Arthur Harry Cross A.R.C.O. | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1858 King's Lynn |
| Died | 29 August 1906 |
| Burial place | Sandringham Churchyard |
| Education | Choirboy at Jesus College Cambridge |
| Occupation | Sandringham Organist 1878-1906 |
| Spouse | Alice Serjeant |
| Children | 6 |
Arthur Harry Cross was a chorister, organist, choirmaster and composer of sacred and secular music, [1] [2] [3] who was appointed organist and choirmaster at St Mary Magdalene Church, Sandringham in 1878 at the age of 20. He continued in that position for 28 years until his death of heart disease in 1906. [4]
Arthur Cross, whose father was a cook, [5] was a choirboy at Jesus College, Cambridge, where he also studied the piano and organ. [5] Cross travelled around the country as a solo singer. [4] By 17 years old he held a church appointment, and deputised at several college chapels. [5]
He became an Associate of the Royal College of Organists (A.C.R.O) in 1878. [5]
Cross was appointed organist and choirmaster at St Mary Magdalene Church, Sandringham by the Prince of Wales in 1878 and subsequently moved to Dersingham, Norfolk. [5]
Cross was also the honorary conductor of the King's Lynn Musical Society, [6] [7] the Hunstanton Amateur Operatic Society [8] and the Hunstanton Choral Society. [9] [10] [11] He also worked with the Heacham Choral Societies and the King's Lynn Music Society. [5] He was conductor at the Hunstanton Amateur Dramatic Society's performance of Patience by Gilbert and Sullivan [12] and acted in their performance of the Henry Arthur Jones comedy 'The Manoeuvres of Jane'. [13] He was musical director of the King's Lynn and Hunstanton Amateur Operatic Society's [14] production of Iolanthe in 1904. He conducted and sung the tenor parts in a performance of the Messiah by the Kings Lynn Musical Society in 1903. [15] and sung the tenor part in the 'May Queen A Pastoral' at the Guildhall, Cambridge in 1904. [16]
He sung, played the piano, acted and/or composed the music at many local events, [17] [18] [1] some of which were in aid of charity. [17]
In 1888 an Anglican Chant book called "The Sandringham Chant Book" was published. [3] This was produced by Arthur Cross and the Rector of Sandringham, Rev. F.A.J.Harvey, and was designed to be used by village choirs where the Tonic sol-fa system was taught. [3] A number of composers contributed to the chants, including Cross. [3]
In 1910, the first daughter of Arthur and Alice, Dorothy Maud, married the conductor and composer Howard Talbot. [5]
On his death, at the age of 48, the family of Arthur Cross received a message of condolence from Queen Alexandra [5] "Too grieved to hear of your overwhelming loss and sorrow which will be shared by all who know your dear husband. My God support and comfort you and your poor children." Alexandra.
Cross was buried in the churchyard of Sandringham Church, where friends and a number of people well known in the musical circles of Norfolk and Cambridgeshire came to pay their respects. [19] [20] Their Majesties King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra were represented at the funeral by Mr. & Mrs. Frank Beck, the King's agent at Sandringham, [21] and in addition to telegraphing messages of sympathy to the family the King and Queen ordered some floral tokens to be placed on the coffin. [4] [19] [20]
Hunstanton is a seaside town in Norfolk, England, which had a population of 4,229 at the 2011 Census. It faces west across The Wash. Hunstanton lies 102 miles (164 km) north-north-east of London and 40 miles (64 km) north-west of Norwich.
Sandringham is a village and civil parish in the north of the English county of Norfolk. The village is situated 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) south of Dersingham, 12 km (7.5 mi) north of King's Lynn and 60 km (37 mi) north-west of Norwich.
North West Norfolk is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2019 by James Wild, a Conservative.
Thomas Tertius Noble was an English-born organist and composer, who lived in the United States for the latter part of his career.
Heacham is a large village in West Norfolk, England, overlooking The Wash. It lies between King's Lynn, 14 miles (23 km) to the south, and Hunstanton, about 3 miles (4.8 km) to the north. It has been a seaside resort for over a century and a half.
Dersingham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is situated some 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) north of the town of King's Lynn and 70 km (43 mi) north-west of the city of Norwich, opening onto The Wash.
Heacham was a railway station which served the seaside resort of Heacham in Norfolk, England. Opened in 1862, the station became a junction where services left the King's Lynn to Hunstanton line for Wells on the West Norfolk Junction Railway, which opened in 1866. The station closed with the Hunstanton line in 1969.
Howard Munkittrick, better known as Howard Talbot, was an American-born, English-raised conductor and composer of Irish descent. He was best known for writing the music to several hit Edwardian musical comedies, including A Chinese Honeymoon, The Arcadians and The Boy, as well as a number of other successful British musicals during the first two decades of the 20th century.
Sir John Frederick Bridge was an English organist, composer, teacher and writer.
The A149 is commonly known as "The Coast Road" to local residents and tourists, as this road runs along the North Norfolk coast from King's Lynn to Great Yarmouth, via coastal villages.
Dersingham was a railway station on the King's Lynn to Hunstanton line which served the village of Dersingham, a few miles north of King's Lynn in North Norfolk, England.
North Wootton was a railway station on the King's Lynn to Hunstanton line which opened in 1862 to serve the village of North Wootton on the outskirts of King's Lynn in Norfolk, England. The station closed along with the line in 1969.
The West Norfolk Junction Railway was a standard gauge eighteen and a half-mile single-track railway running between Wells-next-the-Sea railway station and Heacham in the English county of Norfolk. It opened in 1866 and closed in 1953. At Wells the line made a junction with the Wells and Fakenham Railway and at Heacham it connected with the line from Hunstanton to Kings Lynn.
The Toronto Choral Society was founded in 1845. Music was a popular form of entertainment for a rapidly growing and prosperous population, so a group of citizens formed a choral society in order to give concerts and foster the development of the local musical community. F.W. Barron, the headmaster of Upper Canada College, became the choir's first president, and James P. Clarke, organist at St. James Cathedral, was its first conductor.
Colin McAlpin was an English composer of songs, operas and ballet music, an organist and a writer of critical essays on music.
Robert Watkin-Mills was an English bass-baritone concert singer of the late Victorian era who in his later career moved to Canada. An early recording artist, he recorded selections from the works of Schumann, Handel, Wagner, Gounod and Mendelssohn for Pathé Records (1903) and Odeon Records (1907-8).
The Lynn and Hunstanton Railway was a line in Norfolk, England that opened in 1862. The railway was a major factor in developing Hunstanton as a seaside resort and residential community. The company was allied to the West Norfolk Junction Railway which built a line connecting Heacham, south of Hunstanton, to Wells-next-the-Sea that was not a financial success. The companies amalgamated in 1874 to form the Hunstanton and West Norfolk Railway, and in 1890 the company was sold to the Great Eastern Railway.
Norman Chinner LRSM OBE was a South Australian organist and choirmaster.
West Norfolk Academies Trust is a multi-academy trust, serving schools in or close to King's Lynn, Norfolk.