author
Geo. S. (George Smith) Tyack
A late Victorian clergyman and writer, he had a knack for turning church history, bells, symbols, and old customs into lively, approachable reading. His books open a window onto the rituals and material culture of English religious life.
1 Audiobook
The Cross in Ritual, Architecture and Art
by Geo. S. (George Smith) Tyack
About the author
Born in Camborne, Cornwall, on February 28, 1858, George Smith Tyack was the eldest son of the Rev. William Davis Tyack and Eliza Tyack. He studied at Wesley College, Sheffield, and at Exeter College, Oxford, where he took his B.A. in 1882 before training for the Anglican ministry.
Tyack was ordained deacon in 1881 and priest in 1882, and he served in several parishes, including Dunsley, Hinderwell, Ludford, and St Mary-le-Wigford in Lincoln. Alongside parish work, he wrote popular historical books on church life and symbolism, including A Book About Bells, Historic Dress of the Clergy, Lore and Legend of the English Church, and The Cross in Ritual, Architecture and Art.
His writing is especially appealing for readers who enjoy the texture of everyday religious history: not just doctrine, but objects, customs, clothing, and the stories attached to them. Tyack died on August 27, 1923, in Bayswater, London, and was buried at Claxby in Lincolnshire.