Athelstan Riley

Who was Athelstan Riley?

John Athelstan Laurie Riley was an English hymn writer and hymn translator.

Riley was born in Paddington, London, and attended Pembroke College, Oxford where obtained his BA 1881 and MA 1883. Active in the Anglo-Catholic wing of the Church of England, he energised the development of the English Hymnal and was chairman of its editorial board. His best known hymn is Ye Watchers and Ye Holy Ones.

In later life he moved to Jersey in the Channel Islands, where he purchased Trinity Manor in 1909, thereby acquiring the feudal title of Seigneur de La Trinité. Finding the manor house in a ruined condition, he undertook an elaborate restoration. The reconstruction was carried out 1910-1913 by C. Messervy to designs by Sir Reginald Blomfield. Athelstan Riley bought the historic property L'Ancienneté in Saint Brélade, and removed architectural features of interest to incorporate into Trinity Manor, carefully recording the provenance of items and nature of alterations made in his project. He remained in Jersey through the German occupation, and died shortly after its liberation.