# Dictionary of National Biography, 1912 supplement/Webb, Allan Becher

​ ​WEBB, ALLAN BECHER (1839–1907), dean of Salisbury and bishop in South Africa, born on 6 Oct. 1839, at Calcutta, was eldest son of Allan Webb, M.D., surgeon to the governor-general of India and professor of descriptive and surgical anatomy at the Calcutta Medical College. His mother was Emma, daughter of John Aubrey Danby.
Admitted to Rugby under Edward Meyrick Goulburn in October 1855, Webb in 1858 won a scholarship at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, and in 1860 obtained a first class in classical moderations. He graduated B.A. in 1862 with a second class in literæ humaniores, and proceeded M.A. in 1864 and D.D. in 1871. In 1863 he was elected to a fellowship at University College, and was ordained deacon, serving the curacy of St. Peter-in-the East, Oxford. From 1864 to 1865 he was vice-principal of Cuddesdon College, under Edward King [q. v. Suppl. II]. He resigned his fellowship on his marriage in 1867, and accepted the rectory of Avon Dasset, near Leamington.
In 1870 he was nominated to succeed Dr. Twells as bishop of Bloemfontein, Orange Free State. His consecration gave rise to some controversy. Webb, supported by Robert Gray [q. v.], bishop of Cape Town, declined to take the oath of allegiance to the English primate, on the ground that it was opposed to the canons of the South African synod, but offered to take the oath of obedience to his metropolitan, the bishop of Cape Town. Archibald Campbell Tait [q. v.], archbishop of Canterbury, however, held such procedure to infringe the Jerusalem Act of 1841 (5 Vict. c. 6), which regulated the appointment to bishoprics within the British dominions (Guardian, 23 Nov. 1870). The act was not, however, in force in Scotland, and the primate finally allowed Webb to take the oath of canonical obedience to Bishop Gray and his successors in Inverness cathedral on 30 November 1870. Webb was in full accord with the high church views generally prevalent in the South African province; and he was active in promoting the work of sisterhoods, whether missionary, educational, or medical. His diocese extended over the Orange Free State, Basutoland, and Bechuanaland; and his youth and vigour stood him in good stead. In 1883 he succeeded Nathaniel James Merriman [q. v.] as bishop of Graham's Town. Here, too, he actively engaged in developing mission and educational work both for natives and Europeans, and in fostering diocesan institutions like the college of St. Andrew and the sisterhood of the Resurrection. The chancel of the cathedral at Graham's Town, which was consecrated in 1893, stands as a permanent memorial of his episcopate, during which he did much to heal the schism that had rent the South African province since the Colenso controversy.
In 1898 Webb left South Africa after twenty-eight years' work. On his return home he was appointed provost of Inverness cathedral, and he also acted as assistant bishop in the diocese of Moray and Brechin. In 1901 he became dean of Salisbury in succession to George David Boyle [q. v. Suppl. II]. Webb was devoted to stately worship, and though never a fluent speaker was an impressive preacher at missions and retreats. He died on 12 June 1907 at the deanery, Salisbury, and was buried in the cathedral cloisters. In 1867 Webb married Eliza, daughter of Robert Barr Bourne, rector and patron of Donhead, St. Andrew. She survived him, with two sons.
There are in the possession of his son, Mr. A. Cyprian Bourne Webb, chancellor of the diocese of Salisbury, a crayon drawing by Frank Miles, done in 1878, and a portrait in oils, painted by Miss Agnes Walker in 1902; neither is a striking likeness. In his memory stained glass was placed in the great north window, and the screen was erected in the morning chapel at Salisbury cathedral.
In addition to sermons, Webb published the following devotional works: 1. ‘The Priesthood of the Laity in the Body of Christ,’ 1889. 2. ‘The Life of Service before the Throne,’ 1895. 3. ‘The Unveiling of the Eternal Word,’ 1897. 4. ‘With Christ in Paradise,’ 2nd edit. 1898.
[The Times, 13, 18 June 1907; Church Times, 14 June 1907; Guardian, 19 June 1907; Pelican Record, June 1907; Rugby School Register (1842–74), 1902; Farrer, Life of Robert Gray, 1876, ii. 509; Cuddesdon College (1854–1904), 1904; private information.]
G. S. W.