body. The accident left him with a hernia and he was a lifelong truss wearer, this caused him continuous difficulty as the hernia regularly dropped, especially when he was preaching.

Ministry

Davidson served as chaplain to Archibald Campbell Tait when Tait was Archbishop of Canterbury. He later married Tait's daughter. After Tait's death, Davidson remained at Lambeth Palace as chaplain to the succeeding Archbishop of Canterbury, Edward White Benson. A favourite of Queen Victoria, Davidson was appointed Dean of Windsor at a very young age. The Queen relied heavily on him for advice regarding church appointments and only reluctantly agreed to his preferment to episcopal office. He was subsequently Bishop of Rochester between 1891 and 1895 and Bishop of Winchester between 1895 and 1903 before becoming Archbishop of Canterbury in 1903. He played a major part in the funeral ceremonies for Queen Victoria in 1901, taking care, along with James Reid, of the wake at Osborne House, Isle of Wight.

Archbishop of Canterbury

Davidson was appointed Archbishop of Canterbury in 1903 and remained in office until his resignation in 1928. He was the longest holder of the office since the English Reformation. He was also the first Archbishop of Canterbury to retire, all his predecessors having died in office. Roger Lloyd, Church of England historian, thought that Davidson was one of the two or three greatest Archbishops of Canterbury. Others have remarked that Davidson's memory for people was prodigious.

Davidson reacted to the papal bull Apostolicae Curae by stressing "the strength and depth of the Protestantism of England" and regarded other differences with Rome as much more important than its views on Anglican orders. This view seems to have been widely held at the time, judging from the reaction of Cardinal Herbert Vaughan, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Westminster.

Davidson presided over two Lambeth Conferences and was present at five of the first six, Bell's biography suggests that at least part of the reason for his resignation was his natural reluctance to face the work and worry of the seventh conference, eventually held in 1930. Davidson resigned after Prayer Book revision failed to pass the House of Commons in 1928. As there was no procedure for resignation a commission of three bishops was hastily appointed to receive his letter of resignation and convey it to the King.

Honours

Davidson was appointed a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO) in 1902, a Privy Counsellor in 1903 and a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO) in 1904. In 1928 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Davidson of Lambeth, of Lambeth in the County of London.

Personal life

Davidson married Edith, daughter of Archibald Campbell Tait, Archbishop of Canterbury, in 1878. They had no children. He died in May 1930, aged 82, when the barony (Lord Davidson of Lambeth) became extinct. Lady Davidson of Lambeth died in June 1936.

External links

• Archival material relating to Randall Davidson listed at the UK National Archives
• Works by or about Randall Davidson in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
• Davidson's papers and correspondence

Church of England titles
Preceded by George Henry Connor	Dean of Windsor 1883–1891	Succeeded by Philip Eliot
Preceded by Anthony Thorold	Bishop of Rochester 1891–1895	Succeeded by Edward Talbot
Preceded by Anthony Thorold	Bishop of Winchester 1895–1903	Succeeded by Herbert Ryle
Preceded by Frederick Temple	Archbishop of Canterbury 1903–1928	Succeeded by Cosmo Gordon Lang
Peerage of the United Kingdom
New creation	Baron Davidson of Lambeth 1928–1930	Extinct