Alfred Gatty was an English clergyman and writer whose life and career spanned almost the entirety of the Victorian era. Born in London in 1813 to a solicitor, Gatty received his early education at Charterhouse and Eton College. He subsequently attended Exeter College, Oxford, graduating in 1836. Following his studies, he entered the ministry of the Church of England, being ordained as a deacon in 1837 and a priest in 1838.
In September 1839, Gatty was appointed as the vicar of Ecclesfield in Yorkshire, a position he would hold for over sixty years until his death. Alongside his parochial duties, he was appointed rural dean in 1861 and subdean of York Minster in 1862, eventually receiving a Doctor of Divinity degree. In 1839, he married Margaret Scott, the daughter of Lord Nelson's chaplain. Together, they raised a large and remarkably talented family, which included the children's author Juliana Horatia Ewing, the antiquary Charles Tindal Gatty, and the composer Alfred Scott-Gatty.
Following the death of his first wife in 1873, Gatty married Mary Newman in 1884. Throughout his long tenure at Ecclesfield, Gatty balanced his clerical responsibilities with his literary pursuits, contributing to the intellectual and cultural life of his parish and the wider region. He remained active in his community until his death in January 1903 at the age of eighty-nine.
