A Victorian silver bowl, Elkington & Co., Birmingham, 1847

circular, embossed and chased with a broad band of acorns and oak leaves, armorial engraved and inscribed inside Presented to/The Right Revd. James Prince Lee D.D./Lord Bishop of Manchester/by/Inhabitants of Birmingham and other Friends/in testimony of their/affection, Esteem, and Gratitude./MDCCCXLVIII, on a rim foot inscribed Elkington & Co Birmingham

good condition and clear marks
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The imagery of acorns and inscriptions relate to the nomination in 1848 of James Prince Lee as the first Bishop of the newly constituted Anglican diocese of Manchester which had until then been part of the diocese of Chester.

James Prince Lee was born in London on 28 July 1804, the son of Stephen Lee, Secretary and Librarian of the Royal Society, and his wife, Sarah, and baptised on 18 August at St. Martin Pomeroy united with St. Olave, Old Jewry, City. Educated at St. Paul's and Trinity College, Cambridge, he became a noted classical scholar. He married Susanna (Susan) Penrice at Elmbridge, Worcestershire, on Christmas Day 1830, shortly after taking holy orders and becoming an assistant master at Rugby School under the headmastership of Thomas Arnold. Eight years later he became head of King Edward's School, Birmingham. Among the pupils he inspired here were E.W. Benson (1829-1896), who was appointed Archbishop of Canterbury in 1882, J.B. Lightfoot (1828-1889), who in 1879 became Bishop of Durham, and B.F. Westcott (1825-1901) who in 1890 succeeded his friend Lightfoot as Bishop of Durham.

 

In 1848 Lee was consecrated as first bishop of the newly formed Anglican Diocese of Manchester. Here he served for twenty-one years during which time he consecrated 130 churches and took a personal interest in the establishment of the Manchester Free Library. In spite of many good qualities, according to Trevor Beeson (The Bishops, SCM, London, 2002, p. 155), Bishop Lee was not a popular man; 'his autocratic style did not win the hearts of Lancashire's toiling masses.' As a teacher he has been called a 'maker of men,' but later observers have also accused him of being 'autocratic ... almost an ecclesiastical tyrant' (George Beardoe Grundy, Fifty-five years at Oxford: an unconventional autobiography, Methuen, London, 1945, p.6)

 

For a report of J.P. Lee's confirmation as Bishop of Manchester at St. James's, Piccadilly, Manchester, see The British Magazine, London, 1848, pp. 360-66, which states that 'the church was unusually crowded for an occasion of this description, probably owing to a rumour that Thomas Gutteridge [a surgeon from Birmingham] ... intended to present himself and protest against the intended confirmation.' This gentleman objected on several counts, not least that Lee 'had been in the frequent habit of taking large quantities of wine at his own house, with other disgusting charges to the same purport.' Gutteridge's objections were dismissed and the ceremony went ahead as planned.

 

Bishop James Prince Lee died on 24 December 1869.