Francis John Jayne was a British bishop and academic. Born in Pant-y-beiliau, Llanelli, Jayne was the eldest son of John Jayne, a colliery owner and his second wife, Elisabeth Haines. He was educated at Rugby School and Wadham College, Oxford. He took his B.A. in 1868 and M.A. in 1870. He was elected Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford in 1868 and tutor of Keble College in 1871. He was ordained deacon and priest in 1870. From 1879 to 1886, Jayne was Principal of St David's College, a university institution in the small Welsh town of Lampeter. During his time there, he steered the institution through the difficult years following the 1880 Aberdare report on intermediate and higher education in Wales. The report recommended that the Colleges at Aberystwyth and Lampeter be united to form one institution, but Jayne fought the plan and retained St. David's College's independence. Jayne reformed the college in many ways; new statutes were issued and affiliation to Oxford and Cambridge was achieved. A new hall of residence was constructed and the college chapel was rebuilt. The number of students doubled. The college school opened in 1884, with the aim of providing a sound education for future entrants to the college. Jayne is remembered as the 'second founder' of the college. A devoutly religious man, Jayne left Lampeter to become an Anglicanvicar in Leeds. He became Bishop of Chester in 1889, a position he held for the next thirty years. At the time of his appointment, he was the youngest English bishop. Under his rule, his diocese was said to be 'perhaps the most peaceful and orderly in England.' He resigned his bishopric in April 1919 owing to ill health caused by over work. He died at his home at The Quarry, Oswestry, and was buried at Bowdon, Cheshire. Jayne was concerned about excessive drinking and the misuse of alcohol. He published an article called Successful Public-House Reform discussing the virtues of the ScandinavianGothenburg system for managing pubs etc. He also founded the People's Refreshment House Association Limited which at its peak owned 130 inns and hotels. He and his wife Emily had six sons and three daughters, one of whom was the Norwegian-to-English translator Edith M. G. Jayne.
