Clapton Crabb Rolfe
| Clapton Crabb Rolfe | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1844 or 1845 |
| Died | 18 December 1907 Wheatley, Oxfordshire |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Architect |
| Buildings | St John the Evangelist parish church, Hailey, Oxfordshire All Saints' parish church, Nuneham Courtenay, Oxfordshire |
| Projects | King Edward VI Grammar School, Nuneaton |
Clapton Crabb Rolfe was an English Gothic Revival architect whose practice was based in Oxford.
Rolfe was the second of nine children. His father was Rev. George Crabb Rolfe (1811–93) who was perpetual curate of Hailey, Oxfordshire from 1838 until his death. His mother Ellen was a sister of the architect William Wilkinson. Rolfe's elder brother George Wilkinson Rolfe (1843–1912) followed their father into the clergy and a younger brother, William Andrew Rolfe (born 1850), also became an architect. In 1873 Rolfe married Annie de Pré. They had one son, Benedict Hugh Rolfe (born 1874) who trained as an architect and assisted his father on some of his later works, before settling in London as a consulting engineer.
Rolfe died in 1907. Both he and Annie are buried in the parish churchyard of St Mary's, Wheatley, Oxfordshire.
The Buildings of England series of architectural guides spells Rolfe's middle name "Crabbe" but other authorities use "Crabb", A memorial plaque in Hailey parish church to his father Rev. G.C. Rolfe also uses the latter spelling.
Much of Rolfe's work was for parish churches and other institutions of the Church of England. His first major commission was to design a new parish church at Hailey for his father. His design was in a freely reinterpreted French Gothic style. The Oxford Diocesan Architect G.E. Street condemned Rolfe's first draft as "needlessly eccentric". Despite Street's objections Rolfe completed the church with some unusual details, including an unusually shaped bell-turret.
Rolfe's work is notable for its quality and detail. In his reconstruction of part of the nave of Nuneaton Abbey and his restoration of All Saints parish church, Thorpe Malsor, the carving was undertaken by Harry Hems (1842–1916), a craftsman who originated from Yorkshire but from 1866 worked in Exeter. He carved for Rolfe again on the restorations of St Giles' parish church, Standlake in 1880–91, St Martin's parish church, Chipping Ongar in 1884, and St Michael's parish church, Inkpen in 1896–97, and also at Rolfe's new chapel for the Sisterhood of Saint Thomas, Oxford in 1888.
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