B. W. (Berkeley William) Randolph

Born in Riverhead, Kent, on March 10, 1858, Berkeley William Randolph was educated at Haileybury and Balliol College, Oxford. He was ordained deacon in 1881 and priest in 1882, beginning a ministry that combined scholarship, teaching, and pastoral care.

Randolph served as a fellow of St. Augustine's College, Canterbury, then as principal of St. Stephen's House, Oxford. After a short period as vice-principal of Ely Theological College, he became its principal in 1891, and he also served as a canon of Ely. A reference work from his lifetime says he described himself as a "Prayer Book Churchman," which fits the character of his writing: thoughtful, devotional, and closely tied to Anglican worship and teaching.

His books range from meditations on the Old and New Testaments to works such as The Empty Tomb, The Virgin-Birth of Our Lord, The Holy Eucharist: Sacrifice and Feast, and Preparation for Ordination. He also edited volumes connected with Bishop Edward King and wrote Arthur Douglas, Missionary on Lake Nyasa. Randolph died in 1925, and a memoir published soon after suggests he was remembered with real affection by those who had known him at Oxford, Ely, and elsewhere.