The Reverend Philip Leslie Sibborn Barrett, M.A., B.D., LL.M., F.R.Hist.S.

Philip Barrett was born into a naval family on 8 April 1947, and educated at Portsmouth Grammar School and Exeter College, Oxford, where he read theology. His strong interest in church music developed during his time as a chorister and then a counter-tenor lay-clerk at Portsmouth Cathedral and this, in turn, led to his ordination at Cuddesdon under its then principal, Robert Runcie. Barrett's first curacy, from 1970-3, was at Pershore Abbey followed by a further three years at St Peter's Bournemouth, both of which enjoyed a strong choral tradition. In 1976 he was appointed Vicar Choral at Hereford Cathedral and over the ensuing decade contributed greatly to the improvement of the liturgical life of the cathedral and to the planning of the Three Choirs Festival. A member of the Hereford Festival Committee, he sang in the Festival Chorus and edited the substantial Hereford programme. He also grappled with the Cathedral's financial difficulties and was deeply offended by the attempt of the Dean and Chapter to sell the Mappa Mundi shortly after he left Hereford in 1986. From then, until his early death at the age of 51, Barrett's life was spent in his native Hampshire as rector of the parishes of Compton and Otterbourne. This was his most productive period, despite his always delicate health: away from the Trollopeian politicking of the cathedral close he was able to continue his longstanding research into episcopal life in the nineteenth century and read for a degree in canon law at the University of Wales, Cardiff. The result of the first of these pursuits was the publication in 1993 of Barchester, a study of capitular records, account books and the personal papers of deans, organists and beadles unearthed in nine cathedral libraries in the south and west of England. Together with local press-cuttings and amusing anecdotes from contemporary sources, Barrett wove his material into an elaborate tapestry of Victorian cathedral life to produce a fascinating book that is both a standard work and a good read. For this he was awarded an Oxford B.D.; had he been able to meet Oxford residence requirements it would have earned him a D.Phil. A master's degree in canon law followed in 1995 but his parish duties were not neglected in what was the ideal environment for someone of Barrett's gentle, scholarly, temperament. The fact that John Keble had spent thirty years at Otterbourne and Charlotte Yonge had financed the building of its church appealed to his literary and historical sense and his love of church music was satisfied more than adequately by the parish’s proximity to Winchester Cathedral. An unrepentant traditionalist and loyal defender of the Anglican Church, Barrett was nevertheless essentially practical in his counsel to the many parishioners and unbelievers who sought it. He was frequently approached for advice by church musicians and was always ready to share his expertise. He loved cricket and steam engines, French cathedrals and the company of his many friends. He died on 22 April 1998 and requiem eucharist was celebrated at Winchester Cathedral on lst May.