William Iveson Croome, CBE, MA, FSA, was born in November 1891, the only son of Thomas and Mary Croome of North Cerney House. In later years he lived at Bagendon House and, finally, at Barton Mill House, Cirencester. A devout churchman, the local parish churches of Bagendon and North Cerney in particular bear witness to his care and generosity. His interest in and knowledge of ecclesiastical buildings led to his appointment as Vice-Chairman of the Central Council for the Care of Churches in 1943. He became Chairman of the Gloucester Diocesan Advisory Committee on Churches in 1944 and of the Grants Committee of the Historic Churches Preservation Trust in 1964. In 1953 he was made Chairman of the Cathedrals Advisory Committee for England, a position which he held until his death in April 1967. William, or “Will”, Croome was a familiar figure in Cirencester, held in the highest regard by all who knew him, not only for his knowledge and care of ancient buildings but also for his concern for the less fortunate members of society. He was Chairman of Cirencester Magistrates for many years. In Gloucestershire, Croome was President of the Bristol & Gloucestershire Archaeological Society in 1952, and his presidential address on ‘Gloucestershire Churches’ was published in volume 72 of its annual Transactions for the following year. In Cirencester, he was a member of the Archaeological & Historical Society from its inception and succeeded Viscount Dunrossil as President in 1961. He was also a founder member of the Civic Society, and it was to commemorate the man and his interests that the two Societies agreed to establish the annual Croome Lecture. On the 10th February 1969 Brian Ward-Perkins, the then Director of the British School in Rome, gave the first lecture entitled “Town Planning in Antiquity”. Some of the lectures have been published (in abbreviated form) and others reviewed. Links will be added where we have more information. (none added yet!) 1969  Town Planning in Antiquity Bryan Ward-Perkins 1970 The Meaning and Purpose of English Medieval Wall Paintings E. Clive Rouse 1971 Sir John Vanbrugh, Architect by Sir Nikolaus Pevsner 1972 The Contribution of the West Country to Romanesque Architecture Dr Peter Kidson 1973 John Aubrey by Michael MacLagan 1974 The evidence for a great 13th century restoration of Gloucester Cathedral The Very Rev S.J.A. Evans 1975 Personal Reminiscences of Will Croome Miss J.D.G. Scott 1976 An Introduction to Medieval and Renaissance Armour in Europe Claude Blair 1977 Conservation – the realities and opportunities Prof Roy Worskett 1978 Some thoughts on urbanisation in Iron Age and Roman Britain John Wacher 1979 Officialdom and the Care of Historic Buildings Ashley Barker 1980 North African Journey Lady Wheeler 1981 Matter of Life and Death: the Conservation of Churches The Dean of Winchester; The Very Rev. Michael Staffurth Stancliffe 1982 Gloucestershire Churches in the 19th Century David Verey 1983 Letters from a Cotswold Manor 1815-1867 Canon A.J. Turner 1984 Some Thoughts on the Boroughs of Gloucestershire Prof Maurice Beresford 1985 [title unknown] Sir Derek Barber, Chairman of the Countryside Commission 1986 Anglo-Saxon Cirencester and its Environs David Brown 1987 Life as a District Commissioner in Kenya Robin Wainwright 1988 Cirencester’s Contribution to the Development of Urban Archaeology Alan McWhirr [published in Miscellany, no 1, Cirencester Archaeological & Historical Society, 1988, pp.11-16] 1989 Towards a cleaner nineties, the work of the Tidy Britain Group Prof Graham Ashworth 1990 The Stained and Painted Glass of York Minster and its Restoration Peter Gibson 1991 Townscape Prof Derek Lovejoy 1992 Old Gardening Books and their Influence on my Garden Rosemary Verey 1993 William Iveson Croome – his work for the care of churches Jonathan Mackechnie-Jarvis, Assistant Secretary to the Diocese of Gloucester Published in Miscellany volume 3 1994 Of those that devise cunning works Dr Isabel Elliott, Mistress of Embroidery for Gloucester Cathedral 1995 Palladian Bridges – the crossing to the Elysian Fields Dr. Timothy Mowl 1996 Medieval Stained Glass in Gloucestershire Churches Dr. Steven Blake, Cheltenham Art Gallery & Museum 1997 Tomorrow’s Countryside Jonathan Porritt 1998 Pilgrimage in Medieval Gloucestershire Tim Porter 1999 Churches and the changing shape of towns Dr Terry Slater, University of Birmingham 2000 Cirencester Parish Church: an archaeological review of its fabric and furnishings Dr. Warwick Rodwell 2001 New glass in old buildings Tom Denny 2002 Twentieth Century Country Houses in the Cotswolds Nicholas Kingsley, Glos County & Diocesan Archivist 2003 Proverbs and Architecture Jim Thompson, Chairman of Cirencester Civic Society 2004 S.E. Dykes Bower: a Gloucestershire architect, with reference to F.C. Eden and Will Croome Alan Rome 2005 A Century Ago: the Cirencester of Daniel George Bingham David Viner, Chairman of Cirencester Archaeological & Historical Society 2006 The Future of the Parish Church in England Sir Simon Jenkins, journalist and author of ‘England’s Thousand Best Churches’ 2007 The Stained Glass of St. Mary’s, Fairford – Conservator or Restorer? Keith Barley 2008 The Archaeology of Buildings Richard Morriss 2009 Berkeley Minster and the Anglo Saxon Church in Mercia  Mark Horton, University of Bristol 2010 The Ongoing Refurbishment of the Parish Church of St John the Baptist Malcolm James 2011 Sharpness Docks, Past, Present and Future Ray Wilson, Gloucestershire Industrial Archaeology Society 2012 Church Conservation and Repair in the 21st Century Henry Russell OBE, Chairman Gloucester Diocesan Advisory Committee Croome Lecturers Page last updated 28 July 2011