A Clergyman in Hyde Park

London's Savoy Chapel was built in the 16th century where John of Gaunt's palace once stood until it was ransacked during the Peasant's Revolt of 1381. The Rev. William J. Loftie was the longtime assistant chaplain there and published a diverting history of the chapel in 1878. "People pass along the crowded and busy Strand, some of them for years, without any acquaintance with the quiet little church, surrounded by green grass and trees, which hides itself behind the rows of dingy houses." 

The chapel is still there, minus the grass. It belonged to the Crown (the Duchy of Lancaster) and was not regularly used, allowing the Rev. Mr. Loftie ample time for his prolific antiquarian writings. He contributed to numerous journals, wrote several books about the history of London, and was one of the world's foremost experts on Egyptian scarabs. He was a prominent member of the Savile Club, the gathering place for many of the day's leading journalists, writers, and artists.

In December 1894, a brief note appeared in some of the London papers: “The connexion of the Rev W.J. Loftie with the Savoy Chapel has ceased. He was a familiar figure there.” Loftie was married, in his 50's, and few would have suspected the news revealed anything but a deserved retirement. And nothing was ever made public until, years later, Max Beerbohm explained what happened. "One day, the Savile Club reverberated with scandal." Apparently, the Reverend Loftie had been diverted from his studies "long enough to seduce a parlour-maid, and he had found it expedient to give up the Church.*"

Whether Loftie gave up the church or not, five years later in December 1899, he was identified as the Rev. W.J. Loftie, a clerk in holy orders, when he was arrested in Hyde Park for "committing an act in violation of public decency." According to PC Taylor, Loftie was seen at 5:30 in the morning in a secluded path near Albert Gate with a 21-year old woman, employed as a servant in Notting Hill. In police court, the constable testified that Mr. Loftie begged him, "Can we settle it here? I don't want to go to court." The plea was unavailing. In Marlborough Street Police Court, Loftie insisted he had merely taken pity on the poor girl and was attempting to get her to promise to give up frequenting the park at night. Denman, the magistrate, gruffly interrupted: “There is no offense in talking with a woman. You know what you’re charged with.” Loftie denied anything beyond being imprudent. The young lady was fined 20s and told to go home to Colchester. Loftie was fined £5.

Once again, Loftie's numerous connections in the "media" of late Victorian London were helpful; the brief report from the police court, minus any prurient detail, was all the attention the case received. 

The Rev. Mr. Loftie continued to use his clerical title in Who's Who and elsewhere, living until 1911. He remained a member of the Savile Club and authored several more books including Rambles in and near London (which gave scant attention to Hyde Park.) Loftie is quite a forgotten figure today: one Edwardian critic said Loftie "serves up hackneyed material in an agreeable manner."

* S.N. Behrman, A Portrait of Max, p. 214-215.