Alfred Peache (1818-1900) was a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

clergyman, and philanthropist to Evangelical causes.

Early life and education

Born in

Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, which today also gives its name to the (much larger) London Borough of Lambeth. Lambeth itself was an ancient parish in the county of Surrey. It is situated 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Charin ...

in 1818 to James and Alice Peache (née Coventry), Peache and the family moved to

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...

in 1834. He studied at

Wadham College Wadham College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street and Parks Road. Wadham College was founded in 1610 by Dorothy Wadham, a ...

, Oxford, graduating B.A. in 1841. He was ordained against his father's wishes in the following year.

Career in the Church of England

Peache was curate of

Mangotsfield Mangotsfield is a village and former civil parish in the unitary authority area of South Gloucestershire, in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, England, to the north-east of Bristol. The village was mentioned in the Domesday Book in 1086 ...

in the diocese of Gloucester and Bristol from 1842 to 1854, and vicar from 1859 to 1874. In the intervening years he was curate of

Heckfield Heckfield is a village in Hampshire, England. It lies between Reading and Hook. It is the location of Highfield House, where Neville Chamberlain Arthur Neville Chamberlain (; 18 March 18699 November 1940) was a British politician who ...

in Hampshire. His final official post was as vicar of Downend from 1874 to 1878.

Inheritance and philanthropy

He and his sister Kezia unexpectedly inherited the substantial family fortune when their father and older brother died in quick succession in 1857 and 1858. Already settled in their mode of life, the siblings decided to use their windfall to support good causes, mostly

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

. Most notably, Alfred and Kezia supported the foundation of the London College of Divinity in 1863 with a donation of £35,000, giving £100,000 to this training college for Evangelical

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

clergy over the course of their lifetimes. Alfred also purchased the property leases of

Monkton Combe School Monkton Combe School is a public school ( fee-charging boarding and day school), in the village of Monkton Combe near Bath in Somerset, England. History Monkton Combe School was founded in 1868 by the Revd. Francis Pocock, a former curate ...

from its founder, the Revd Francis Pocock, before selling on to the Revd Henry Wright of the

Church Missionary Society The Church Mission Society (CMS), formerly known as the Church Missionary Society, is a British Anglican mission society working with Christians around the world. Founded in 1799, CMS has attracted over nine thousand men and women to serve as ...

. Alfred Peache also endowed the Peache Chair of Divinity at Huron College,

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, Ontario, Canada, with £5,000, and was awarded an honorary D.D. from its successor institution, the

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO; branded as Western University) is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by residential neighbourhoods and the Thame ...

, in 1881, and appointed

Chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

in 1885. He provided financial support to the Bristol Clergy Daughters' School, Henry Martyn Hall, Cambridge, and purchased the livings of 23 parishes to enable him to further the appointment of Evangelical clergy in the Church of England.

Personal life and family

Peache married Julia Augusta Cox (1823-1890) in 1850, and together they had four sons and three daughters. In 1869 he purchased land in Layer Marney near

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in northeastern Essex, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the county, with a population of 130,245 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census. The demonym is ''Colcestrian''. Colchester occupies the ...

, and in 1879 he and his sister became Lord and Lady of the Manor there.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peache, Alfred 1900 deaths 1818 births 19th-century English Anglican priests