Edward Copleston (1776–1849) Bishop of Llandaff

Edward Copleston (2 February 177614 October 1849) was an English churchman and academic, Provost of

Oriel College, Oxford Oriel College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title formerly claimed by University College, wh ...

, from 1814 till 1828 and

Bishop of Llandaff The Bishop of Llandaff is the ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of Llandaff. Area of authority The diocese covers most of the County of Glamorgan. The bishop's seat is in the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul (the site of a ...

from 1827.

Life

Born into an ancient West Country family, Copleston was born at

Offwell Offwell is a village and civil parish in East Devon in the English county of Devon, approximately 2 miles south-east from the nearest town, Honiton. Offwell can be accessed by the nearby A35 road. Offwell is a small village with a primary school ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

, and educated at

Corpus Christi College, Oxford Corpus Christi College (formally, Corpus Christi College in the University of Oxford; informally abbreviated as Corpus or CCC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1517, it is the 12th ...

, to which he gained a scholarship at the age of 15. He was elected to a tutorship at

, in 1797, and in 1800 was appointed to

St Mary Hall, Oxford St Mary Hall was a medieval academic hall of the University of Oxford. It was associated with Oriel College from 1326 to 1545, but functioned independently from 1545 until it was incorporated into Oriel College in 1902. History In 1320, ...

and also became

Vicar A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...

of the

University Church of St Mary the Virgin, Oxford The University Church of St Mary the Virgin (St Mary's or SMV for short) is an Oxford church situated on the north side of the High Street. It is the centre from which the University of Oxford grew and its parish consists almost exclusively of un ...

. As

Oxford Professor of Poetry The Professor of Poetry is an academic appointment at the University of Oxford. The chair was created in 1708 by an endowment from the estate of Henry Birkhead. The professorship carries an obligation to lecture, but is in effect a part-time po ...

(1802–1812) he gained a reputation by his literary criticism and sound latinity. After holding the office of

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

at Oriel for some years, he succeeded to the provostship in 1814, and owing largely to his influence the college reached a remarkable degree of prosperity during the first quarter of the 19th century. He was influential in the choice of Fellows who were in due course to become prominent during the

Oxford Movement The Oxford Movement was a movement of high church members of the Church of England which began in the 1830s and eventually developed into Anglo-Catholicism. The movement, whose original devotees were mostly associated with the University of O ...

, though he himself was of a more rationalist cast of mind and belonged to the group of so-called Oriel Noetics. In 1826 he was appointed

Dean of Chester The Dean of Chester is based at Chester Cathedral in the Diocese of Chester and is the head of the Chapter at the cathedral. List of deans Early modern *1541 Thomas Clerk (first Dean of Chester) *1541–1547 Henry Man (afterwards Bishop of S ...

, and in the next year he was consecrated

. Here he gave his support to the new movement for church restoration in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

, and during his occupation of the see more than twenty new churches were built in the diocese. The political problems of the time interested him greatly, and his writings include two letters to Sir

Robert Peel Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet, (5 February 1788 – 2 July 1850) was a British Conservative statesman who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1834–1835 and 1841–1846) simultaneously serving as Chancellor of the Exchequer ...

, one dealing with the 'Variable Standard of Value', the other with the 'Increase of Pauperism' (Oxford, 1819).

The palace ''The Palace'' is a British drama television series that aired on ITV in 2008. Produced by Company Pictures for the ITV network, it was created by Tom Grieves and follows a fictional British Royal Family in the aftermath of the death of King ...

of the Bishops of Llandaff (at

Mathern Mathern ( cy, Matharn; older form: ''Merthyr Tewdrig'') is a historic community (parish) and village in Monmouthshire, south east Wales, about south west of the town of Chepstow, close to the Severn estuary, the Bristol Channel and the M48 mot ...

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( cy, Sir Fynwy) is a county in the south-east of Wales. The name derives from the historic county of the same name; the modern county covers the eastern three-fifths of the historic county. The largest town is Abergavenny, with ...

) had been sold so Copleston resided occasionally at

Llandough Castle Llandough Castle is a 14th-century tower house located in the Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales. Initially constructed as a fortified residential manor, the property is well preserved and has undergone many structural additions. It is currently a pr ...

near

Cowbridge Cowbridge ( cy, Y Bont-faen) is a market town in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, approximately west of the centre of Cardiff. The Cowbridge with Llanblethian community and civil parish elect a town council. A Cowbridge electoral ward exists for e ...

and passed his later life between the Deanery of St.Paul's and Hardwick House in

Chepstow Chepstow ( cy, Cas-gwent) is a town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales, adjoining the border with Gloucestershire, England. It is located on the tidal River Wye, about above its confluence with the River Severn, and adjoining the western ...

, where he died. His great-grandson, John Copleston, was also a clergyman.

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Copleston, Edward 1776 births 1849 deaths English theologians Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Oxford Provosts of Oriel College, Oxford Bishops of Llandaff People from East Devon District Deans of Chester Deans of St Paul's 19th-century Welsh Anglican bishops Oxford Professors of Poetry