The Reverend The Reverend (abbreviated as The Revd, The Rev'd or The Rev) is an honorific style (form of address), style given to certain (primarily Western Christian, Western) Christian clergy and Christian minister, ministers. There are sometimes differen ...

Arthur Buxton (7 August 1882 – 6 January 1958) was a clergyman of the

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, ...

, Rector of All Souls Church, Langham Place,

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also ) is an area in London, England, and is located in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. Oxford Street forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropo ...

, after serving as Chaplain to the Forces during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Early life

Buxton was the third and youngest son of John Henry Buxton (1849–1934), of Easneye House,

Ware WARE (1250 AM) is a commercial radio station broadcasting a classic hits format. Licensed to Ware, Massachusetts, United States, the station serves the Springfield radio market. The station is currently owned by Success Signal Broadcasting ...

, Hertfordshire, a grandson of Thomas Fowell Buxton (1822–1908), and a great-grandson of Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton, 1st Baronet. His uncles included Alfred Fowell Buxton, Chairman of

London County Council The London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today ...

, and Barclay Fowell Buxton, a missionary in Japan.''

Burke's Peerage Burke's Peerage Limited is a British genealogical publisher, considered an authority on the order of precedence of noble families and information on the lesser nobility of the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1826, when the Anglo-Irish genea ...

'', volume 1 (2003), p. 619 He was educated at Harrow and then at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

, graduating BA in 1904 and being promoted to MA in 1908, and finally at Ridley Hall, Cambridge, which he joined in 1904 to train for the ministry. He was ordained

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

in 1907 and priest in 1908, both in the diocese of Southwark."Buxton, Arthur" in ''Crockford's Clerical Directory'' (1930), p. 190

Career

Buxton's first appointment was as

Curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' () of souls of a parish. In this sense, ''curate'' means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy who are as ...

of St Stephen's, Clapham Park, from 1907 to 1909. In 1910 he received his first

benefice A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...

, becoming Vicar of the Church of the Martyrs,

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

, where he remained three years, then from 1914 to 1919 was Vicar of All Saints,

Southport Southport is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. It lies on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain, West Lancashire coastal plain and the east coast of the Irish Sea, approximately north of ...

. For part of that time he was Chaplain to the Forces in the latter part of the First World War and a little beyond it, serving from 1916 to 1919. He resigned his Southport living before leaving the service of the British Army. In May 1920, Buxton was appointed as Rector of All Souls, Langham Place,

, taking up residence at All Souls Rectory, 12, Weymouth Street,

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

. This was a very smart Church of England living, with the church standing at the north end of

Regent Street Regent Street is a major shopping street in the West End of London. It is named after George IV of the United Kingdom, George, the Prince Regent (later George IV) and was laid out under the direction of the architect John Nash (architect), J ...

, and at the time was worth £640 a year, , plus a fine house in an elegant part of the capital city. At the Easter

Vestry A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government of a parish in England, Wales and some English colony, English colonies. At their height, the vestries were the only form of local government in many places and spen ...

meeting in 1921, Buxton forecast prosperous times ahead. In March 1923, Buxton gave an interview to ''

The Daily Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet i ...

'' in which he said the coming of flats in fashionable neighbourhoods had caused a fall in church attendance. At Langham Place, Buxton was identified with a new kind of churchman. Not only did he try to make his church attractive, up-to-date, and relevant to the times, but he also moved its theological style away from the firm

Evangelicalism 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 ...

of his predecessors towards a less Protestant form of

Anglicanism 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 ...

, referred to at the time as "Liberal Evangelicalism". Under the heading "Can the Rector Fly?", in January 1933 the ''Kensington Post'' reported that Buxton was planning to attend a Conference in

Cannes Cannes (, ; , ; ) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions Internatio ...

and would not be going by "ordinary common or garden mode of travel"; as an up-to-date clergyman he would instead travel by air. In August 1933, Buxton appointed Dr John Ivimey, the director of music at

Marlborough College Marlborough College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English private boarding school) for pupils aged 13 to 18 in Marlborough, Wiltshire, England. It was founded as Marlborough School in 1843 by the Dean of Manchester, George ...

, as organist and director of music at All Souls. In January 1937, during the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

, Buxton visited his cousin Harold Buxton, who was then Bishop of Gibraltar, and during the last week of January they visited areas of Spain held by the

Nationalists Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, Id ...

, led by Franco.

Notable services

With All Souls, Langham Place, being the nearest church to

Broadcasting House London Broadcasting House is the headquarters of the BBC, in Portland Place and Langham Place, London. The first radio broadcast from the building was made on 15 March 1932, and the building was officially opened two months later, on 15 May. T ...

, headquarters of the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

, the church was often used for broadcasting religious services. In January 1935, a "Children's Service", with an address by Buxton, was broadcast to the nation from All Souls, Langham Place, on the

BBC Home Service The BBC Home Service was a national and regional radio station that broadcast from 1939 until 1967, when it was replaced by BBC Radio 4. History 1922–1939: Interwar period Between the early 1920s and the outbreak of World War II, the BBC ...

. In February 1936, Buxton led a memorial service at All Souls for Dame Clara Butt. On 21 September 1929, at All Souls, Buxton assisted the Rev. Wilfrid Oldaker in marrying Oldaker's cousin, a daughter of Captain William Davies, to Geoffrey Gillam.

Private life

On 14 January 1908, Buxton married Esme Caroline, a daughter of Colonel Francis William Pixley DL, of Wooburn Green, Buckinghamshire. They had four children, Nigel Arthur (1909–1995), Richenda Dorothy (1911–1987), Mary Buxton (born 1913), and Priscilla Peronne (1916–1979). In 1941, after giving up his London parish, Buxton retired to Upton House,

Cromer Cromer ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish on the north coast of the North Norfolk district of the county of Norfolk, England. It is north of Norwich, northwest of North Walsham and east of Sheringham on the North Sea coastline. The local ...

, Norfolk."Rev. Arthur Buxton, M.A., Upton House, Cromer, Norfolk" in ''For God and Country: the Annual Report of Dr Barnardo's Homes for the Year 1941'' (Dr Bernardo's Homes, National Incorporated Association, 1941), p. 77 At the time of his death, he had houses in

Knightsbridge Knightsbridge is a residential and retail district in central London, south of Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park. It is identified in the London Plan as one of two international retail centres in London, alongside the West End of London, West End. ...

and Trimingham, Norfolk."BUXTON the reverend Arthur of Trimingham Norfolk and of 5 Albert Court London S.W.7 clerk" in Probate Index for 1958 In London, he was a member of the Athenaeum Club. He died on 6 January 1958, at 31,

Queen's Gate Queen's Gate is a street in South Kensington, London, England. It runs south from Kensington Gardens' Queen's Gate (the edge of which gardens are here followed by Kensington Road) to Old Brompton Road, intersecting Cromwell Road. The street i ...

Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...

, leaving an estate valued at £139,931, .

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buxton, Arthur 1882 births 1958 deaths Military personnel from Hertfordshire British Army personnel of World War I

Arthur Arthur is a masculine given name of uncertain etymology. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. A common spelling variant used in many Slavic, Romance, and Germanic languages is Artur. In Spanish and Ital ...

20th-century English Anglican priests Alumni of Ridley Hall, Cambridge Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge People educated at Harrow School People from Ware, Hertfordshire Royal Army Chaplains' Department officers People from Cromer