Robert Henry Codrington was born on the 15 September 1830 in Wroughton, Wiltshire, England. He was educated at Charterhouse, and Wadham College, Oxford (he became a Fellow of the College in 1855). He was ordained as a Deacon in 1855 and as a Priest in 1857.

In 1860 Codrington emigrated to Nelson, New Zealand, and joined the Melanesian Mission; he was head of the Mission from 1871 to 1877. He travelled throughout Melanesia making the first systematic study of Melanesian society and culture.

Codrington left missionary work in Melanesia in 1887 and returned to England as Prebendary of Chichester (1887-1922). In 1888 he became Vicar of Wadhurst, Sussex (1888-1893), and in 1894 became Examining Chaplain to the Bishop of Chichester (1894-1901). For 25 years he was also a lecturer at Chichester Theological College. Codrington died on the 11 September 1922 in Chichester, Sussex.