William Thomas Collings

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William Thomas Collings
Seigneur of Sark
In office
1853–1882
Preceded byMarie Collings
Succeeded byWilliam Frederick Collings
Personal details
Born(1823-09-04)4 September 1823
Died7 March 1882(1882-03-07) (aged 58)
SpouseLouisa Collings (née Lukis)
ChildrenWilliam Frederick Collings
and five others
Parent(s)Marie Collings (née Allaire)
Thomas Guerin Collings

William Thomas Collings (4 September 1823 – 7 March 1882) was a clergyman of the

Seigneur of Sark
from 1853 to 1882.

Ecclesiastical career

Collings was the son of

island's seigneur, Ernest le Pelley, in 1844. By 1852, both the Seigneur and Collings' grandfather were dead. The Seigneur's successor, Pierre Carey le Pelley, was unable to pay the mortgage and thus had to sell Sark to Marie Collings, Allaire's heiress.[1] Collings was ordained a deacon of the Church of England the same year at the Wells Cathedral, where he served as curate prior to being ordained as a priest the following year. The Guernsey historian James Marr denies that he ever became canon of the Wells Cathedral, calling it a "frequently repeated but entirely false assertion".[2]

Seigneurship

Collings' mother died only a year after becoming ruler of Sark, and he inherited the fief. Much like the Le Pelleys had done when they purchased the fief a century earlier, Collings used the family fortune–acquired by privateering–to expand and renovate his residence,

Chief Pleas.[1]

As seigneur, Collings was keen on improving the welfare of the community. He improved schooling and encouraged the construction of small hotels, seeking to encourage the newly developed industry of tourism. His priority was to provide for the defence of the island, whose militia he was very proud of.

Photographic Society from 1853–54.[4]

Collings loved Sark but, like the Pelleys, only used it as a summer residence, preferring to spend winters in the neighbouring island of Guernsey. On 28 November 1872, Collings was sailing from Sark to spend the winter on Guernsey when the vessel hit a rock and sank. The Seigneur narrowly escaped drowning, but never recovered his baggage, which contained the original charter of

Helier de Carteret. A copy of the charter remains preserved in the Public Record Office in London.[1]

Family

Memorial in St Peter's Church, Sark

Collings married his cousin Louisa, an amateur lichenologist and collector,[5] on 15 June 1847.[6] The ceremony was conducted by her brother, William Collings Lukis, at St Saviour's Church.[7] They had four daughters and two sons,[6] William Frederick (1852–1927) and Henry de Vic (1855–1872). William Frederick, the heir apparent, was the exact opposite of his father, and the two never got along. Collings was succeeded by his son upon his death on 7 March 1882.[2][3] He was outlived by his wife, elder son and eldest daughter, Mary Edmeades.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c Ewen, Alfred Harry; De Carteret, Allan Roper (1969). The Fief of Sark. Guernsey: Guernsey P. p. 109.
  2. ^
    ISBN 0850335299
    .
  3. ^ a b "How to Keep the 20th Century Mostly at Bay". Smithsonian. May 1986.
  4. ^ Members of the Royal Photographic Society 1853-1901 http://rpsmembers.dmu.ac.uk/rps_results.php?mid=70 Accessed 28 April 2019.
  5. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press
    , retrieved 10 January 2014
  6. ^ a b c "The Guernsey Magazine: A Monthly Illustrated Journal of Useful Information, Instruction, and Entertainment, Volume 15". 1887. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  7. ISBN 978-1847183576
    .
Preceded by
Seigneur of Sark

1853–1882 		Succeeded by
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