The son of George Arthur Fripp, an artist, and Mary Percival, he was born in Clifton, now a suburb of Bristol.
Fripp was strongly influenced by the Arts and Crafts movement as reflected in the work of Richard Norman Shaw and William Morris.
He continued his studies at the Royal College of Art and the British Museum and went on to work with Sir Horace Jones in London.
[3][2][4] While in New Zealand during the 1880s, Fripp served as secretary of the Auckland Society of Arts and introduced architecture classes.
[3][2] His brothers Thomas and Charles were both artists who spent some time in British Columbia.