Arthur Purey-Cust


The Very Rev. Arthur Perceval Purey-Cust was a Church of England priest and author and in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Biography

He was born Arthur Perceval Cust into a distinguished family, the younger son of the Honourable William Cust, younger son of Brownlow Cust, 1st Baron Brownlow. His mother was Sophia, daughter of Thomas Newnham.
He was educated at Brasenose College, and later became a fellow of All Souls' College, Oxford. He was ordained deacon 1851 and priest 1852.
His early posts were: a curacy at Northchurch, Hertfordshire; incumbencies at Cheddington and Reading; Honorary Canon of Oxford; and Rural Dean of Oxford. He married Lady Emma Bess Bligh, a daughter of Edward Bligh, 5th Earl of Darnley.
He became the Archdeacon of Buckingham in June 1875, and installed Vicar of Aylesbury in the same year. His final appointment was as Dean of York from 1880 to 1916.
For the next 36 years he meticulously catalogued York Minster's heritage and died in harness in his 88th year. His portrait hangs in the National Portrait Gallery.