Lovett Gardens is named after Neville Lovett who was Bishop of Salisbury from 1936 until 1949. Most of the roads in this area of Bishopdown are named, appropriately enough, after Bishops of Salisbury
Ernest Neville Lovett was born in 1869. He was ordained in 1892 and served in various parishes across the South of England.1
In 1912, while rector at Farnham, he wrote a ‘Farnham Folk Play’. This was a historical piece about how the town lost it’s charter. The play was ‘witnessed by a large audience’ and ran for several days. 2
During the First World War he was rector of Saint Mary’s in Southampton. His ‘genial and lovable character made him popular alike with his parishioners and staff’3. He received a CBE for his work there.
He became the first Bishop of Portsmouth in 1927.
In 1936 at the age of 68, Lovett was appointed Bishop of Salisbury. It was Bishop Lovett who vacated the Bishop’s Palace in 1946.4
He died in 1951. There are schools named after Bishop Lovett in both Ryde on the Isle of Wight 5 and Fareham 6
Bishop Lovett and church vandalism at Imber
I found a Times article from September 1945 which mentions Bishop Lovett. He toured the village of Imber after reports of vandalism to the Church there, telling Lord Long of Wraxall that he was ‘very much disturbed by the vandalism’. 7
I found this interesting only because you would tend to see vandalism for it’s own sake as being a relatively recent phenomenon, but it plainly is not.
Footnotes
- Neville Lovett – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia [↩]
- The Times, Tuesday, Nov 12, 1912; pg. 13; Issue 40054; col F – A FARNHAM FOLK PLAY. [↩]
- The Times, Monday, Sep 10, 1951; pg. 6; Issue 52102; col D – Dr. Neville Lovett A Former Bishop Of Salisbury [↩]
- History of Salisbury cathedral choir school – of choristers ancient and modern [↩]
- WELCOME TO BISHOP LOVETT [↩]
- Neville Lovett Community School [↩]
- The Times, Wednesday, Sep 19, 1945; pg. 2; Issue 50251; col E “Vandalism At Imber – Bishop To See Army Commander” [↩]
