The Anglican priest and author William Weldon Champneys (1807-1875) served as Dean of Lichfield from 1868 until his death in 1875. Ordained as curate of Dorchester on Thames near Oxford, he soon transferred to the curacy of St. Ebbe's Church and was admitted a fellow of Oxford College. He was appointed rector of St. Mary's in Whitechapel in 1837 and was responsible for seeing to the building of three new churches as well as erecting schools for boys and girls. He also saw to the creation of a special school for infants and, as many of the poor did not have suitable clothing, opened one of the first "ragged schools" in the metropolis. Champneys was one of the originators of the Church of England's Young Men's Society and of a local association for the health and comfort of the industrial class. He was appointed Canon of St. Paul's Cathedral in 1851. He authored several books including "The Path of a Sunbeam", "The Spirit of the World", "Parish Work" and "Things New and Old", among others. Good .
Keywords: RELIGION; ANGLICAN; DEAN OF LICHFIELD; WILLIAM WELDON CHAMPNEYS; PRIEST; AUTHOR; AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED; SIGNATURE; OXFORD; NINETEENTH CENTURY; 19TH CENTURY; RAGGED SCHOOL; ST. MARY'S; WHITECHAPEL; CHURCH OF ENGLAND YOUNG MEN'S SOCIETY; INDUSTRIA