Francis Jayne

Born in Pant-y-beiliau, Gilwern, Llanelli, Jayne was the eldest son of John Jayne, a colliery owner and his second wife, Elisabeth Haines. He was educated at Rugby School and Wadham College, Oxford. He took his BA in 1868 and MA in 1870. He was awarded first-class honours in classical moderations, literae humaniores, jurisprudence and modern history, making him distinguished academically.Article by DTW Price in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, OUP 2004 He was elected Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford, in 1868 and tutor of Keble College in 1871.{{cite web|url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/34162|title=Jayne, Francis John (1845–1921)|first=D. T. W |last= Price|work=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online edition, subscription access)|publisher=Oxford University Press|date=January 2007|access-date=2008-02-11}}{{Cite DWB|id=s-JAYN-JOH-1845|title=JAYNE, FRANCIS JOHN (1845 - 1921), bishop |access-date=2020-03-25}} He was ordained deacon and priest in 1870.

From 1879 to 1886, Jayne was Principal of St David's College, a university institution in the small Welsh town of Lampeter.{{cite book | last=Malden Richard (ed) | author-link= | title= Crockford's Clerical Directory for 1920 (51st edn) | location= London | publisher= The Field Press| pages=792| year=1920 | isbn=}} During his time there, he steered the institution through the difficult years following the 1880 Aberdare Report on intermediate and higher education in Wales. The report recommended that the Colleges at Aberystwyth and Lampeter be united to form one institution, but Jayne fought the plan and retained St. David's College's independence. Jayne reformed the college in many ways; new statutes were issued and affiliation to Oxford and Cambridge was achieved. A new hall of residence was constructed and the college chapel was rebuilt. The number of students doubled.{{Cite news|title=Death of Bishop Jayne|date=25 August 1921|work=Times}} The college school opened in 1884, with the aim of providing a sound education for future entrants to the college. Jayne is remembered as the 'second founder' of the college.

A devoutly religious man, Jayne left Lampeter to become an Anglican vicar in Leeds. He became Bishop of Chester in 1889, a position he held for the next thirty years. At the time of his appointment, he was the youngest English bishop. Under his rule, his diocese was said to be 'perhaps the most peaceful and orderly in England.'{{Cite news|title=Bishop Jayne|date=25 August 1921|work=The Telegraph}}

Jayne was concerned about excessive drinking and the misuse of alcohol. He published an article called Successful Public-House Reform[https://www.jstor.org/stable/25103324 Francis John Jayne, 'Successful Public-House Reform' in The North American Review 158, no. 450 (1894): 520-28]

discussing the virtues of the Scandinavian Gothenburg system for managing pubs etc. He also founded the People's Refreshment House Association Limited which at its peak owned 130 inns and hotels. Although Jayne was in poor health for lengthy periods during the First World War, and Edward Mercer, a retired Bishop of Tasmania, carried out many of his duties,Chester Diocesan Gazette, February, 1917 Jayne left no one in any doubt about his support for British participation in the War against Germany and her allies. He said ‘The sword which God gave to earthly rulers to wield was given, we ventured to think, to England as the peacemaker of the world, as the guardian of the seas against the perils which would otherwise assail not only ourselves ... but all the nations of Europe and the world’.Chester Diocesan Gazette, September, 1914 He followed up two months later clarifying what he regarded as Britain‘s duty ‘We are fighting, not only for ourselves and the safety of our Empire, but for the very life of Christian civilisation, for the cause of righteousness, honour and liberty, for the independence of smaller states ... and ultimately for the peace of the world.’Chester Diocesan Gazette, November, 1914

He instigated a Roll of Honour with names of his clergy and their families who had volunteered for the Forces. He promoted the work of the Church Army and the YMCA, their need for volunteers and fund-raising.Chester Diocesan Gazette was a monthly publication with details of Great War activities His increased workload led his staff to compel him to ‘abstain from all duties’ and to rest but his health remained fragile until and after his retirement.

He resigned his bishopric in April 1919 owing to ill health caused by over work. He died at his home at The Quarry, Oswestry, and was buried at Bowdon, Cheshire.{{cite news|url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000576/19210825/121/0006|work=Aberdeen Journal|title=The Right Rev. Francis John Jayne|date=25 August 1921|publisher=British Newspaper Archive|url-access=subscription }}

He and his wife Emily (née Garland) had six sons and three daughters, one of whom was the Norwegian-to-English translator Edith M. G. Jayne.'The Late Miss Jayne' in the Chester Chronicle, 20 January 1945, p8

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Category:1845 births

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Category:People educated at Rugby School

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Category:Fellows of Jesus College, Oxford

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Category:Principals of St David's College

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