Arthur Sephton (25 March 1894 – 22 March 1982) 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 ...

priest who was

Archdeacon of Craven The Archdeacon of Craven was a senior ecclesiastical officer within the Diocese of Bradford. The final archdeacon was Paul Slater. As an Archdeacon, he or she was responsible for the disciplinary supervision of the clergy within four area deane ...

from 1956 to 1972.

Early life

Sephton was born in 1894 in

Newport Pagnell Newport Pagnell is a town and civil parish in the City of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The Office for National Statistics records Newport Pagnell as part of the Milton Keynes urban area. It is separated from the rest of the urban ...

, the son of Thomas G and Laura Sephton. He emigrated to Australia in 1914, and was a teacher at Monaro Grammar School in

Cooma Cooma is a town in the south of New South Wales, Australia. It is located south of the national capital, Canberra, via the Monaro Highway. It is also on the Snowy Mountains Highway, connecting Bega with the Riverina. At the , Cooma had a po ...

(which subsequently moved to

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

and became

Canberra Grammar School , motto_translation = For God, for Church, for Country , city = Red Hill , state = Australian Capital Territory , country = Australia , coordinates = , type ...

). He was a Gunner in the 29th Field Artillery Brigade, Australian Imperial Force, in

WWI World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Career

Educated at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

, Sephton trained for ordination at

Cuddesdon Cuddesdon is a mainly rural village in South Oxfordshire centred ESE of Oxford. It has the largest Church of England clergy training centre, Ripon College Cuddesdon. Residents number approximately 430 in Cuddesdon's nucleated village centre a ...

.''Crockford's Clerical Directory'', 1973-74, 85th Edition, p 861. He was ordained deacon in 1921 and priest in 1922. He served his title at

St Mary Redcliffe St Mary Redcliffe is an Anglican parish church located in the Redcliffe district of Bristol, England. The church is a short walk from Bristol Temple Meads station. The church building was constructed from the 12th to the 15th centuries, and it ...

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

(1921-24), but with a period at

St Saviour's Cathedral, Goulburn The St Saviour's Cathedral is the heritage-listed cathedral church of the Anglican Diocese of Canberra and Goulburn in Goulburn, Goulburn Mulwaree Council, New South Wales, Australia. The cathedral is dedicated to Jesus, in his title of Saviour. ...

(1922-23), where he was ordained priest. He served three further curacies: St Luke

Woodside Woodside may refer to: Places and buildings Australia *Woodside, South Australia, a town *Woodside, Victoria, a town Canada *Woodside National Historic Site, the boyhood home of William Lyon Mackenzie King *Woodside, Nova Scotia, a neighborho ...

, Croydon (1924-25),

St John the Baptist's Church, Hove St John the Baptist's Church is an Anglican church in Hove, part of the English city of Brighton and Hove. It was built between 1852 and 1854 to serve the community of the Brunswick area of Hove, which had originally been established in the 1830 ...

(1925-28), and Christ Church, Harrogate (1928-29). He was then successively Vicar of

Holmfirth Holmfirth is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England, on the A635 and A6024 in the Holme Valley, at the confluence of the River Holme and Ribble, south of Huddersfield and west of Barnsley. It mostly consist ...

(1929-33), Vicar of All Hallows,

Kirkburton Kirkburton is a village, civil parishes in England, civil parish and ward in Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It is south-east of Huddersfield. Historic counties of England, Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the township ...

(1933-43), and Rector of

Holy Trinity Church, Skipton Holy Trinity Church is in High Street, Skipton, North Yorkshire, England. Medieval in origin, the church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building. The older active Anglican parish church ...

(1943-64). In 1944 he was made an Honorary Canon of

Bradford Cathedral Bradford Cathedral, or the Cathedral Church of St Peter, is an Anglican cathedral in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, one of three co-equal cathedrals in the Diocese of Leeds alongside Ripon and Wakefield. Its site has been used for Chri ...

; in 1956 he was collated as Archdeacon of Craven, and held both offices until he retired in 1972.

Personal life

Sephton married Unita Catherine Richards in 1924. There was one adopted daughter. He died in 1982, aged 87.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sephton, Arthur 1894 births Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Alumni of Cuddesdon College Archdeacons of Craven 20th-century English Anglican priests 1982 deaths