Cripps was born in
Tunbridge Wells,
Kent, and was educated at
Charterhouse School and
Trinity College, Oxford, where he read history. He then trained for the Anglican priesthood at Cuddesdon Theological College, coming under the influence of
Charles Gore. From 1894 he held the parish
Ford End in
Essex. A friend of
Frank Weston, the leading Anglo Catholic priest who would become Bishop of
Zanzibar he became a missionary for the
Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, intending to work in
Mashonaland, after reading criticism of the methods of
Cecil Rhodes. From 1902 he had a parish near
Enkeldoorn (now known as
Chivhu) in what was then Southern Rhodesia. He was in conflict with the
British South Africa Company over land distribution, taking the side of the African population. He was given the
Shona name
Mpandi, or 'the man who walks like thunder'. After more than 20 years he returned to England for a time after a quarrel with the British administration; but went back shortly afterwards for the rest of his life, having in 1927 published
Africa for Africans, on the land issue. Arthur Cripps lived for some time in Manyene Communal Lands, about 120 km South of Harare, 20 km North of Chivhu. An area of Manyene is now known by the name he gave it when he established the mission work there, Maronda Mashanu, which means "The Five Wounds" in the local Shona language. Father Cripps was buried in the chancel of the church (now a ruin) at Maronda Mashanu. Some people from the area believe that Arthur Cripps performed miracles. For example, there are claims that a white man who wanted to assault him for associating with Africans was crippled the moment he raised his hand. They claim that the man was only healed when Father Cripps prayed for him. His great-great-nephew is the Welsh poet,
Owen Sheers, who has written about him in the award-winning
Dust Diaries (2004). ==Legacy==