Arthur Shearly Cripps (10 June 1869 – 1 August 1952) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

priest, missionary, activist,

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

writer, and

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

who spent most of his life in

Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a landlocked self-governing British Crown colony in southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally kn ...

(now

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

).Douglas V. Steere, ''God's irregular: Arthur Shearly Cripps'', SPCK , London, 1973. SBN: 281 02675 0

Biography

Cripps was born in

Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in Kent, England, southeast of central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the Weald, High Weald, whose sandstone geology is exemplified by the rock formation High Roc ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, and was educated at

Charterhouse School (God having given, I gave) , established = , closed = , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , president ...

and

Trinity College, Oxford (That which you wish to be secret, tell to nobody) , named_for = The Holy Trinity , established = , sister_college = Churchill College, Cambridge , president = Dame Hilary Boulding , location = Broad Street, Oxford OX1 3BH , coordinates ...

, where he read history. He then trained for the Anglican priesthood at Cuddesdon Theological College, coming under the influence of

Charles Gore Charles Gore (22 January 1853 – 17 January 1932) was a Church of England bishop, first of Worcester, then Birmingham, and finally of Oxford. He was one of the most influential Anglican theologians of the 19th century, helping reconcile the c ...

. From 1894 he held the parish

Ford End Ford End is a small village in the parish of Great Waltham halfway between Chelmsford and Great Dunmow in Essex, England, comprising over 150 houses. In 2018 it had an estimated population of 733. Circa 1870, it had a population of 775 as recorde ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

. A friend of Frank Weston, the leading Anglo Catholic priest who would become Bishop of

Zanzibar Zanzibar (; ; ) is an insular semi-autonomous province which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islands ...

he became a missionary for the

Society for the Propagation of the Gospel United Society Partners in the Gospel (USPG) is a United Kingdom-based charitable organization (registered charity no. 234518). It was first incorporated under Royal Charter in 1701 as the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Part ...

, intending to work in

Mashonaland Mashonaland is a region in northern Zimbabwe. Currently, Mashonaland is divided into four provinces, * Mashonaland West * Mashonaland Central * Mashonaland East * Harare The Zimbabwean capital of Harare, a province unto itself, lies entirely ...

, after reading criticism of the methods of

Cecil Rhodes Cecil John Rhodes (5 July 1853 – 26 March 1902) was a British mining magnate and politician in southern Africa who served as Prime Minister of the Cape Colony from 1890 to 1896. An ardent believer in British imperialism, Rhodes and his Br ...

. From 1902 he had a parish near

Enkeldoorn Chivhu (called Enkeldoorn until 1982) is a small town in Zimbabwe, with an estimated population of 10,000 in 2007. It is located south of Harare on the main road south to Masvingo and South Africa. Name Chivhu's original name, Enkeldoorn, is a ...

(now known as

Chivhu Chivhu (called Enkeldoorn until 1982) is a small town in Zimbabwe, with an estimated population of 10,000 in 2007. It is located south of Harare on the main road south to Masvingo and South Africa. Name Chivhu's original name, Enkeldoorn, is a ...

) in what was then Southern Rhodesia. He was in conflict with the

British South Africa Company The British South Africa Company (BSAC or BSACo) was chartered in 1889 following the amalgamation of Cecil Rhodes' Central Search Association and the London-based Exploring Company Ltd, which had originally competed to capitalize on the expecte ...

over land distribution, taking the side of the African population. He was given the

Shona Shona often refers to: * Shona people, a Southern African people * Shona language, a Bantu language spoken by Shona people today Shona may also refer to: * ''Shona'' (album), 1994 album by New Zealand singer Shona Laing * Shona (given name) * S ...

name ''Mpandi'', or 'the man who walks like thunder'. After more than 20 years he returned to England for a time after a quarrel with the British administration; but went back shortly afterwards for the rest of his life, having in 1927 published ''Africa for Africans'', on the land issue. Arthur Cripps lived for some time in Manyene Communal Lands, about 120 km South of Harare, 20 km North of Chivhu. An area of Manyene is now known by the name he gave it when he established the mission work there, Maronda Mashanu, which means "The Five Wounds" in the local Shona language. Father Cripps was buried in the chancel of the church (now a ruin) at Maronda Mashanu. Some people from the area believe that Arthur Cripps performed miracles. For example, there are claims that a white man who wanted to assault him for associating with Africans was crippled the moment he raised his hand. They claim that the man was only healed when Father Cripps prayed for him. His great-great-nephew is the Welsh poet,

Owen Sheers Owen Sheers (born 20 September 1974) is a Welsh poet, author, playwright and television presenter. He was the first writer in residence to be appointed by any national rugby union team. Early life Owen Sheers was born in Suva, Fiji in 1974, and b ...

, who has written about him in the award-winning '' Dust Diaries'' (2004).

Legacy

In his research on his great-great-uncle, Owen Sheers attended the annual memorial service at Cripps' grave.

“There were huge crowds of people dancing around the grave,” said Sheers. “It was fascinating that a missionary priest who had gone out there at the turn of the century in a period when the British were more or less the bad guys was still being honoured almost 50 years after his death."�
Answers To A Mystery Deep In The African Bush
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There is also a road in Harare, Cripps Road, which some say is named after Arthur Cripps, although Owen Sheers' book indicates the naming was for another dignitary of the same name. The road leading from Chivhu to Cripps' former mission base is however named Cripps Road in his memory.

Works

*''Some Essex Verses (1930) *''Titania and Other Poems'' (1900) *''Primavera: Poems by Four Authors'' (1900) *''Jonathan: A Song of David'' (1902) *''The Black Christ'' (1902) poems *''Magic Casements'' (1905) *''Lyra Evangelistica: Missionary Verses of Mashonaland'' (1909) *''Faerylands Forlorn: African Tales'' (1910) *''The Two of Them Together: A Tale About Africa To-Day'' (1910) *''The Brooding Earth'' (1911) novel *''Pilgrimage of Grace, Verses on a Mission'' (1912) *''Bay-Tree Country'' (1913) novel *''A Martyr's Servant'' (1915) novel *''A Martyr's Heir'' (1916) novel *''Pilgrim's Joy Verses'' (1916) *''Lake and War: African Land and Water Verses'' (1917) *''Cinderella in the South: South African Tales'' (1918) *''An Africa for Africans: A Plea on Behalf of Territorial Segregation Areas and Their Freedom in a Southern African Colony'' (1927) *''Africa: Verses'' (1939)

References

''Arthur Shearly Cripps'' (1975), John Robert Doyle, Boston, Twayne.

External links

* *

(based on Steere)¹ {{DEFAULTSORT:Cripps, Arthur Shearly 1869 births 1952 deaths Alumni of Trinity College, Oxford 20th-century English Anglican priests People educated at Charterhouse School Anglican poets People from Royal Tunbridge Wells Anglican missionaries in Zimbabwe English Anglican missionaries English human rights activists English male poets