The Very Revd John Ranulph Vincent was Dean of Bloemfontein

Anglican Diocese of the Free State

The Anglican Diocese of the Free State is a diocese in the Anglican Church of Southern Africa.-History:The first service North of the Orange River to be taken by an Anglican clergyman was conducted in 1850 by Robert Gray, the first Bishop of Cape Town. In 1863, Edward Twells was consecrated the...

, in South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

, from 1892, and afterwards of Grahamstown

Grahamstown

Grahamstown is a city in the Eastern Cape Province of the Republic of South Africa and is the seat of the Makana municipality. The population of greater Grahamstown, as of 2003, was 124,758. The population of the surrounding areas, including the actual city was 41,799 of which 77.4% were black,...

, 1912-1914.

Background and education

Vincent was the son of the Revd R. Vincent, of Crockham Hall in Kent

Kent

Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...

. He took an M.A. at St John's College

St John's College, Oxford

__FORCETOC__St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, one of the larger Oxford colleges with approximately 390 undergraduates, 200 postgraduates and over 100 academic staff. It was founded by Sir Thomas White, a merchant, in 1555, whose heart is buried in the chapel of...

, Oxford

Oxford

The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...

, then reading theology at Ely Theological College where he completed his studies in 1885.

Ordination and initial appointments

He was ordained Deacon at Christ Church Cathedral

Christ Church Cathedral

Christ Church Cathedral is the name of many Anglican cathedrals around the world, and may refer to:-Canada:*Christ Church Cathedral , New Brunswick*Christ Church Cathedral , Quebec*Christ Church Cathedral , Ontario...

, Oxford, on 20 December 1885. The following year he was ordained Priest, also at Oxford Cathedral.

Vincent’s first posting was as Curate of Aylesbury

Aylesbury

Aylesbury is the county town of Buckinghamshire in South East England. However the town also falls into a geographical region known as the South Midlands an area that ecompasses the north of the South East, and the southern extremities of the East Midlands...

 in 1886, followed by a move in 1889 to Ely Theological College as Chaplain and Lecturer, remaining there until 1892.

Bloemfontein

In 1892 Vincent accepted an appointment as Dean of Bloemfontein in South Africa.

He had the misfortune, as Lewis puts it, to be Dean during the Anglo-Boer War

Second Boer War

The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...

 of 1899-1902, a centre of much fighting. He in fact served for the duration of the war as Vicar General when the See was vacant. Just months before the outbreak of war, in June 1899, he had married Evelyn Templer of Lynbridge, Devon. In 1902 Vincent and his young bride returned to England, where he took up the Rectorship of the parish of Clapham

Clapham

Clapham is a district in south London, England, within the London Borough of Lambeth.Clapham covers the postcodes of SW4 and parts of SW9, SW8 and SW12. Clapham Common is shared with the London Borough of Wandsworth, although Lambeth has responsibility for running the common as a whole. According...

, remaining there until 1906.

But “Africa has a strange magnetism,” as Lewis says, and the Vincents went out again to the Orange Free State where John Ranulph Vincent became Rector of Bethlehem.

As Vicar General, again, in 1908, Vincent presided at the dedication of the new St Cyprian's Church

St Cyprian's Cathedral, Kimberley

The Cathedral Church of St Cyprian the Martyr, Kimberley, is the seat of the Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Kimberley and Kuruman, Anglican Church of Southern Africa. It became a Cathedral when the Synod of Bishops gave a mandate for the formation of the new Diocese of Kimberley and Kuruman in...

 in Kimberley, soon to be elevated to being a cathedral.

Grahamstown

Vincent was asked to accept the post of Dean of Grahamstown, in 1912. He died of typhoid in Grahamstown just two years later and was buried at the Old Cemetery there.

He was known in Grahamstown as a keen Freemason and True Templer.

Bell-ringer

J. R. Vincent was a competent change-ringer, as documented by Lewis: he had distinguished himself among the ringing members of the Oxford University Society of Change Ringers in his student days.

In February l914 Vincent, together with the Revd (later Canon) G. H. Ridout of Johannesburg and Percy Holt, rang extents of Grandsire Doubles on handbells in the Deanery at Grahamstown.