George Romanes was born on 1st January 1907. He became a Catholic on his mother's conversion in 1917 and was sent to the Ampleforth preparatory School in that year, from which he passed into the Upper school in 1919. His school days were not happy, owing to his intense shyness and self-consciousness, which made him something of a butt to his companions. He left in 1925 and spent two years at a Petit Séminaire in France before entering the novitiate in 1927, when he took the name Ninian. He was ordained priest in 1935, having spent some years teaching first at Ampleforth and later at Gilling Castle. He went out to a parish in 1935, serving at Brindle, Leyland, St Alban's, Warrington, Brownedge, and St Mary's, Warrington, until increasing ill-health compelled him to withdraw to Ampleforth and eventually to a nursing home in Ireland, where he died on 12th November.
Fr Ninian suffered all his life from constitutional shyness which made him distrustful and suspicious of people, but to those who knew him well he displayed the kindest of hearts and he was generous to a fault, though by no means without a good share of Scottish hard-headedness, which became evident when he disposed of the very considerable property of Pitcalzean which he had inherited from his father. He had a great love of country life and a simple but very staunch Catholic faith, for which he made great sacrifices. May he rest in peace.
NINIAN ROMANES 12 November 1961
1907 1 Jan Born Cromarty
Grandson of GJ Romanes in whose memory the Romanes lecture at Oxford is delivered
1916 10 Jun Received into the church with his mother & baptised in Ampleforth
1927 23 Sep Habit
1931 24 Sep Solemn Profession
1935 21 Jul Priest
22 Sep Brindle
1936 Ampleforth
1937 Leyland
1939 Brownedge
1946 May St Peter's Liverpool
Nov Ampleforth
1951 Nov In hospital at York
1952 Mar Belmont Park Waterford
1961 12 Nov Died at Belmont Park Waterford
Buried at Belmont Park Waterford