Legslinacre

Brandon Donald Jackson was Dean of Lincoln and inherited a very acrimonious period^[1] as described by his predecessor, Oliver Fiennes in his swan song to the Greater Chapter, “Bad Dreams & Bright Visions.”  He was specifically appointed by Margaret Thatcher, the Prime Minister who was aware of many problems in the Cathedral and told Jackson to "Get rid of those dreadful Canons". The Bishop (Robert Hardy) was even more forthright in his typically Yorkshire fashion, told him to get rid of the Canons - and - we'll do it together"

Jackson was born on 11 August 1934 and educated at Stockport School, where he became Head Boy, and then went on to Liverpool University, from where he graduated in Law. He then went to Oxford to read Theology at Wycliffe Hall and St Catherine's College. He was Ordained in 1958, & after Curacies at Christ Church, New Malden^[3] and St George's, Leeds^[4] he became Vicar of St Peter’s, Shipley and then Provost of Bradford Cathedral.

Whilst in Yorkshire, he served as a governor of Bradford Grammar School, and Bradford Girls Grammar School; also as a governor of Harrogate Ladies College. He also served as a member of the General Synod and was also for a period a Church Commissioner, including membership of its Governing Body. He also served as a member of the Council of two theological Colleges, Wycliffe Hall and St John’s Nottingham.

It was whilst at Shipley that he also worked with Yorkshire Television as their Religious Adviser for ten years (1969-79) & appeared as a regular on ITV's religious programmes, script writing for Stars on Sunday and Emmerdale Farm, and fronting two separate series of Open Pulpit.

In Decembere1988 he was contacted by Margaret Thatcher who invited him to become the Dean of Lincoln, a post which he initially rejected, but having met Bishop Robert Hardy, he was persuaded to go there. Mrs Thatcher had warned of problems, but little did he know the extent of these. It transpired that the recent undertaking to take the Cathedral’s valuable copy of the Magna Carta (King John, 1215 Runnymede) had happened before Jackson arrived. After the Magna Carta returned to England, the Dean, the Very Revd, Oliver Fiennes, resigned from the Cathedral having endured the conflict with the Canons for 20 years. He entered into retirement, leaving his successor, whomever that might be, to pick up the bits!                                                                                                                                                                                                             The conflict Jackson inherited only increased in Chapter. The Subdean and his fellow Canons felt they had been ignored during the process of appointing the new Dean and they made their disapproval evident from the day Jackson arrived - in fact weeks before he arrived. This led Chapter to invite the Bishop, qua Visitor, to enquire into the nature and extent of the conflict in the Cathedral Chapter arising specifically out of the alleged financial excesses and losses resulting from the Magna Carta Australian trip. The Canons refused to produce any accounts arising out of the Australian venture with Magna Carta, so Jackson asked the Cathedral’s Accountants and the then Chapter Clerk to get a copy from Australia. At first, the Bishop encouraged Jackson and assured him that heads would roll and peace return. The Bishop said there was enough evidence of financial irregularities to enable the Bishop to dismiss the miscreants. The bishop expressly avoided the Subdean's alleged adulterous affair and settled for the financial offences. The Subdean threatened the bishop with a writ for defamation if anything critical of him appeared in the subsequent judgement or "Admonition".                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Visibly disturbed by the Subdean’s threat, the bishop's Visitation turned out to be of no practical use and the subsequent Admonition (Judgement) was inaccurate, prejudiced and settled nothing except to convince the Subdean that he was now inviolable. The Bishop had been persuaded to change tack completely. He even censured Jackson for having gone and obtained the Magna Carta accounts from Australia, and simply told the Canons to behave themselves. They couldn’t believe their luck and their opposition in Chapter increased in intensity making life for Jackson and his Family pretty well intolerable. The new Precentor Canon appointed, the Bishop’s choice against the Dean’s wishes, conspired with the Bishop and his legal team to use an inadequate female verger to bring accusations of adultery against the Dean. The Dean vigorously denied the accusation, but the Bishop believed this woman and not the Dean, even though the Bishop had described her as “a pretty hopeless kind of person really.” The Bishop took his case against the Dean to his Consistory Court even though the case was very weak and he had been advised by senior bishops not to proceed. Inevitably the Dean was acquitted. The Bishop had understandably found Jackson to be an offensive irritant and was glad of the chance to be rid of him, and having failed, thereafter combined with the Canons to increase the pressure on Jackson, whilst all the time, excusing himself as it being “nothing to do with me.” Finally Archbishop Carey, who had initially encouraged the Bishop to bring the case against Jackson, joined the gang against Jackson and went as far as issuing a decree to Lincoln to increase the pressure on their dean to force him to resign and go. Carey knew there were no legitimate grounds for Jackson to resign and many people across the country, including Bishops were urging him to stand firm, but he had done that for almost nine years and he knew it was time to go. The vast majority of the Cathedral and Lincoln people knew sadly, that the wrong man was going.