[citation needed] This was followed by Durham University, where he studied for his licentiate in Theology as a member of Hatfield Hall, earning a Barry Scholarship.
[4] Following University, Spens joined the East India Company Navy as a Midshipman under Richard Green.
He was Colonial Chaplain to British Guiana in 1870 before further curacies at St Paul's, Covent Garden[6] and Mildenhall.
His service on the North West Frontier included stints at Sialkot, Karachi, Amritsar, Ferozepore, Multan and Simla before his years as archdeacon.
[7] Spens was married twice, with his first wife, Sarah Middleton (m. 25 April 1871 in St. George's Cathedral, Georgetown), he had one son, Andrew William Spens (1872–1917), a Trinity College, Cambridge graduate who died of wounds sustained during the Great War.