{{Use British English|date=June 2019}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2019}} thumb|William Champion Streatfeild {{Portal|Christianity}}'''William Champion Streatfeild''' (1 September 1865<ref name=WWW>Who was Who 1897–2007: London, A & C Black, 2008 {{ISBN|978-0-19-954087-7}}</ref> &ndash; 15 February 1929) was the Anglican Bishop of Lewes.<ref>{{cite news| title=Obituaries: The Bishop Of Lewes. Long Service In Sussex Parishes| work=The Times| date=16 February 1929| page=7| issue= 45129; col A}}</ref> He was a descendant of the historic Streatfeild family, the father of the novelist Noel Streatfeild,<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.whitegauntlet.com.au/noelstreatfeild/Life.htm| title=Noel Streatfeild's Life| date=4 April 2004| publisher=White Gauntlet}}</ref> and appears as the beloved but over-saintly father of the heroine, Victoria, in her autobiographical novel ''A Vicarage Family''.

== Biography == William was the eldest son of the Rev. William Champion Streatfeild<ref name="The Rev pg. 9">{{cite news| title=Obituaries: The Rev. W. C. Streatfeild | work=The Times| date=10 August 1912| page=9| issue=39974; col D}}</ref> (1839–1912) and Selina Frances Diana Leveson-Gower (1840–1916), and was educated at Marlborough and Pembroke College, Cambridge before being ordained in 1890.<ref>{{acad|id=STRT857WC|name=Streatfeild, William Champion}}</ref> His ministry began with a curacy at Sittingbourne under his father-in-law, Henry Venn, after which he was Curate to his own father in Frant, Sussex.<ref name="The Rev pg. 9"/> He then began a long period as Incumbent at several Sussex parishes: Amberley (with Houghton), St Leonards-on-Sea from 1902,<ref>{{cite news| work=The Times |title=Ecclesiastical intelligence |date=3 April 1902 |page=5 |issue=36732 }}</ref> and Eastbourne (where he was also Rural Dean).<ref name=WWW /> He was elevated to the episcopate in December 1928 but only served as bishop for two months until his death.

thumb|upright=0.9|Memorial within Chichester Cathedral A small brass memorial to him lies in the north aisle of Chichester Cathedral.<ref>[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=41668 British History On-line]</ref>

==Family== William's father, the Rev. William Champion Streatfeild, was the sometime Vicar of Howick, Ryton-on-Tyne, Kings Worthy and Frant.<ref name="The Rev pg. 9"/>

William married Janet Venn (1873–1952), daughter of Henry Venn, under whom William was curate in Sittingbourne, on 7 September 1893. Janet was from a strong evangelical family. Her great grandfather John Venn was one of the founders and her grandfather (Henry Venn) honorary secretary of the Church Missionary Society (CMS). Her uncle, John Venn was the mathematician famous for Venn diagrams.

Two of William's brothers, Rev Claude Streatfeild (1870–1951) and Rev Roland Harry Streatfeild (1871–1952) were also Church of England clergymen. Roland was curate to William in Eastbourne.

One of William's daughters was the children's novelist Noel Streatfeild (1895–1986) and another the artist Ruth Gervis (1894–1988).

William died on 15 February 1929 aged 63 while travelling on the 9.29 train from Lewes to Eastbourne for a dental appointment, three days after his diocesan bishop Winfrid Oldfield Burrows. <ref>{{cite news|title=The Bishop of Lewes – Sudden Death in a Train| newspaper=The Times| date=16 Feb 1929| page=12| issue=45129;col F}}</ref>

==Ancestry and descendants== {{ahnentafel |collapsed=yes |align=center |boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc; |boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9; |boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc; |boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc; |boxstyle_5=background-color: #9fe; |1= 1. ''' Rt Rev William Champion Streatfeild ''' |2= 2. Rev William Champion Streatfeild |3= 3. Selina Leveson-Gower |4= 4. William Champion Streatfeild |5= 5. Hannah Fry |6= 6. William Leveson-Gower |7= 7. Emily Josephine Eliza Doyle |8= 8. Rev Thomas Streatfeild |9= 9. Harriet Champion |10= 10. Joseph Fry |11= 11. Elizabeth Gurney |12= 12. William Leveson-Gower |13= 13. Katherine Maria Gresham |14= 14. Francis Hastings Doyle |15= 15. Diana Elizabeth Milner |16= 16. Sandeforth Streatfeild |17= 17. Frances Hussey |18= 18. Alexander Champion |19= 19. Ann Platt |20= 20. William Storrs Fry |21= 21. Elizabeth Lambert |22= 22. John Gurney |23= 23. Catherine Bell |24= 24. Rear-Admiral John Leveson-Gower |25= 25. Frances Boscawen |26= 26. John Gresham |27= 27. Henrietta Maria Clayton |28= 28. Welbore Ellis Doyle |29= 29. Frances Rainford |30= 30. William Mordaunt Milner, 3rd Bt |31= 31. Diana Sturt }}

==Notes== {{Reflist}}

{{S-start}} {{S-rel|en}} {{S-bef|before=Thomas William Cook}} {{S-ttl|title=Bishop of Lewes|years=1928–1929}} {{S-aft|after=Hugh Maudslay Hordern }} {{End}}

{{Bishops of Lewes}} {{Office holders in the Diocese of Chichester}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Streatfeild, William}} William Category:1865 births Category:People educated at Marlborough College Category:Alumni of Pembroke College, Cambridge Category:Bishops of Lewes Category:1929 deaths Category:20th-century Church of England bishops Category:People from Frant