Carpenter was born in London in 1877, son of Robert Spencer Carpenter. He was educated at University College School and Gonville and Caius College Cambridge. After a number of minor positions he was appointed Vicar and Rural Dean of Bolton, Lancashire, in 1922. In 1930 he was appointed Master of the Temple, having been appointed Chaplain to the King in 1929. At the same time (1930) he became Professor of Theology at Queens College, Harley Street, London; in 1935 he gave up these positions and came to Exeter as Dean. He published a number of books on faith and religion, including Faith in Time of War (1940).
From the guide to the Carpenter Papers, 1926-55, (University of Exeter)