The Chavasse family in the

West Midlands West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

is a British family of Catholic origin. When Claude Chavasse came from the borders of France and Savoy, he settled in Burford, Oxfordshire. His entry in the Burial Register there (April 1734) states: Claude Chavasse, a Roman Catholick (sic). Members of the family gained particular prominence as

surgeon In modern medicine, a surgeon is a medical professional who performs surgery. Although there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon usually is also a licensed physician or received the same medical training as ...

s and

clergy 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 ...

men. Members of the family still live in the United Kingdom today.

History

The Chavasse family is notable for counting amongst its ranks two Bishops of the

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 ...

, two Olympic athletes, a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are the ...

and one of only three people to be awarded a

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

twice. Bishop Francis Chavasse was instrumental in the building of

Liverpool Cathedral Liverpool Cathedral is the Cathedral of the Anglican Diocese of Liverpool, built on St James's Mount in Liverpool, and the seat of the Bishop of Liverpool. It may be referred to as the Cathedral Church of Christ in Liverpool (as recorded in the ...

and founded

St Peter's College, Oxford St Peter's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford and is located in New Inn Hall Street, Oxford, United Kingdom. It occupies the site of two of the university's medieval halls, dating back to at least the 14th c ...

Genealogy

# Thomas Chavasse (* 7 May 1800

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and Whi ...

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

; † 19 October 1884 Wylde Green House,

Sutton Coldfield Sutton Coldfield or the Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield, known locally as Sutton ( ), is a town and civil parish in the City of Birmingham, West Midlands, England. The town lies around 8 miles northeast of Birmingham city centre, 9 miles south ...

, Warwickshire) MD,

FRCS Fellowship of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons (FRCS) is a professional qualification to practise as a senior surgeon in Ireland or the United Kingdom. It is bestowed on an intercollegiate basis by the four Royal Colleges of Surgeons (the Royal C ...

; surgeon ∞ (I) 1827 Catherine Margaret Grant (* 1811; † 1842) ∞ (II) after 1842 Miriam Sarah Wyld (* ?; † ?). From these marriages he had nine children (4 sons, 5 daughters), including: ## (I) Charles Edward Chavasse (* 3 November 1840 Birmingham; † 4 August 1893 Sutton Coldfield, Warwickshire) ∞ Frances Lucy Evans (* 1839; † 1905), and had 7 children (3 sons, 4 daughters). ## (II)

Francis Chavasse Francis James Chavasse (27 September 1846 – 11 March 1928) was an Anglican priest and bishop and father of Captain Noel Chavasse. After serving in parishes in Preston, London, and Oxford, for eleven years from 1889 he was principal of the evan ...

(* 27 September 1846 Sutton Coldfield, Warwickshire; † 11 March 1928

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 ...

)

Bishop of Liverpool The Bishop of Liverpool is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Liverpool in the Province of York.''Crockford's Clerical Directory'', 100th edition, (2007), Church House Publishing. . The diocese stretches from Southport in the no ...

, founder of

∞ Ethel Jane Maude (* 1851; † 1927) and had 7 children (4 sons, 3 daughters), including

identical twin Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of TwinLast Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two em ...

s: ###

Christopher Chavasse Christopher Maude Chavasse, (9 November 1884 – 10 March 1962) was a British athlete, soldier and religious leader from the Chavasse family. He competed at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, served in the First World War and was later the B ...

(* 9 November 1884 Oxford; † 10 March 1962) OBE, MC, TD, DD;

Bishop of Rochester The Bishop of Rochester is the ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Rochester in the Province of Canterbury. The town of Rochester has the bishop's seat, at the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary, which was foun ...

, Olympic athlete ∞ 1919 Beatrice Cropper Willink (* ?; † 1977) and had 5 children (3 sons, 2 daughters). ###

Noel Chavasse Captain Noel Godfrey Chavasse, (9 November 1884 – 4 August 1917) was a British medical doctor, Olympic athlete, and British Army officer from the Chavasse family. He is one of only three people to be awarded a Victoria Cross twice. The Battl ...

(* 9 November 1884 Oxford; † 4 August 1917

Brandhoek Brandhoek is a small hamlet in Belgium situated between Ypres, Vlamertinge and Poperinge just off the N308/N38. Brandhoek was used as a Field Ambulance and Casualty Clearing Station during World War I and contains three Commonwealth War Graves Co ...

, Belgium) VC and

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

, MC; Captain,

RAMC The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The RAMC, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps a ...

, Olympic athlete ### Francis Bernard Chavasse (* 1889; ?) MC,

ophthalmic surgeon Ophthalmology ( ) is a surgical subspecialty within medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a medic ...

(joint author of ''Worth's Squint''; 7th ed. by F. Bernard Chavasse; Baillière & Co., 1939) ### Aidan Chavasse (* 1891; † 4 July 1917

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...

) ## (II) Sir Thomas Frederick Chavasse (* 19 March 1854

Aston Aston is an area of inner Birmingham, England. Located immediately to the north-east of Central Birmingham, Aston constitutes a ward within the metropolitan authority. It is approximately 1.5 miles from Birmingham City Centre. History Aston wa ...

, Warwickshire; † 17 February 1913

Bromsgrove Bromsgrove is a town in Worcestershire, England, about northeast of Worcester and southwest of Birmingham city centre. It had a population of 29,237 in 2001 (39,644 in the wider Bromsgrove/Catshill urban area). Bromsgrove is the main town in the ...

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...

) Kt 1905, MD,

; surgeon ∞ 1885 Frances Hannah Ryland (* 1848; † 1928)

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

and had 4 children (1 son, 3 daughters), including: ###Arthur Ryland Chavasse (* 1887; † 12 March 1916 Le Havre, France) MD, Captain,

### Frances Gladys Ryland Chavasse (* 1893; † 1962 Polignac, killed crossing the road)

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

1945 at

Monte Cassino Monte Cassino (today usually spelled Montecassino) is a rocky hill about southeast of Rome, in the Latin Valley, Italy, west of Cassino and at an elevation of . Site of the Roman town of Casinum, it is widely known for its abbey, the first h ...

, former fiancée of the late

VC and

, MC, later ∞ Rev. James F. Colquhoun (* 1881; † 1937) MC, priest ### Esme Margaret Ryland Chavasse (* 1896; † 1980) ∞ (I) Walter G. Marsden (* 1886; † 1920) Captain,

∞ (II) A. B. Quinney, of Sambourne (* 1890; † 1965)

Memorials

Chavasse Park Chavasse Park is an open space in the city centre of Liverpool, England, United Kingdom. It was named in commemoration of the Chavasse family; Francis (2nd Bishop of Liverpool) and his twin sons Christopher Maude Chavasse (an Olympic athlete and ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

, named after the family * At

, the College Chapel is filled with memorials to members of the Chavasse family, including Captain

's original grave cross, the Chavasse memorial window and a large

bas-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

of Bishop

at prayer. File:Noel Chavasse -1.jpg,

's headstone in Brandhoek New Military Cemetery File:War Memorial in St John the Baptist Church, Bromsgrove - Detail.jpg, War Memorial in

St John the Baptist Church, Bromsgrove The Church of St John the Baptist, Bromsgrove is a Grade I listed parish church in the Church of England in Bromsgrove. History The church belonged to a particularly large Parish during the early Norman period. Henry III of England, Henry III a ...

with Arthur and Noel Chavasse's names File:Bromsgrove cemetery Chavasse family 7 Noel.jpg,

's memorial at the Chavasse family grave at

File:Bromsgrove cemetery Chavasse family 1.JPG, Grave of Sir Thomas Chavasse (1854-1913) and his family at Bromsgrove File:Bromsgrove cemetery W.G. Marsden.jpg, Captain W. G. Marsden's headstone - first husband of Esme Chavasse (1896-1980)

Notes

External links

{{Commons category, Chavasse family
Chavasse Family Papers
at St Peter's College, Oxford History of Warwickshire English families