Capri: Island of Pleasure Hardcover – January 1, 1987
by James Money
Queer Places:
University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 3PA
63 St James's St, London SW1A 1LY, UK
Francis Fothergill Burra (June 1882 - April 6, 1941) was born in June 1882 in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, the son of the Reverend Thomas Fawcett Burra, who served for a time as Vicar of Linton near Maidstone, and Inez Emily Went. He was educated at Tonbridge School before proceeding to Oxford University, where he studied at University College and Keble College, eventually earning his Master of Arts. Following his university education, Burra trained for the Anglican priesthood at Ely Theological College and took Holy Orders, taking up curacies in London, including a position at St. Alban’s in Fulham.
In 1912, while in his late twenties, Burra traveled to Capri to serve as the chaplain of All Saints Anglican Church for the 1912–1913 season. During his residence on the island, he quickly grew alienated from the traditional church congregation and was instead drawn to the bohemian, expatriate social circles against which he had been warned. The American writer Charles Thomas-Stanford introduced Burra to his extensive library and provided him with instruction on classical Roman morality. Burra soon integrated himself into local expatriate life, establishing friendships with figures such as Baron Jacques d'Adelswärd-Fersen and attending parties at the Villa Torricella.
During the spring of 1913, Burra conceived a strong romantic passion for Vernon Andrews, a member of the local circle. Though the official Anglican chaplaincy season concluded on Whitsunday, Burra volunteered to continue his ministrations through the summer. To the dismay of the churchwardens and the conservative congregation, he appointed Andrews as his churchwarden. The two spent the summer engaging in outings, bathing, picnics, and social gatherings across the island. When Burra eventually returned to London to resume his clerical duties, he maintained correspondence with Andrews, though Andrews frequently neglected to reply. Burra's brief and dramatic season on the island quickly made him a fixture of local folklore; author Compton Mackenzie later immortalized Burra's time on Capri by modeling the character of the Reverend Cyril Acott after him in his 1927 novel Vestal Fire.
Upon returning to England, Burra served as Curate at St. Thomas’s on Regent Street in London from 1914 to 1916, followed by a curacy at North Holmwood in Dorking from 1916 to 1918. His religious journey took a significant turn when he departed the Anglican ministry shortly thereafter. On All Saints' Day, November 1, 1919, Burra formally made his submission to the Roman Catholic Church at the hands of Father F. C. G. Brown at the Church of the Assumption on Warwick Street in London, an event publicly noted in the Catholic publication The Second Spring. Coincidentally, the Reverend Philip Bainbrigge, Vicar of St. Thomas’s, Regent Street, passed away on the exact day Burra was received into the Catholic Church.
Following his conversion and departure from active Anglican ministry, Burra ceased to appear in the records of Crockford’s Clerical Directory. In his later years, he was a member of the Royal Societies Club at 63 St. James’s Street in London. Francis Fothergill Burra died on April 6, 1941, at the age of 58.
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Capri: Island of Pleasure Hardcover – January 1, 1987 by James Money |
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