Champneys was born in Whitechapel, London, on 17 September 1842 into a family with a modest income, his father, William Weldon Champneys, was an Evangelical Vicar of St Mary's Church, Whitechapel (later Dean of Lichfield), with the problems of London’s poor to worry about.
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Champneys' correspondence has been preserved in the General Collection of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.
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In 1876 he married May Theresa Ella, a daughter of Maurice Drummond, descendant of William Drummond, 4th Viscount Strathallan, they had two sons and two daughters.
Basil Rathbone | Basil II | Toni Basil | Basil of Caesarea | Basil I | Basil | Basil Fawlty | Basil Dearden | Basil Davidson | Basil Sydney | Basil Pao | basil | Basil Wolverton | Basil Spence | Basil Hood | Basil Hayward | Basil Hall | Basil Brush | Basil Brooke, 1st Viscount Brookeborough | William Champneys | Saint Basil's Cathedral | Basil Moreau | Basil Hume | Basil D'Oliveira | Basil Crockett | Weldon Champneys | St. Basil | Basil Wright | Basil Thomson | Basil O'Connor |
The first Baronet was the son of William Champneys, Dean of Lichfield from 1868 until 1875; and the younger brother of Weldon Champneys and Basil Champneys.