William Rowe Lyall (11 February 1788 – 17 February 1857) was an English churchman,Clergy of the Church of England database Dean of Canterbury from 1845 to 1857.'The Dean of Canterbury' The Times Wednesday, Feb. 18, 1857 Issue 22607 p. 1
Life
He was born in Stepney, Middlesex, the fifth son of John Lyall and Jane Comyn.JJHC He was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge (M.A. 1816). In 1817 he married Catherine Brandreth (1792–1863), daughter of Dr. Brandreth of Liverpool.
Lyall was editor of the British Critic 1816–17 and associated with the Hackney Phalanx, the high-church group. Together with Hugh James Rose he became editor of the Rivington's Theological Library (1832–46). He early recognized a Catholic tendency in John Henry Newman's writing. His appointment as Warburton Lecturer led to a major work, Propædia Prophetica (1840). Lyall's abilities and potential came to the attention of William Howley, the Archbishop of Canterbury, who shaped his career.The Passing of Barchester, Dewey, C. Hambledon Press, London (1991).
Lyall became Archdeacon of Colchester (1824–1842),"Classical Victorians: Scholars, Scoundrels and Generals in Pursuit of Antiquity" Richardson, E p196: Cambridge, CUP, 2013 Archdeacon of Maidstone (1842–1845), simultaneously Canon of the Ninth Prebend, Canterbury Cathedral (1841–1845),British History On-line and finally Dean of Canterbury (1845'The New Dean of Canterbury' The Times Saturday, Nov. 29, 1845 Issue 19094p. 7 Article–1857)., consulted 14/7/2011 He died at Canterbury, Kent. There is a monumental tomb in the north aisle of the nave at Canterbury, said to be designed after a model by the sculptor John Birnie Philip (1824–1875),Katharine Eustace, 'The Post-Reformation Monuments', in: A History of Canterbury Cathedral, ed. P. Collinson, N. Ramsay, M. Sparks, (OUP: 1995, revised edition 2002) p.539–40; illustration, plate 154. but his remains are in fact buried at the parish church of St Michael in the nearby village of Harbledown, alongside his wife's."Life of the Right Hon. Sir Alfred Comyn Lyall, P. C., K. C. B., G. C. I. E., D. C. L., LL. D" Durand, M p20 William Edinburgh; Blackwood and Sons; 1913
Literary works
He wrote a number of dissertations on religious topics, and was a regular contributor to the Quarterly Review, albeit anonymously. His major published work was Propædia Prophetica (Preparation of Prophesy), in 1840.Google Books It was re-published in 1854 and again posthumously in 1885, this time with a preface by his nephew George C. Pearson. He also contributed to the Encyclopædia Metropolitana, an ambitious enterprise to disseminate knowledge: he was invited to write sections of the History Division, in particular: History of Greece, Macedonia and Syria. Co-authors of this work were Jacob Henry Brooke Mountain, George Cecil Renouard and Michael Russell."Scottish Episcopal Clergy, 1689-2000" Bertie, D.M: Edinburgh T & T Clark
Family
His eldest brother was George Lyall, Snr, sometime MP for the City of London (UK Parliament constituency), and Chairman of the East India Company. One of his famous nephews was Alfred Comyn Lyall, the Indian civil servant (1835–1911). Another was James Broadwood Lyall (1838–1916), also an Indian civil servant, who became Governor of the Punjab.
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