About: William Slater Calverley

The Rev. William Slater Calverley (1847–1898) was an unassuming rural English vicar who through diligent study and painstaking scrutiny became an extraordinary amateur antiquarian. Although born in Leicestershire, Calverley claimed his fame through interpreting the carved sculptured relics that he and others found in Cumberland churchyards. He made intricate drawings, corresponded with academic authorities, and gave his own interpretations, which he then relayed to a wider audience. Calverley later produced in intricate detail a life-sized reproduction of the famous Gosforth Cross, which now stands in Aspatria churchyard.