The Chavasse family in the West Midlands is a British family of Catholic origin. When Claude Chavasse came from the borders of France and Savoy, he settled in Burford, Oxfordshire. His entry in the Burial Register there (April 1734) states: Claude Chavasse, a Roman Catholick (sic). Members of the family gained particular prominence as

surgeon In medicine, a surgeon is a medical doctor who performs surgery. Even though there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon is a licensed physician and received the same medical training as physicians before spec ...

s and

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

men. Members of the family still live in the United Kingdom today.

History

The Chavasse family is notable for counting amongst its ranks two Bishops 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, ...

, two Olympic athletes, a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...

and one of only three people to be awarded a

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

twice. Bishop Francis Chavasse was instrumental in the building of

Liverpool Cathedral Liverpool Cathedral is a Church of England cathedral in the city of Liverpool, England. It is the seat of the bishop of Liverpool and is the mother church of the Anglican Diocese of Liverpool, diocese of Liverpool. The church may be formally re ...

and founded St Peter's College, Oxford.

Genealogy

# Thomas Chavasse (* 7 May 1800

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon, Warwickshire, River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined wit ...

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

; † 19 October 1884 Wylde Green House,

Sutton Coldfield Sutton Coldfield or the Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield ( ), is a town and civil parish in the city of Birmingham, West Midlands County, West Midlands, England. The town lies around 8 miles northeast of Birmingham city centre, 9 miles south of L ...

, Warwickshire) MD,

FRCS Fellowship of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons (FRCS) is a professional certification, professional qualification to practise as a senior surgeon in Republic of Ireland, Ireland or the United Kingdom. It is bestowed on an wikt:intercollegiate, ...

; surgeon ∞ (I) 1827 Catherine Margaret Grant (* 1811; † 1842) ∞ (II) after 1842 Miriam Sarah Wyld (* ?; † ?). From these marriages he had nine children (4 sons, 5 daughters), including: ## (I) Charles Edward Chavasse (* 3 November 1840 Birmingham; † 4 August 1893 Sutton Coldfield, Warwickshire) ∞ Frances Lucy Evans (* 1839; † 1905), and had 7 children (3 sons, 4 daughters). ## (II)

Francis Chavasse Francis James Chavasse (27 September 1846 – 11 March 1928) was an Anglican priest and bishop and father of Noel Godfrey Chavasse, Captain Noel Chavasse. After serving in parishes in Preston, Lancashire, Preston, London, and Oxford, for eleven y ...

(* 27 September 1846 Sutton Coldfield, Warwickshire; † 11 March 1928

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

) Bishop of Liverpool, founder of St Peter's College, Oxford ∞ Ethel Jane Maude (* 1851; † 1927) and had 7 children (4 sons, 3 daughters), including

identical twin Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of Twin Last Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two ...

s: ### Christopher Chavasse (* 9 November 1884 Oxford; † 10 March 1962) OBE, MC, TD, DD;

Bishop of Rochester The Bishop of Rochester is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Rochester in the Province of Canterbury. The town of Rochester, Kent, Rochester has the bishop's seat, at the Rochester Cathedral, Cathedral Chur ...

, Olympic athlete ∞ 1919 Beatrice Cropper Willink (* ?; † 1977) and had 5 children (3 sons, 2 daughters). ### Noel Chavasse (* 9 November 1884 Oxford; † 4 August 1917 Brandhoek, Belgium) VC and Bar, MC; Captain, RAMC, Olympic athlete ### Francis Bernard Chavasse (* 1889; ?) MC,

ophthalmic surgeon Ophthalmology (, ) is the branch of medicine that deals with the diagnosis, treatment, and surgery of eye diseases and disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a ...

(joint author of ''Worth's Squint''; 7th ed. by F. Bernard Chavasse; Baillière & Co., 1939) ### Aidan Chavasse (* 1891; † 4 July 1917

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

) ## (II) Sir Thomas Frederick Chavasse (* 19 March 1854

Aston Aston is an area of inner Birmingham, in the county of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Located immediately to the north-west of Birmingham city centre, Central Birmingham, Aston constitutes a wards of the United Kingdom, war ...

, Warwickshire; † 17 February 1913

Bromsgrove Bromsgrove is a town in Worcestershire, England, about north-east of Worcester and south-west of Birmingham city centre. It had a population of 34,755 in at the 2021 census. It gives its name to the wider Bromsgrove District, of which it is ...

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...

) Kt 1905, MD,

; surgeon ∞ 1885 Frances Hannah Ryland (* 1848; † 1928) MBE and had 4 children (1 son, 3 daughters), including: ###Arthur Ryland Chavasse (* 1887; † 12 March 1916 Le Havre, France) MD, Captain, RAMC ### Frances Gladys Ryland Chavasse (* 1893; † 1962 Polignac, killed crossing the road)

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

1945 at

Monte Cassino The Abbey of Monte Cassino (today usually spelled Montecassino) is a Catholic Church, Catholic, Benedictines, Benedictine monastery on a rocky hill about southeast of Rome, in the Valle Latina, Latin Valley. Located on the site of the ancient ...

, former fiancée of the late Noel Chavasse VC and Bar, MC, later ∞ Rev. James F. Colquhoun (* 1881; † 1937) MC, priest ### Esme Margaret Ryland Chavasse (* 1896; † 1980) ∞ (I) Walter G. Marsden (* 1886; † 1920) Captain, RAMC ∞ (II) A. B. Quinney, of Sambourne (* 1890; † 1965)

Memorials

* Chavasse Park in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, named after the family * At St Peter's College, Oxford, the College Chapel is filled with memorials to members of the Chavasse family, including Captain Noel Chavasse's original grave cross, the Chavasse memorial window and a large

bas-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

of Bishop

at prayer. File:Noel Chavasse -1.jpg, Noel Chavasse's headstone in Brandhoek New Military Cemetery File:War Memorial in St John the Baptist Church, Bromsgrove - Detail.jpg, War Memorial in St John the Baptist Church, Bromsgrove with Arthur and Noel Chavasse's names File:Bromsgrove cemetery Chavasse family 7 Noel.jpg, Noel Chavasse's memorial at the Chavasse family grave at

File:Bromsgrove cemetery Chavasse family 1.JPG, Grave of Sir Thomas Chavasse (1854-1913) and his family at Bromsgrove File:Bromsgrove cemetery W.G. Marsden.jpg, Captain W. G. Marsden's headstone - first husband of Esme Chavasse (1896-1980)

Notes

External links

{{Commons category, Chavasse family
Chavasse Family Papers
at St Peter's College, Oxford History of Warwickshire English families