Chauncy Maples (1852 – 2 September 1895) was a British clergyman and

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 ...

missionary who became Bishop of Likoma, with a diocese in East Africa.

Early life

Born at

Bound's Green Bounds Green is a suburb to the north of Wood Green, in the London Borough of Haringey and London Borough of Enfield in north London. Parts of it are also known as New Southgate, but most of New Southgate lies in the London Borough of Enfield t ...

in 1852, he was the son of Frederick Maples, a solicitor, and his wife Charlotte Elizabeth Chauncy. He was educated at

Eagle House School Wellington College Prep (formerly Eagle House School) is a 3–13 co–educational preparatory school near Sandhurst in Berkshire, England. Founded in 1820, it originally only admitted boys, keeping them "until they went out into the world", h ...

and

Charterhouse School Charterhouse is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Godalming, Surrey, England. Founded by Thomas Sutton in 1611 on the site of the old Carthusian monastery in Charter ...

. Coached by James Bowling Mozley, he entered the University of Oxford at the second attempt. Maples matriculated in 1871 at

University College, Oxford University College, formally The Master and Fellows of the College of the Great Hall of the University commonly called University College in the University of Oxford and colloquially referred to as "Univ", is a Colleges of the University of Oxf ...

. In early 1874, suffering some poor health, he dropped out of his course for a time, and read with

William Wolfe Capes William Wolfe Capes (1834–1914) was a notable Hereford scholar. Life Capes attended St Paul's School, London, and the Queen's College, Oxford, where he matriculated in 1851, graduating B.A. in 1856, and becoming a Fellow there. Ordained in 1868, ...

Liphook Liphook is a village in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is 4.1 miles (6.6 km) west of Haslemere, bypassed by the A3 road, and lies on the Hampshire/West Sussex/Surrey borders. It is in the civil parish of Bramshott an ...

. In 1874 also, he encountered

Edward Steere Edward Steere (1828 - 26 August 1882) was an English Anglican colonial bishop in the 19th century. Life Steere was educated at London University and ordained in 1850. After curacies in Devon and Lincolnshire, he joined William Tozer (Bishop in ...

; he associated with Steere in late 1874 and early 1875, and became interested the

Universities' Mission to Central Africa The Universities' Mission to Central Africa (c.1857 - 1965) was a missionary society established by members of the Anglican Church within the universities of Oxford, Cambridge, Durham, and Dublin. It was firmly in the Anglo-Catholic tradition of ...

(UMCA). He graduated B.A. in 1875, and M.A. in 1879. After graduation he worked in Liverpool with John Eyre. He was ordained deacon, and had a curacy at

St Mary Magdalen's Church, Oxford St Mary Magdalen is a Church of England parish church in Magdalen Street, Oxford, England, dedicated to Jesus' companion Mary Magdalene. It is one of the city's ancient parish churches and is a Listed building#Categories of listed building, Grad ...

African missionary

In 1876 Maples sailed for

Zanzibar Zanzibar is a Tanzanian archipelago off the coast of East Africa. It is located in the Indian Ocean, and consists of many small Island, islands and two large ones: Unguja (the main island, referred to informally as Zanzibar) and Pemba Island. ...

for UCMA. He was ordained priest by Steere at Kiungani in September of that year. There he set up clinics and schools for formerly enslaved people. In 1877 he was transferred to

Masasi Masasi is one of the six districts of the Mtwara Region of Tanzania. It is bordered to the north by the Lindi Region, to the east by the Newala, Newala District, to the south by the Ruvuma River and Mozambique and to the west by Nanyumbu District ...

, on the African mainland. The Masasi mission did not thrive under Maples. Steere promoted Charles Janson over him in 1881, after a sex scandal involving a woman in Maples' household. In a complex local situation, Maples supported Matola I of the

Yao people The Yao people () or Dao () is a classification for various ethnic minorities in China and Vietnam. Their majority branch is also known as Mien. They originated in the areas around Changsha, which today is the capital of Hunan province. They s ...

, who was on good terms with the Anglican missionaries. In 1882 Steere died on Zanzibar, and Janson died on an inland mission with

William Percival Johnson William Percival Johnson (12 March 1854 in St Helens, Isle of Wight – October 1928 in Liuli, Tanganyika) was an Anglican missionary to Nyasaland. After education at Bedford School (1863–1873) and graduation from University College, Oxford, h ...

to reach the east side of

Lake Nyasa Lake Malawi, also known as Lake Nyasa in Tanzania and Lago Niassa in Mozambique, () is an African Great Lake and the southernmost lake in the East African Rift system, located between Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania. It is the fourth largest ...

. The Masasi mission was destroyed by a raid that year, by

Ngoni people The Ngoni people are an ethnic group living in the present-day Southern African countries of Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, and Zambia. The Ngoni trace their origins to the Nguni people, Nguni and Zulu people, Zulu people of KwaZulu-Na ...

. Maples moved east to

Newala Newala is a district of the Mtwara Region of Tanzania. It is bordered to the west by Masasi, Masasi District, to the east by Tandahimba, Tandahimba District, to the south by Newala Town, and to the north by Tandahimba and Masasi Districts. Th ...

Charles Smythies Charles Alan Smythies (6 August 18447 May 1894) was a British Colony, colonial bishop in the 19th century. Life Smythies was born in Colchester, the son of the Rev. Charles Norfolk Smythies, vicar of St-Mary-at-the-Walls there, and his wife Is ...

in 1886 transferred Maples to the Anglican mission on

Likoma Island Likoma Island is the larger of two islands in Lake Malawi, in East Africa, the smaller being the nearby Chizumulu. Likoma and Chizumulu both belong to Malawi, and together they make up the Likoma District. Although both islands lie just a few kil ...

, as Archdeacon of Nyasa.

Bishopric and death

In 1895 Maples received recognition, as missionary and promoter of the UMCA. He was consecrated as Bishop of Likoma, in

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...

, on 29 June 1895. His predecessor

Wilfrid Hornby Wilfrid Bird Hornby was an Anglican colonial bishop at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th. Born on 25 February 1851 and educated at Marlborough and Brasenose College, Oxford he was ordained in 1876. In 1880 he went on the ...

was by title Bishop of Nyasaland. On his return journey, his boat capsized on

during a storm on 2 September; Maples and the lay missionary Joseph Williams were drowned. The 18 African men and boys aboard swam safely ashore, but Maples was pulled down by the weight of his

cassock The cassock, or soutane, is a Christian clerical clothing, clerical coat used by the clergy and Consecrated life, male religious of the Oriental Orthodox Churches, Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church, in addition to some clergy in ...

.''The steamer parish: the rise and fall of missionary medicine'' - Page 95 Charles M. Good - 2004 "Both missionaries perished two and one-half miles from shore despite rescue efforts by the African crew. All eighteen African men and boys swam safely ashore (CA 19 9o1 124). Maples tried swimming to save himself but was dragged down by his wet cassock."

Legacy

In recognition of his role in East Africa, in 1901 the ship SS ''Chauncy Maples'', the first steamship on Lake Nyasa (now

Lake Malawi Lake Malawi, also known as Lake Nyasa in Tanzania and Lago Niassa in Mozambique, () is an African Great Lakes, African Great Lake and the southernmost lake in the East African Rift system, located between Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania. It is ...

), was named after Maples. The ship continues to serve as a floating hospital.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maples, Chauncy English Anglican missionaries Anglican missionaries in Malawi Deaths due to shipwreck 19th-century English Anglican priests 1895 deaths 1852 births Anglican bishops of Likoma People educated at Eagle House School