Jones was born in
South Hackney,
London, the son of Edward Henry Jones, wine merchant of Mark Lane, London, and his wife, Mary Emma Collier. He was educated at
Merchant Taylors’ School (1845–1856), and at
St John's College, Oxford (
matriculated, 30 June 1856; Foundation
Scholar; second class,
moderations, 1858;
Fellow, 1859–1879; honorary fourth class,
literae humaniores and mathematics, and
BA, 1860;
MA, 1863 [Crockford's] or 1864 [Foster];
BD, 1869;
DD,
honoris causa, 12 May 1874; honorary Fellow, 1893). He was
ordained
Deacon on
Michaelmas Day, 29 September 1861, and
Priest on St. Matthew's Day, 21 September 1862, by the
Bishop of Oxford. Between 1861 and 1864 he served as Assistant Curate of St. Matthew's Church, City Road, in the city and diocese of London. He returned to Oxford in 1864 to take up the appointment of Dean of Arts of
St. John's College, and
Vicar of the parish of
Summertown. In 1871 he was appointed Diocesan Inspector of Schools and
Rural Dean of Oxford. He became Vice-President of
St. John's College in 1872. He was chosen as second
Bishop of Cape Town and
ipso facto Metropolitan of the
Church of the Province of South Africa, and consecrated as such in
Westminster Abbey on 17 May 1874 by the
Archbishop of Canterbury, assisted by the Bishops of London, Winchester, Oxford, Ely, Edinburgh, and Goulburn, and Bishop Claughton. He arrived in
Table Bay aboard the
Anglian on 31 August, and was
enthroned by the
Dean of Cape Town, the Very Revd. C. W. Barnett Clarke on 26 November 1874. He attended the
Lambeth Conferences of 1878, 1888, and 1897 and adopted the additional title of
Archbishop of Cape Town on 28 July 1897, after the Lambeth Conference had resolved to entitle certain of the Metropolitans of the Anglican communion as Archbishops. He returned to England to attend the
Pan-Anglican Congress and Lambeth Conference in 1908, and died in
Housel Bay in
Cornwall, on 21 May 1908. He was buried in Oxford. Jones was married in St. Peter's Church,
Eaton Square in London, by the Bishop of Ely, on 16 January 1879, to Emily Frances Allen, the daughter of John Allen, of Oldfield Hall,
Altrincham. Mrs. Jones died on 9 November 1930. West Jones “won a great reputation for pastoral gentleness, generosity and kindliness. His simplicity of character, courtesy, business aptitude and commanding presence gained the friendship of all who had dealings with him” (
Dictionary of South African Biography). ==References==