© CAHS & contributors 2016-9
Registered Charity 287289
The Croome
Lectures
William Iveson Croome
William Iveson Croome,
CBE, MA, FSA, was born in
November 1891, the only
son of Thomas and Mary
Croome of North Cerney
House. In later years he
lived at Bagendon House
and, finally, at Barton Mill
House, Cirencester.
A devout churchman, the local parish churches
of Bagendon and North Cerney in particular bear
witness to his care and generosity. His interest in
and knowledge of ecclesiastical buildings led to his
appointment as Vice-Chairman of the Central
Council for the Care of Churches in 1943. He joined
the Gloucester Diocesan Advisory Committee on
Churches in 1923, becoming secretary in 1927 and
then Chairman in 1950. In 1953 he was made
Chairman of the Cathedrals Advisory Committee for
England, a position which he held until his death in
April 1967. He became chairman of the Grants
Committee of the Historic Churches Preservation
Trust in 1964.
William, or “Will”, Croome was a familiar figure
in Cirencester, held in the highest regard by all who
knew him, not only for his knowledge and care of
ancient buildings but also for his concern for the
less fortunate members of society. He held a
number of posts in the County magistracy, was a
member of the Cirencester bench (1928-66) and its
chairman (1946-66), a distinguished period of
service.
In Gloucestershire, Croome was President of
the Bristol & Gloucestershire Archaeological Society
in 1952, and his presidential address on
‘Gloucestershire Churches’ was published in volume
72 of its annual Transactions for the following year.
In Cirencester, he was a member of the
Archaeological & Historical Society from its
inception and succeeded Viscount Dunrossil as
President in 1961. He was also a founder member
of the Civic Society, and it was to commemorate the
man and his interests that the two Societies agreed
to establish the annual Croome Lecture. On the
10th February 1969 Brian Ward-Perkins, the then
Director of the British School in Rome, gave the first
lecture entitled “Town Planning in Antiquity”. The
joint lecture has been given every February since
then.
We thank David Viner for this obituary, and
Jonathan MacKechnie-Jarvis for the DAC information
and photograph. WIC did not look happy as it was
his last day as a magistrate, aged 75! He wrote
articles for the 1960 and 1962 Newsletter.
Some of the Croome lectures have been
published (in abbreviated form) and others
reviewed.
There is not space to share the list of the
lectures which can be found on the fullsize page