[1] He was appointed Rural Dean and Non-Residentiary Canon of Salisbury and was vicar of Longburton from 1872 to 1912.
His great enthusiasm was local history and he promoted its study by publishing many books and articles on the subject, of which 34 are held in the British Library.
His greatest work was the Bibliotheca Dorsetiensis published in 1885, which has yet to be supplanted as the standard Dorset antiquarian bibliography.
This was derived from his large personal collection of Dorset ephemera and publications.
He also transcribed many of the registers of local parishes, the municipal records of the Borough of Shaftesbury and the Civil War Minutes of the Dorset Standing Committee, 1646–50.