Alfred John Kempe
Alfred John Kempe (4 June 1784 – 21 August 1846) was an English antiquary. Life. Kempe was born in London on 4 June 1784, the only son of John Kempe, bullion-porter in the Royal Mint, and his wife Anne, youngest daughter of James Arrow of Westminster, who died in 1835. The novelist Anna Eliza Bray was his sister. He was educated by two French refugees, but was not trained for any specific employment. For about five years Kempe held a commission in the Tower Hamlets militia, but resigned his post in 1811, and lived for a time  at Chepstow and Swansea. In the summer of 1813 he moved to the neighbourhood of Holwood Hill in the parish of Keston in Kent. Charles Alfred Stothard, who married his sister, interested him in antiquities and they spent much time exploring the district. Later on Kempe pursued investigations into the ancient remains at Keston with Thomas Crofton Croker. Following Stothard's death in 1821, Kempe helped his sister bring her husband's "Monumental Effigies of Great Britain" to completion, writing most of the additional text. For a short time Kempe held an appointment at the Royal Mint, but lost it  due to staff cuts. From about 1840 to 1845 employment was found for him at the state paper office, working on transcribing and calendaring, but his health broke down. He died at Stamford Villas, Fulham Road, London, on 21 August 1846 and was buried in Fulham churchyard on 27 August. Works. Kempe was elected Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London in 1828. He contributed to "Archaeologia" from 1816, and exhibited curiosities at its meetings. From its members he formed the "Society of Noviomagus", which took its name from the Roman city supposed to have been built on Holwood  Hill. For many years he was on the staff of the "Gentleman's Magazine", and copies of his articles were printed separately between 1830 and 1832. His paper on Tavistock Abbey was later incorporated into his sister's "Borders of the Tamar and the Tavy". Kempe was the author of: Family. On 3 October 1808 he married at Leyton, Essex, Mary, daughter of J. Prior, a captain in the merchant service, who bore him eleven children.