Frederick Spurrell (2 August 1824 – 23 February 1902) was an

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 ...

priest and archaeologist.

Early life and education

Frederick Spurrell was born at 23, Park Street in

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

at a time when his father, Charles Spurrell (1783–1866), was employed by Barclay, Perkins & Co. as a senior manager at the nearby Anchor Brewery. His mother, Hannah Shears (1790–1882), was the daughter of the London copper merchant James Shears. In the 1830s the family moved to Anchor Terrace on Southwark Bridge Road. He studied at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

and was awarded an Associateship (A.K.C.), before going up to

Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Corpus Christi College (full name: "The College of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary", often shortened to "Corpus") is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. From the late 14th c ...

, where he obtained a B.A. in 1847 (promoted to M.A. in 1850). At university he was a member of both the Cambridge Camden Society and the Cambridge Architectural Society.

Career and interests

Spurrell 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 ...

by the

Bishop of Chichester The Bishop of Chichester is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chichester in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers the counties of East Sussex, East and West Sussex. The Episcopal see, see is based in t ...

in 1847 and

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

the following year, when he began his work as curate of Newhaven,

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

. While there, he was among a small party of local officials that called on

Louis-Philippe I Louis Philippe I (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850), nicknamed the Citizen King, was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, the penultimate monarch of France, and the last French monarch to bear the title "King". He abdicated from his thron ...

, who had fled to England following the 1848 revolutions in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. In 1849 Spurrell travelled through

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

and

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

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, having been sent by the

Bishop of London The bishop of London is the Ordinary (church officer), ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury. By custom the Bishop is also Dean of the Chapel Royal since 1723. The diocese covers of 17 boroughs o ...

, the Rt. Rev. Charles James Blomfield to serve as the Anglican chaplain in Stockholm. He provided weekly services in the upper gallery of a chapel at 12 Lilla Trädgårdsgatan, which had been loaned by the

Moravian Church The Moravian Church, or the Moravian Brethren ( or ), formally the (Latin: "Unity of the Brethren"), is one of the oldest Protestant denominations in Christianity, dating back to the Bohemian Reformation of the 15th century and the original ...

. Following his return to England, he served as curate of

Barcombe Barcombe is an East Sussex village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Lewes (district), Lewes District of East Sussex. The parish has four settlements: old Barcombe (), the oldest settlement in the parish with the parish church; ...

, Sussex, from 1850 to 1853. Spurrell was appointed rector of Faulkbourne,

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

, in 1853, where he remained until his retirement in 1898, having been made a surrogate in the Diocese of St Albans in 1894. In 1886 he commissioned Arthur Blomfield to restore the parish church. Spurrell was a keen amateur archaeologist who published a number of papers. He was a member of the Essex Archaeological Society and the Sussex Archaeological Society, and also served on the Council of the Royal Archaeological Society alongside prominent Victorian archaeologists such as Augustus Pitt Rivers and Flinders Petrie.J. C. Spurrell, ''Frederick Spurrell, An Essex Antiquarian'', Essex Society for Archaeology and History newsletter (2015). He died in

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

in 1902 and was buried in the churchyard of St Germanus' Church, Faulkbourne.

Family

Spurrell married his cousin, Frances Gray (1827–1892), at Newhaven on 16 February 1854. Frances's father, John Gray (1790–1826), had founded the Gray and Dacre Brewery in

West Ham West Ham is a district in East London, England and is in the London Borough of Newham. It is an inner-city suburb located east of Charing Cross. The area was originally an ancient parish formed to serve parts of the older Manor of Ham, a ...

, and her mother, Lydia Shears (1794–1855), was the youngest daughter of the copper merchant James Shears. They had two sons (one stillborn) and three daughters. Their surviving son, the Rev. Charles Henry Spurrell, was for many years as Organising Secretary of the

National Society for Promoting Religious Education The National Society (Church of England and Church in Wales) for the Promotion of Education, often just referred to as the National Society, and since 2016 also as The Church of England Education Office (CEEO), is significant in the history of ed ...

and later served as Rector of Meesden,

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

, from 1911 to 1923. Frederick Spurrell was descended from the Spurrell family of

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

. He was the uncle of the archaeologist and egyptologist Flaxman Charles John Spurrell and a cousin of the Rev. Augustus Shears and the Rev. Ernest Henry Shears.

Publications

The following is a list of some of Frederick Spurrell's published works: *''On the Architecture of Fletching Church'', Sussex Archaeological Collections, Vol. IV (1851) *''Roman Remains Discovered at Newhaven in 1852'', Sussex Archaeological Collections, Vol. V (1852) *''Architectural Relics of Lewes Priory'', Sussex Archaeological Collections, Vol. VI (1853) *''Inventory of the Goods of Cornelius Humphrey, of Newhaven, 1697'', Sussex Archaeological Collections, Vol. VI (1853) *''Examples of Mediaeval Seals. Seals Preserved at Wisby in Gottland'', Archaeological Journal, Vol. VII (1855) *''Notice of a Wooden Effigy of a Priest in the Church at Little Leighs'', Essex Archaeological Society Transperiodical (1867) *''Faulkbourn Church'', Essex Archaeological Society Transperiodical (1878) *''Notes on the Death of King John'', Archaeological Journal (1881)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spurrell, Frederick 1824 births 1902 deaths English archaeologists Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Alumni of King's College London Associates of King's College London 19th-century English Anglican priests