Frederick Rolfe

Frederick William Rolfe, sometimes known as Baron Corvo, was an English writer, artist, photographer, and eccentric. Rolfe was born in Cheapside, London, the son of James Rolfe, a piano manufacturer and tuner, and Ellen Elizabeth, née Pilcher. He left school at the age of fourteen to become a teacher. He briefly taught at The King's School in Grantham, where the then-headmaster, Ernest Hardy, subsequently the principal of Jesus College in Oxford, became a lifelong friend. In 1886, he converted...See more

Frederick William Rolfe, sometimes known as Baron Corvo, was an English writer, artist, photographer, and eccentric. Rolfe was born in Cheapside, London, the son of James Rolfe, a piano manufacturer and tuner, and Ellen Elizabeth, née Pilcher. He left school at the age of fourteen to become a teacher. He briefly taught at The King's School in Grantham, where the then-headmaster, Ernest Hardy, subsequently the principal of Jesus College in Oxford, became a lifelong friend. In 1886, he converted to Roman Catholicism and received confirmation from Cardinal Manning. With his conversion, he developed a tremendous desire to become a priest, which he pursued throughout his life despite being repeatedly thwarted and never realized. In 1887, he was sponsored to train at St Mary's College in Oscott, near Birmingham, then at the Pontifical Scots College in Rome in 1889, but both rejected him due to his inability to concentrate on clerical studies and his erratic behavior. At this point, he joined the entourage of the Duchess Sforza Cesarini, who he said had adopted him as a grandson and given him the title of "Baron Corvo". See less