Walking with the Ancestors - HJ Gauntlett

The 'Remarkable Professor'

By the time of his death in 1876 Gauntlett had established a strong reputation for learning. This was formally recognised in 1843, when he was granted the Lambeth Doctorate by the Archbishop of Canterbury; the first time the honour had been awarded in 200 years. His protestant zeal and unswerving belief in the sanctity of his own opinions made Gauntlett an unpopular figure in some quarters, while he had also been derided for his lack of formal qualifications. However, after becoming a Doctor of Music, he finally gave up law in 1846, the same year he was chosen by Mendelssohn to play in the first performance of Elijah, at Birmingham Town Hall. The great composer, whose performances of Bach's organ music had done much to inspire Gauntlett's crusade to re-design the instrument, was certainly in no doubt of his abilities, pronouncing him 'one of the most remarkable professors of the age' and declaring 'he ought to have a statue'!