Story, Robert Herbert, 1835-1907, minister

Robert Herbert Story ( 1835-1907) was born at Roseneath manse, Dumbartonshire, on 28 January 1835. He was the only surviving son of Robert Story, parish minister of Roseneath, by his wife Helen Boyle Dunlop. After home teaching from his father and learning mathematics and other subjects at the parish school, he studied arts at Edinburgh University, graduating in 1854. He also spent a semester in 1853, at Heidelberg. He studied divinity at Edinburgh and St. Andrews Universities, 1854-1857, and after the first of many continental trips was licensed a preacher by the presbytery of Dumbarton on 2 November 1858.

In 1860, he succeeded his father as minister of Roseneath. In general accord with Dr. Robert Lee, he sought to systematise the form of service and to modify the old observances at the celebration of the communion. He was co-founder, on 31 January 1865, of the Church Service Society, which efficiently transformed ancient usages. Both Lee, who died in 1868, and himself persevered in spite of opposition, and Story had the satisfaction of seeing their views prevail. In 1884, a lectureship was founded in memory of Lee, and Story delivered the first lecture in St. Giles's Cathedral, Edinburgh, in April 1886, his subject being 'The Reformed Ritual in Scotland'.

Story became a leader in the church courts, and regularly attended the general assembly of the church. He became one of the strongest debaters in the assembly, advocating various measures and reforms. He became known for speaking out on Sabbath observance, on the abolition of patronage, on the Free Education Act, and on the adaptability of the Confession of Faith to modern conditions. In 1886, he was appointed Junior Clerk to the General Assembly and in 1894, he was Moderator, closing the meetings with an address on 'The Church of Scotland, its Present and its Future.' In 1895, he became Senior Clerk of the assembly, holding the position for the rest of his life.

He edited The Scots Magazine, 1885-1889, primarily to support the principles he believed in. He had grave doubts as to the wisdom of the Free Education Act, but resolved to make the best of it when it had passed, and he was Chairman of Rosneath school board from its first meeting in March 1873 till he left the parish. In 1886, he succeeded John Caird as chaplain-in-ordinary to Queen Victoria, and King Edward VII renewed the appointment in 1901.

In 1886, Story became Professor of church history in Glasgow University. In 1897, he was the Baird lecturer and took for his theme 'The Apostolic Ministry in the Scottish Church'. He was one of the representatives who convened at Iona, on 9 June 1897, the anniversary of the death of Columba, in 597. He was also actively interested in the position of the church in the Highlands and in India, and in the Layman's League and home missions.

In 1898, Story was appointed Principal of Glasgow University in succession to John Caird. In 1901, the ninth jubilee of the University was celebrated under his presidency. He oversaw the construction of new University buildings, mainly for medical and scientific purposes. At the same time he was a convinced champion of the humanities, and his tenure of office was not free from friction with students. He was ambivalent about the Carnegie Trust for the benefit of the Scottish Universities, partly because of the exclusion of literary studies from its scope, but mainly because he regarded its scheme for the payment of fees as haphazard. However, he fully recognised its value as a means of encouraging postgraduate research.

After a period of gradually declining strength, he died on 13 January 1907, and was buried in the family plot at Roseneath.

Story married Janet Leith, daughter of Captain Philip Maughan, H.E.I.C. and author of three novels, 'Charley Nugent,' 'The Co-heiress,' and 'The St. Aubyns of St. Aubyn,' and of 'Kitty Fisher,' a children's story. Their two surviving children, Elma and Helen Constance Herbert, jointly wrote a memoir of their father.

Notable publications:

Memoir of the Rev. Robert Story, ( 1862)

The Life and Remains of Robert Lee, D.D., ( 1870)

William Carstares: a Character and Career of the Revolutionary Epoch (1649-1715), ( 1874)

Creed and Conduct, ( 1878)

The Apostolic Ministry of the Scottish Church, ( 1897)

1874: Honorary D.D. Edinburgh University

1886: Chaplain-in-ordinary to Queen Victoria

1886-1898: Professor of church history, University of Glasgow

1887: Honorary LL.D. Michigan University

1894: Moderator of the Geneal Assembly of the Church of Scotland

1895-1907: Senior Clerk of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland

1898-1907: Principal, University of Glasgow

1900: Honorary LL.D. St Andrews University

1901: Chaplain-in-ordinary to King Edward VII

List of sources for the biographical information:

Harrison, Brian (editor), Dictionary of National Biography, ( http://www.lib.gla.ac.uk/Resources/Databases/d.shtmlOxford University Press, 1995)

Authority record created according to the National Council on ArchivesRules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names (NCA Rules)1997 and International Council on Archives: Ad Hoc Committee on Descriptive StandardsInternational Standard Archival Authority Record for Corporate Bodies, Persons and Families (ISAAR)CPF1995

Personal name authority record compiled for the GASHE project by John O'Brien, Glasgow University Archive Services, 3 September 2002