George Fothergill, DD (20 December 1705 – 5 October 1760) was a British academic and

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

priest. He was principal of St Edmund Hall, Oxford between 1751 and 1760.

Early life and education

The eldest son of Henry Fothergill of Lockholme in Ravenstonedale,

Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland'';R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref> is a historic county in North West England spanning the southern Lake District and the northern Dales. It had an ...

, and Elizabeth, daughter of Richard Fawcett of Rottenmoor,

Warcop Warcop is a village and civil parish in the Eden district of Cumbria, England. The parish had a population of 491 in the 2001 census, increasing to 532 at the Census 2011. It is near the A66 road and is north of Kirkby Stephen and about 5 ...

, he was born at Lockholme on 20 December 1705. After attending the free school in Ravenstonedale, which had been founded in 1668 by

Thomas Fothergill Thomas Fothergill D.D. (1715/6–1796) was an English cleric and academic administrator at the University of Oxford. Life He was the son of Henry Fothergill of Westmorland, and brother of George Fothergill. He matriculated at The Queen's Colleg ...

, master of St. John's College, Cambridge, he was sent to

Kendal Kendal, once Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England, south-east of Windermere and north of Lancaster. Historically in Westmorland, it lies within the dale of th ...

school. On 16 June 1722 Fothergill entered

The Queen's College The Queen's College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford, England. The college was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Philippa of Hainault. It is distinguished by its pred ...

as batteler. He took the degree of B.A. in 1726, M.A. in 1730, B.D. in 1744, and D.D. in 1749.

Career

Fothergill became chaplain of Queen's in 1730, and was elected to the fellowship which should next fall vacant in 1734. In 1751 the fellows of Queen's appointed him principal of

St. Edmund Hall St Edmund Hall (sometimes known as The Hall or informally as Teddy Hall) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. The college claims to be "the oldest surviving academic society to house and ed ...

and Vicar of Bramley, Hampshire. When Dr.

Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. When he was 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon. By the time of his death, 14 years later, he ...

, provost of Queen's, died on 23 November 1756, the fourteen votes of the fellows were equally divided between Fothergill and Dr. Joseph Browne. As the votes remained equal for ten days, it was put to the question whether either candidate had a majority of seniors on his side, and as the number of seniors had apparently never been authoritatively determined, "the electors unanimously agreed upon six as the properest number of seniors, and it appearing that this number was equally divided between the two candidates, and Dr. Browne being the senior candidate, he was (as the statute directs) declared duly elected provost, to which the electors unanimously agreed." George Fothergill died 5 October 1760, and was buried in St. Edmund Hall.

Published works

Fothergill published at Oxford during his lifetime the following sermons, some of which reached second and third editions: *''Importance of Religion to Civil Societies'' (preached at the

assizes The courts of assize, or assizes (), were periodic courts held around England and Wales until 1972, when together with the quarter sessions they were abolished by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced by a single permanent Crown Court. The assizes e ...

), 1735. *''Danger of Excesses in the Pursuit of Liberty'' (before the university, 31 Jan.), 1737. *''Unsuccessfulness of Repeated Fasts'' (before the university), 1745. *''Duty of giving thanks for National Deliverances'', 1747. *''Reasons and Necessity of Public Worship'' (at the assizes), 1753. *''Proper Improvement of Divine Judgments'' (after the

Lisbon earthquake The 1755 Lisbon earthquake, also known as the Great Lisbon earthquake, impacted Portugal, the Iberian Peninsula, and Northwest Africa on the morning of Saturday, 1 November, Feast of All Saints, at around 09:40 local time. In combination with ...

), 1756. *''Condition of Man's Life a constant Call to Industry'' (before the university), 1757. *''Violence of Man subservient to the Goodness of God'' (before the university on occasion of the war against France), 1758. *''Duty, Objects, and Offices of the Love of our Country'' (before the House of Commons on

Restoration Day Restoration Day, more commonly known as Oak Apple Day or Royal Oak Day, was an English, Welsh and Irish public holiday, observed annually on 29 May, to commemorate the restoration of the Stuart monarchy in May 1660. In some parts of England the ...

), 1758. After his death his brother,

, provost of Queen's from 1767 to 1796, published ''Sermons on several Subjects and Occasions by George Fothergill, D.D.'', Oxford, 1761. In 1765 this volume reappeared, with the same title, as ''vol. ii. 2nd ed.'', the nine sermons mentioned above being collected together and printed as vol. i.

References

Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Fothergill, James 1705 births 1760 deaths Principals of St Edmund Hall, Oxford People from Westmorland Burials in Oxford