William Greenwell
| Revd. Canon William Greenwell MA, FSA | |||||||||||||
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| Born | 1820 | ||||||||||||
| Died | 1918 | ||||||||||||
| Residence | Durham | ||||||||||||
| Occupation |
church archaeologist | ||||||||||||
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Contents
Notes
Office Notes
ESL Council 1869-70 Member
House Notes
Canon of Durham
1889.12.10 The resignations of Revd. Canon Greenwell and A.D. Thomson Esq. were received.
worked on same material as Rev. R.J. Mapleton q.v.
Notes From Elsewhere
Canon William Greenwell FRS FSA FSA.Scot (1820–1918) was an English archaeologist.
Canon of Durham
The Rev. William Greenwell (1820 - 1918) was appointed a Canon of Durham Cathedral in 1854, a position from which he retired in 1907. He was also Librarian to the Dean and Chapter and Rector of St. Mary-the-Less in Durham. His activities were not, however, exclusively ecclesiastical.
He was a keen angler, and is immortalised in angling circles by "Greenwell's Glory", a trout fly which is still used by many anglers today. His main avocation however was archaeology - the Concise Dictionary of National Biography describes him primarily as "archaeologist". His particular interest was in ancient barrows and burial cairns; he excavated no fewer than 443, in many areas of Britain; his work at Kilmartin in the 1860’s was a very small part of his activities.
He also became fascinated by the rock carvings, similar to those in Argyll, in which Northumberland is particularly rich, identifying and describing many sites and reading a paper on the subject at the Archaeological institute of Newcastle.
This interest also attracted him to the Kilmartin area, and he seems to have made visits on more occasions than in 1864 when he carried out his main excavations, at Nether Largie South chambered tomb, the Glebe cairn, Dunchraigaig cairn, Ballymeanoch henge and cists at Rhudil. These operations of course required preparation, and he expresses his thanks to "John Malcolm Esq. of Poltalloch by whose permission and most liberal assistance in providing labourers the excavation of this [Nether Largie South] and all other cairns was made". His report on Dunchraigaig makes it clear that before he began work "the greater part had been opened by Mr. Mapleton".
He seems to have worked on the large group of cists at Poltalloch - it is recorded that a number of cists there were said to have been opened "many years before the excavations of Canon Greenwell and Dean Mapleton by a factor called Gow" and that the objects recovered had been removed. With regard to his interest in cup-and-ring markings, we are told that Canon Greenwell's maps and plans are "now abandoned", but he seems to have reported to the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, or at least to Professor (later Sir) J. Y. Simpson, Vice-president of the Society some at least of his findings [The Canon and The Dean Mrs.Adeline Clark in The Kist The magazine of the Natural History and Antiquarian Society of Mid Argyll Issue no. Sixty-five Spring 2003]
Publications
External Publications
William Greenwell (2006) [1852]. Boldon Buke: a Survey of the Possessions of the See of Durham Made by order of Bishop Hugh Pudsey, in the Year MCLXXXIII. Adamant Media Corporation. ISBN 978-0-543-97277-4. With a translation, an appendix of original documents, and a glossary. William Greenwell (1877). British barrows, a record of the examination of sepulchral mounds in various parts of England. the Clarendon press. Together with description of figures of skulls, general remarks on prehistoric crania, and an appendix by George Rolleston. William Greenwell (1893). "Rare Greek coins". Numismatic Chronicle, Volume XIII Third Series, Pages 81–92. William Greenwell (1897). Durham Cathedral: an address delivered September 24, 1879 (Fifth ed.). Andrews. Francis Haverfield; William Greenwell (1899). A catalogue of the sculptured and inscribed stones in the Cathedral Library, Durham. Thomas Caldcleugh for Durham Cathedral Library.
House Publications
Who were the ancient Britons? AR v 253
On the opening of Grime's Graves in Norfolk JES NS ii 419-439