Capes attended
St Paul's School, London, and
the Queen's College, Oxford, where he matriculated in 1851, graduating B.A. in 1856, and becoming a Fellow there. Ordained in 1868, he was a cleric in the
Diocese of Winchester,
rector of
Liphook, rector of
Bramshott, and
canon of
Worcester. In addition, he served as Fellow of
Hertford College, Oxford, as well as
bursar, fellow, tutor and reader of the Queen's College, Oxford. A noted scholar, he dealt with records of the
Hereford Cathedral Library, presenting his published work to the members of the
Cantilupe Society. He was also a member of the
Canterbury and York Society. He was elected an
honorary fellow of
Queen's College, Oxford in November 1902. He was the uncle of
Charles Webster Leadbeater, an influential member of the
Theosophical Society. The
essayist Walter Pater was his student. ==Partial list of works==