Arthur Sutton Valpy (28 March 1849 – 15 June 1909) was a canon of
Winchester Cathedral.
Early life and education
Valpy was a descendant of Richard Valpy and his wife Emily Anne Sutton. He was educated at
Eton College
Eton College () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI of England, Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. i ...
(which he left in 1864) and at
Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of ...
, where he was awarded a Master of Arts degree in 1876 and was made a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries.
He was ordained deacon at York in 1873, and priest the following year, serving curacies at
Middlesbrough, 1873 to 1875, and at
Kensington, 1875 to 1878.
Appointments
Valpy was Rector of
Farnborough Farnborough may refer to:
Australia
* Farnborough, Queensland, a locality in the Shire of Livingstone
United Kingdom
* Farnborough, Hampshire, a town in the Rushmoor district of Hampshire, England
** Farnborough (Main) railway station, a railw ...
from 1878 to 1882.
He served as warden to the Church of England Soldiers' Institute and acting chaplain to the forces as
Aldershot and as Rector of Holy Trinity,
Guildford.
He was appointed Canon Residentiary of Winchester in 1895.
In December 1901, Valpy and his wife left London for South Africa, where he acted as
Archdeacon
An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denominations, above that of m ...
of
Kimberley
Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to:
Places and historical events
Australia
* Kimberley (Western Australia)
** Roman Catholic Diocese of Kimberley
* Kimberley Warm Springs, Tasmania
* Kimberley, Tasmania a small town
* County of Kimberley, a ...
and Rector of
St Cyprian's Church during 1902.
Valpy as artist and his influence on English style
Canon Valpy has been credited with having injected "new life and a lightness of touch" in English style, as documented in interiors he painted in water-colours now preserved in the
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and ...
in London. "This inspired churchman", comments Carolyn McDowell, "put together a collection of 18c furniture, decorated his plain walls with clusters of low hung watercolors and prints, used a pretty chintz loose cover on the chairs, replaced indiscriminate clutter with a few well chosen ornaments and placed piles of books lying around for reading, rather than for show". Over the mantel in his Drawing Room is a pre-raphaelite portrait by
Rossetti, revealing that he was "a very astute purchaser".
Valpy's name appears in an address book belonging to
James McNeill Whistler in the 1870s.
Valpy inherited
Champneys
Champneys is an English country house and its associated estate near Tring, Hertfordshire. The mansion is run as a destination spa by a business using "Champneys" as the brand name for a group of spa resorts and day spas.
History
The earlie ...
a country house estate at
Wigginton. He rebuilt the house in 1874 later selling it to
Lady Rothschild between 1900 and 1902.
Hertfordshire Genealogy Champneys
Accessed 18 January 2015
In memoriam
The beautifully carved wooden altar from St Edward's Church, Kenilworth, in Kimberley, South Africa, now at St Cyprian's Cathedral, Kimberley, bears an inscription in memory of "Arthur Sutton Valpy, Canon of Winchester, England, who fell asleep 15 June 1909. While in charge of S. Cyprian’s Kimberley, he assisted S. Edward’s in every way. R.I.P".
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Valpy, Arthur Sutton
1849 births
1909 deaths
19th-century English Anglican priests
Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
Archdeacons
People educated at Eton College
People from Dacorum (district)
Winchester Cathedral