Christopher Charles Watts (also rendered Charles Christopher Watts; 6 May 1877–July 1958) was an

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 ...

bishop. He served in the southern African church as

Bishop of St Helena The Diocese of Saint Helena is an Anglican diocese within the Anglican Church of Southern Africa. It covers the islands of Saint Helena and Ascension in the Atlantic Ocean and was created in 1859. St Paul's Cathedral is on Saint Helena. Histor ...

and then

Bishop of Damaraland The Diocese of Namibia is part of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, which is itself part of the Anglican Communion. The diocese, which covers the whole country of Namibia, was originally known as the Diocese of Damaraland. Most of the Anglic ...

. Born in Kensworth, where his father, George Edward Oscar Watts, was Vicar. He was educated at Shrewsbury School and

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 constituent college of the University of Cambridge. From the late 14th century through to the early 19th century ...

, graduating BA in 1899 and proceeding

MA (Cantab) In the universities of Oxford, Cambridge, and Dublin, Bachelors of Arts are promoted to the degree of Master of Arts or Master in Arts (MA) on application after six or seven years' seniority as members of the university (including years as an un ...

in 1904. He was ordained deacon by Mandell Creighton, Bishop of London in

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grad ...

at Trinitytide 1900, and priest by

Arthur Winnington-Ingram Arthur Foley Winnington-Ingram (26 January 1858 – 26 May 1946) was Bishop of London from 1901 to 1939. Early life and career He was born in the rectory at Stanford-on-Teme, Worcestershire, the fourth son of Edward Winnington-Ingram (a Ch ...

, Bishop of London in St Paul's at Trinity 1901, serving as assistant

curate 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 ...

of St Mark's, Noel Park
St Mark's Website
. In 1907 he went out to Southern Africa, and began work as

Priest-in-charge A priest in charge or priest-in-charge (previously also curate-in-charge) in the Church of England is a priest in charge of a parish who is not its incumbent. Such priests are not legally responsible for the churches and glebe, but simply hold a ...

Mbabane Mbabane (; ss, ÉMbábáne, ) is a city in Eswatini (previously called Swaziland), and is one of the two capitals (along with Lobamba), serving as the executive capital. With an estimated population of 94,874 (2010), it is located on the Mbaba ...

Swaziland Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its no ...

in the Diocese of Zululand, and headmaster of St Mark's European School (until 1920), and St Mark's Coloured School. In 1917, he was appointed Canon of St Peter's Cathedral, Vryheid and from 1918 he served as Archdeacon of Swaziland. He returned to England in 1927, to his old parish of St Mark's, Noel Park, where he served as Vicar until 1929. In 1930, he assumed duties as

Warden A warden is a custodian, defender, or guardian. Warden is often used in the sense of a watchman or guardian, as in a prison warden. It can also refer to a chief or head official, as in the Warden of the Mint. ''Warden'' is etymologically ident ...

of Zonnebloem College, Cape Town. In 1931, however, he was chosen to be

, being consecrated as such in St. George's Cathedral, Cape Town, on St Barnabas' Day, 11 June 1931 by Francis Phelps, Archbishop of Cape Town, assisted by Theodore Gibson,

Bishop of Kimberley and Kuruman The Diocese of Kimberley and Kuruman is a diocese in the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, and encompasses the area around Kimberley and Kuruman and overlaps the Northern Cape Province and North West Province of South Africa. It is presided ove ...

, and Joseph Williams, retired

Bishop of St John's The Diocese of Mthatha is a diocese of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. Before 2006 it was known as the Diocese of St John's, and earlier still as that of Kaffraria. The diocese currently has 96 ...

. He was enthroned in

St Paul's Cathedral, St Helena Saint Paul's Cathedral is a cathedral church on the island of St Helena and is part of the Diocese of St Helena. It is located approximately 2 miles south of Jamestown in the district of St Paul's. It replaced "the Country Church" which ex ...

, on 12 July 1931. Watts served as Administrator of the Diocese of Damaraland, in 1934–1935, and in 1935 was translated as second

. He resigned his See in December 1938, and returned to live in South Africa. He served as Rector of Victoria West with Carnarvon, in the Diocese of Cape Town (1939–1940); and as Rector of Knysna (1940–1946); and Priest-in-charge of Riversdale (1946–1947), both in the Diocese of George. He retired in 1947. Watts was married to Madoline Beatrice Adams in 1930.

References

*''The Times'', 25 July 1958. 1877 births 1958 deaths Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Anglican bishops of St Helena Anglican bishops of Damaraland 20th-century Anglican Church of Southern Africa bishops {{Anglican-bishop-stub