Walter Harper (12 January 1848 – 6 January 1930) was

Dean of Christchurch ChristChurch Cathedral, also called Christ Church Cathedral and (rarely) Cathedral Church of Christ, is a deconsecrated Anglican cathedral in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand. It was built between 1864 and 1904 in the centre of the city, ...

from 1901 until 1913. Harper was born on 12 January 1848 at

Stratfield Mortimer Stratfield Mortimer is a village and civil parish, just south of Reading, in the English ceremonial county of Berkshire and unitary authority area of West Berkshire. Parish geography The south and south-east half of the parish consists of farms ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

, England. He was the fourteenth child of Henry Harper, a former Bishop of Christchurch, and Emily Harper (). His parents emigrated to

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

in New Zealand on the ''Egmont'', arriving in Lyttelton on 23 December 1856. Harper received his education at

Christ's College, Christchurch Christ's College, Canterbury is an independent Anglican secondary day and boarding school for boys, located in the city centre of Christchurch, New Zealand. Founded in 1850 by Reverend Henry Jacobs in Lyttelton as a school for early settlers, ...

(1857–1868) in

, 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 ...

; and

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 ...

in 1873. After 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 ...

Bebington Bebington () is a town and unparished area within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, in Merseyside, England. Historically part of Cheshire, it lies south of Liverpool, close to the River Mersey on the eastern side of the Wirral Peninsula. Ne ...

he was

Vicar A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...

of Ellesmere then Christchurch. He was principal of the Upper Department at

and

sub-dean {{Unreferenced, date=June 2019 A sub-dean is a person who acts as an assistant to a dean either in church circuit as a priest or minister or an academic institution. They are, however, not a vice-dean. A vice-dean is a person who can deputize a de ...

Christchurch Cathedral ChristChurch Cathedral, also called Christ Church Cathedral and (rarely) Cathedral Church of Christ, is a deconsecrated Anglican cathedral in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand. It was built between 1864 and 1904 in the centre of the city, ...

from 1893 until 1900. On 13 July 1875, Harper married Emily Hope at St Andrew's Church in

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan county, metropolitan and ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of List of ceremonial counties of England, 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Merse ...

, England. They had a son and a daughter. His wife died on 27 September 1880 at the parsonage in Southbridge aged 35. On 23 January 1919, Harper married Sibella Ross at St John the Baptist Church in Christchurch. She was the daughter of George Ross. Harper died on 6 January 1930 at Christchurch and was buried at

Barbadoes Street Cemetery The Barbadoes Street Cemetery is the oldest cemetery in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was set up with three discrete areas for different denominations. Description The cemetery was included in the original survey of Christchurch that was carrie ...

. His second wife died in 1934. His daughter Emily first married Hugh Maude Reeves and, after Reeves' death, she married his business partner Leopold George Dyke Acland.

References

1848 births Alumni of Trinity College, Oxford People educated at Christ's College, Christchurch Deans of Christchurch 1930 deaths

Walter Walter may refer to: People * Walter (name), both a surname and a given name * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968) * Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 19 ...

Reeves family {{Christian-clergy-stub