Queer Places:
University of Cambridge, 4 Mill Ln, Cambridge CB2 1RZ
Lancing College, College, Lancing BN15 0RW, United Kingdom
University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, United Kingdom
Cimitero di Santa Maria dei Rotoli, V. Papa Sergio I, 96, 90142 Palermo PA

John Elliotson Symes (1847 – March 31, 1921) was born in 1847, possessing roots connected to Bourdon House on Berkeley Square in London. Embarking on a distinguished academic path, he entered Downing College, Cambridge, as a scholar on October 11, 1867, matriculating in the Michaelmas term of that year. During his undergraduate studies, he distinguished himself not only through the Mathematical Tripos—earning his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1871 followed by his Master of Arts in 1874—but also through high-profile student leadership. In 1870, he served as the President of the Cambridge Union Society. Furthermore, his intellectual standing and social circles at the university led to his membership in the Cambridge Apostles, the prestigious and secretive intellectual discussion society.

Following his graduation, Symes entered the Church and the field of education. He was ordained as a deacon in Chichester in 1873 and subsequently ordained as a priest in 1875. Professionally, he began his career as an assistant master at Lancing College in Sussex, serving from 1872 to 1875. Concurrently, he worked as a University Extension Lecturer from 1875 to 1881, helping to broaden access to higher education. After a brief tenure as the second master at the Royal Grammar School in Newcastle-on-Tyne between 1880 and 1881, he took up a foundational role in higher education institutions in the Midlands. In 1881, he became one of the four original professors appointed at University College, Nottingham, serving as Professor of English Literature until 1896. His leadership within the institution culminated in his appointment as Principal of University College, Nottingham, a role he held with distinction from 1890 until his retirement in 1912. Alongside his academic administration, he contributed to scholarship through his publications, which included works such as Political Economy and Companion to English History.

Regarding potential LGBTQ links, while explicit contemporary documentation of same-sex partnerships or romantic relationships for Victorian and Edwardian figures is frequently absent due to the criminalization and social taboos of the era, Symes's inclusion within the Cambridge Apostles provides a notable biographical context. The Cambridge Apostles—a select intellectual society counting figures like John Maynard Keynes, Lytton Strachey, and E.M. Forster among its historical orbit—frequently fostered environments that tolerated and fostered homosocial and homosexual intimacy, aestheticism, and non-conformist personal lives among its members, though direct evidence regarding Symes's personal romantic inclinations remains part of the broader, often unrecorded private histories of late 19th-century academic elites.

In his later years, Symes returned to London before traveling abroad. He passed away at the age of 73 on March 31, 1921, in Palermo, Italy, as noted in The Times on April 2, 1921. He was laid to rest at the Cimitero di Santa Maria dei Rotoli in Palermo, Città Metropolitana di Palermo, Sicilia, Italy. His headstone bears a simple yet resonant inscription chosen to mark his legacy: "John Elliotson Symes, Died March 31, 1921, Sent to bear witness of the light."

References:


The Cambridge Apostles, 1820-1914: Liberalism, Imagination, and Friendship in British Intellectual and Professional Life 1st Edition
by W.C. Lubenow

Other references:

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