George Leonard Jenyns (19 June 1763 – 1848) was an English priest, a landowner involved both in the

Bedford Level Corporation The Bedford Level Corporation (or alternatively the Corporation of the Bedford Level) was founded in England in 1663 to manage the draining of the Fens of East Central England. It formalised the legal status of the Company of Adventurers previously ...

and in the Board of Agriculture.

Life

He was the son of John Harvey Jenyns of

Eye, Suffolk Eye () is a market town and civil parish in the north of the English county of Suffolk, about south of Diss, north of Ipswich and south-west of Norwich. The population in the 2011 Census of 2,154 was estimated to be 2,361 in 2019. It lies ...

, and was born at Roydon, Norfolk.Burke's Landed Gentry, 17th edition, 1952, ed. L. G. Pine, pp. 1381-2, 'Jenyns of Bottisham Hall' pedigree He entered

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of th ...

in 1781. He graduated

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

(BA) in 1785, and was ordained that year, and received his

Master of Arts (Cambridge) In the universities of Oxford, Cambridge, and Dublin, Bachelors of Arts are promoted to the degree of Master of Arts or Master in Arts (MA) on application after six or seven years' seniority as members of the university (including years as an u ...

(MA Cantab) in 1788. He became Dean and rhetorical praelector of his college in 1787, though not a fellow, this being the first recorded instance. He was

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 ...

Swaffham Prior Swaffham Prior is a small village in East Cambridgeshire, England. Lying 5 miles west of Newmarket, and two miles south west of Burwell, the village is often paired with its neighbour Swaffham Bulbeck, and are collectively referred to as 'Th ...

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...

1787–1848 and

prebendary A prebendary is a member of the Roman Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of the ...

Ely Cathedral Ely Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, is an Anglican cathedral in the city of Ely, Cambridgeshire, England. The cathedral has its origins in AD 672 when St Etheldreda built an abbey church. The presen ...

, 1802–1848. He inherited

Bottisham Hall Bottisham Hall is a country house in Bottisham, Cambridgeshire, England. Built in 1797 for the Reverend George Leonard Jenyns to replace the family's previous home on the same estate,"Bottisham: Manors and other estates", ''A History of the Count ...

Bottisham Bottisham is a village and civil parish in the East Cambridgeshire district of Cambridgeshire, England, about east of Cambridge, halfway to Newmarket. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 1,983, including Chittering, increasing ...

and a considerable fortune from his first cousin twice removed

Soame Jenyns Soame Jenyns (1 January 1704 – 18 December 1787) was an English writer and Member of Parliament. He was an early advocate of the ethical consideration of animals. Life and work He was the eldest son of Sir Roger Jenyns and his second wife E ...

in 1787. He became Chairman of the Bedford Level Corporation, and also of the Board of Agriculture. At Bottisham Hall he built a new house, constructed for him by 1797; and also expanded the Jenyns estate by purchases.

Family

In 1788 he married Mary Heberden (1763–1832), the daughter of the physician

William Heberden William Heberden FRS (13 August 171017 May 1801) was an English physician. Life He was born in London, where he received the early part of his education at St Saviour's Grammar School. Full text at Internet Archive (archive.org) At the end of ...

(1710–1801). They had the following children: * Soame Jenyns (died aged 14) * Mary Jenyns (1790–1858) * George Jenyns (1795–1878) married Maria Jane, daughter of Sir James Gambier, 1772-1833 * Charles Jenyns (1798–1887) *

Leonard Jenyns Leonard Jenyns (25 May 1800 – 1 September 1893) was an English clergyman, author and naturalist. He was forced to take on the name Leonard Blomefield to receive an inheritance. He is chiefly remembered for his detailed phenology observations ...

(1800–1893), the naturalist. * Elizabeth Jenyns * Harriet Jenyns (1797–1857), married

John Stevens Henslow John Stevens Henslow (6 February 1796 – 16 May 1861) was a British priest, botanist and geologist. He is best remembered as friend and mentor to his pupil Charles Darwin. Early life Henslow was born at Rochester, Kent, the son of a solici ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jenyns, George Leonard 1763 births 1848 deaths 18th-century English Anglican priests 19th-century English Anglican priests People from Roydon, South Norfolk People from Bottisham