Charles Bulmer Maude
Encyclopedia
Charles Bulmer Maude served as the third incumbent at St Cyprian's Church
, Kimberley
, South Africa
(1877–1881) and was afterwards the Vicar of Leek
, Staffordshire.
in 1876. Maude succeeded Fr Neville Borton
as Rector of St Cyprian's Church in Kimberley in 1877, having gone there with Maude upon their arrival from England. He left an account of the still primitive conditions that prevailed in the diamond mining town which was then still less than a decade old. Concerning the rectory, Maude related that: "We have a canvas house for our sitting room and a wooden one for our bedroom. The floors are made of brick dried in the sun, but the legs of beds or tables make holes in them."
"The church floor is of mud and so is very dusty. It is a low building with an iron roof and when it rains we have to give up the service as we cannot be heard! But do not think we are badly off. We have a surpliced choir, 12 boys and 8 men, and a fully choral service. Every Sunday the church is crowded. It holds about 400. I hope we shall soon be able to build one more worthy of the worship of God. At present, too, we are without a school-house and are obliged to have both day and Sunday school in church."
It was during Maude's incumbency that a church building was imported from England to be assembled in Kimberley. The foundation stone was laid in 1879 by Sir Charles Warren
. His wife described a calamity which occurred as it neared completion: "Our new church which we were all looking forward to moving into for our Christmas services, and that seemed to be getting on so nicely, was blown over by a whirlwind and is lying a pitiable heap of ruins…it happened one Sunday morning. Our people were having services in the Odd Fellows’ Hall stifling under the heat of an unlined iron building when the crash came. Those who saw it say it was lifted three feet from the ground and dropped, utterly shapeless, like a street of cardhouses! And all our money gone, diamonds are down, and times are bad!" The situation was however salvaged and on Low Sunday 1880 Bishop Webb of Bloemfontein
dedicated the "re-erected 'church-like' church" and instituted C.B. Maude as Rector of Kimberley.
Ill health soon forced him to resign, however, and he returned to England.
Maude Street in Kimberley is named after him.
St Cyprian's Cathedral, Kimberley
The Cathedral Church of St Cyprian the Martyr, Kimberley, is the seat of the Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Kimberley and Kuruman, Anglican Church of Southern Africa. It became a Cathedral when the Synod of Bishops gave a mandate for the formation of the new Diocese of Kimberley and Kuruman in...
, Kimberley
Kimberley, Northern Cape
Kimberley is a city in South Africa, and the capital of the Northern Cape. It is located near the confluence of the Vaal and Orange Rivers. The town has considerable historical significance due its diamond mining past and siege during the Second Boer War...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
(1877–1881) and was afterwards the Vicar of Leek
Leek
The leek, Allium ampeloprasum var. porrum , also sometimes known as Allium porrum, is a vegetable which belongs, along with the onion and garlic, to family Amaryllidaceae, subfamily Allioideae...
, Staffordshire.
St Cyprian's, Kimberley
Maude was one of four priests (the others being Fathers Borton, Balfour and Tobias) brought by Bishop Allan Becher Webb to the Diocese of BloemfonteinAnglican Diocese of the Free State
The Anglican Diocese of the Free State is a diocese in the Anglican Church of Southern Africa.-History:The first service North of the Orange River to be taken by an Anglican clergyman was conducted in 1850 by Robert Gray, the first Bishop of Cape Town. In 1863, Edward Twells was consecrated the...
in 1876. Maude succeeded Fr Neville Borton
Neville Borton
Neville Arthur Blachley Borton, M.A. was the second rector of St Cyprian's Church, Kimberley, South Africa, serving from 1876–77, being successor to Fr John Witherston Rickards...
as Rector of St Cyprian's Church in Kimberley in 1877, having gone there with Maude upon their arrival from England. He left an account of the still primitive conditions that prevailed in the diamond mining town which was then still less than a decade old. Concerning the rectory, Maude related that: "We have a canvas house for our sitting room and a wooden one for our bedroom. The floors are made of brick dried in the sun, but the legs of beds or tables make holes in them."
"The church floor is of mud and so is very dusty. It is a low building with an iron roof and when it rains we have to give up the service as we cannot be heard! But do not think we are badly off. We have a surpliced choir, 12 boys and 8 men, and a fully choral service. Every Sunday the church is crowded. It holds about 400. I hope we shall soon be able to build one more worthy of the worship of God. At present, too, we are without a school-house and are obliged to have both day and Sunday school in church."
It was during Maude's incumbency that a church building was imported from England to be assembled in Kimberley. The foundation stone was laid in 1879 by Sir Charles Warren
Charles Warren
General Sir Charles Warren, GCMG, KCB, FRS was an officer in the British Royal Engineers. He was one of the earliest European archaeologists of Biblical Holy Land, and particularly of Temple Mount...
. His wife described a calamity which occurred as it neared completion: "Our new church which we were all looking forward to moving into for our Christmas services, and that seemed to be getting on so nicely, was blown over by a whirlwind and is lying a pitiable heap of ruins…it happened one Sunday morning. Our people were having services in the Odd Fellows’ Hall stifling under the heat of an unlined iron building when the crash came. Those who saw it say it was lifted three feet from the ground and dropped, utterly shapeless, like a street of cardhouses! And all our money gone, diamonds are down, and times are bad!" The situation was however salvaged and on Low Sunday 1880 Bishop Webb of Bloemfontein
Anglican Diocese of the Free State
The Anglican Diocese of the Free State is a diocese in the Anglican Church of Southern Africa.-History:The first service North of the Orange River to be taken by an Anglican clergyman was conducted in 1850 by Robert Gray, the first Bishop of Cape Town. In 1863, Edward Twells was consecrated the...
dedicated the "re-erected 'church-like' church" and instituted C.B. Maude as Rector of Kimberley.
Ill health soon forced him to resign, however, and he returned to England.
Maude Street in Kimberley is named after him.