Memorial to Arthur Percival Purey-Cust in York Minster

Arthur Perceval Purey-Cust (born Cust; 21 February 1828 – 23 December 1916) was a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

cleric 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 ...

and

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

who served as

Dean of York Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

from 1880 to 1916.

Biography

He was born as Arthur Perceval Cust, the younger son of the Honourable

William Cust William Cust (23 January 1787 – 3 March 1845), was a British barrister and Member of Parliament (MP). He also served as Commissioner of Customs. Cust was a younger son of Brownlow Cust, 1st Baron Brownlow, by Frances, daughter of Sir Henry Bank ...

who was the younger son of

Brownlow Cust, 1st Baron Brownlow Brownlow Cust, 1st Baron Brownlow (3 December 1744 – 25 December 1807), of Belton House near Grantham in Lincolnshire (known as Sir Brownlow Cust, 4th Baronet, from 1770 to 1776), was a British Tory Member of Parliament. Origins He was the son ...

. His mother was Sophia, daughter of Thomas Newnham. He was educated at

Brasenose College Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The library and chapel were added in the m ...

, and later became a fellow of

All Souls' College, Oxford All Souls College (official name: College of the Souls of All the Faithful Departed) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full members of t ...

. He was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

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 churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

1851 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 deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

1852. His early posts were: a

curacy A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''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 w ...

Northchurch Northchurch is a village and civil parish in the Bulbourne valley in the county of Hertfordshire in the United Kingdom. It lies between the towns of Berkhamsted and Tring. Situated on the Roman road Akeman Street, a major Roman villa dating from ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

; incumbencies at

Cheddington Cheddington is a village and civil parish in the Buckinghamshire district of the ceremonial county of Buckinghamshire, England. The parish has an area of . The village is about 6 miles north-east of Aylesbury and three miles north of Tring in Her ...

and

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

; Honorary

Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western can ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

; and

Rural Dean In the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion as well as some Lutheran denominations, a rural dean is a member of clergy who presides over a "rural deanery" (often referred to as a deanery); "ruridecanal" is the corresponding adjective. ...

. He married Lady Emma Bess Bligh, a daughter of

Edward Bligh, 5th Earl of Darnley Edward Bligh, 5th Earl of Darnley, FRS (25 February 1795 – 12 February 1835), styled Lord Clifton until 1831, lord of the Manor of Cobham, Kent, was a British peer and politician. Background Darnley was the second but eldest surviving son of ...

. He became the

Archdeacon of Buckingham The Archdeacon of Buckingham is the senior ecclesiastical officer in charge of the Church of England in Buckinghamshire. The archdeacon has statutory oversight over the ancient Archdeaconry of Buckingham, which has existed since (at latest) the 11 ...

in June 1875, and installed Vicar of

Aylesbury Aylesbury ( ) is the county town of Buckinghamshire, South East England. It is home to the Roald Dahl Children's Gallery, David Tugwell`s house on Watermead and the Waterside Theatre. It is in central Buckinghamshire, midway between High Wy ...

in the same year. His final appointment was as

from 1880 to 1916. For the next 36 years he meticulously catalogued

York Minster The Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York, commonly known as York Minster, is the cathedral of York, North Yorkshire, England, and is one of the largest of its kind in Northern Europe. The minster is the seat of the Archbis ...

's heritage and was the author of ''Heraldry of York Minster'', 1890. He died in office in his 88th year and is commemorated by a mural monument in York Minster and by the adjacent

Purey-Cust Lodge Purey-Cust Lodge is an historic building in the English city of York, North Yorkshire. Now Grade II listed, it dates to 1845. Prior to this date, it was the stone yard for York Minster. The building is named for Arthur Purey-Cust, who se ...

List of works

Works written by Purey-Cust include: *''Parochial Organization'' (1877); *''The Heraldry of York Minster'' (1890);"The Heraldry of York Minster" Cust, APP: Leeds, Richard Jackson, 1890
/ref> *''Picturesque Old York'' (1896); *''Our English Minsters'' (1897); *''The Crowning of Monarchs'' (1907)

References

External links

* 1828 births 1916 deaths Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford Fellows of All Souls College, Oxford 19th-century English Anglican priests Archdeacons of Buckingham Deans of York Arthur Purey {{ChurchofEngland-dean-stub