Hugh Boulter (4 January 1672 – 27 September 1742) was the
Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh
In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdioc ...
, the Primate of All Ireland, from 1724 until his death. He also served as the chaplain to
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* George I of Antioch (d. 790)
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from 1719.
Background and education
Boulter was born in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...
, son of John Boulter, described as a man of "good reputation and estate", and was educated at
Merchant Taylors' School before attending
Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...
. However, after only a year at Christ Church, he transferred to
Magdalen College
Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the st ...
.
Career
After leaving the university in 1700 Boulter served as a
chaplain to several prominent individuals, including Sir
Charles Hedges
Sir Charles Hedges (1649/50 – 10 June 1714), of Compton Bassett, Wiltshire, an English lawyer and politician, was Judge of the High Court of Admiralty from 1689 to 1714 who later served as one of Queen Anne's Secretaries of State.
Life
Hedg ...
, the
Secretary of State for the North, and
Thomas Tenison
Thomas Tenison (29 September 163614 December 1715) was an English church leader, Archbishop of Canterbury from 1694 until his death. During his primacy, he crowned two British monarchs.
Life
He was born at Cottenham, Cambridgeshire, the son a ...
, the
Archbishop of Canterbury
The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Jus ...
, before being awarded his
D.D. in 1708.
After spending seven years working as a
rector
Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to:
Style or title
*Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations
*Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...
, Boulter was appointed as the
archdeacon of Surrey
The Archdeaconry of Surrey is the ecclesiastical officer in charge of the archdeaconry of Surrey, a subdivision of the Church of England Diocese of Guildford in the Province of Canterbury.
History
The whole archdeaconry was historically in the ...
in 1715. In 1719 Boulter was announced as the successor to
George Smalridge as both the
Dean of Christ Church
The Dean of Christ Church is the dean of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford and head of the governing body of Christ Church, a constituent college of the University of Oxford. The cathedral is the mother church of the Church of England Diocese of ...
and as the
Bishop of Bristol
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
. Boulter was controversially offered the primacy of the Church of Ireland in 1724,
William King, who as
Archbishop of Dublin
The Archbishop of Dublin is an archepiscopal title which takes its name after Dublin, Ireland. Since the Reformation, there have been parallel apostolic successions to the title: one in the Catholic Church and the other in the Church of Ireland ...
was the natural successor to the title, being passed over due to his opposition to the
Toleration Act, although the official reason was his age. King showed his bitter disappointment at being passed over by refusing to stand in Boulter's presence. As Archbishop of Armagh Boulter was a keen supporter of the so-called English interest, and supported the policy of filling all top judicial, political, and ecclesiastical posts in
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...
with Englishmen in order to maintain English power in the country, a position that made him unpopular in Ireland. As Archbishop of Armagh, Boulter served as
one of the Lord Justices eight times between 1726 and 1742.
He did not always get his own way on judicial appointments: the Dublin-born
John Rogerson (1676-1741) was made
Lord Chief Justice of Ireland
The Court of King's Bench (or Court of Queen's Bench during the reign of a Queen) was one of the senior courts of common law in Ireland. It was a mirror of the Court of King's Bench in England. The Lord Chief Justice was the most senior judge i ...
in 1727, over strong objections from Boulter, who apart from the question of nationality, disliked him personally. His failure has been explained by the fact that no English judge was willing to take the position (in addition Richardson was a very rich man, and no doubt supplied financial inducements).
His policy was to leave the Roman Catholics in Ireland subjected to penal legislation. By a statute enacted through Boulter's influence, Catholics were excluded from the legal profession and disqualified from holding offices connected with the administration of law. Under another act passed through Boulter's exertions, they were deprived of the right of voting at elections for members of parliament or magistrates—the sole constitutional right which they had been allowed to exercise.
His actions were often viewed with suspicion by the people of Ireland, including
Jonathan Swift
Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish satirist, author, essayist, political pamphleteer (first for the Whigs, then for the Tories), poet, and Anglican cleric who became Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dubli ...
.
When the harvest failed in 1729 in
Ulster
Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: si ...
he bought food and supplied it to the region. He did much good work in trying to alleviate the Great
Irish Famine (1740-1741)
The Great Famine ( ga, an Gorta Mór ), also known within Ireland as the Great Hunger or simply the Famine and outside Ireland as the Irish Potato Famine, was a period of starvation and disease in Ireland from 1845 to 1852 that constituted a ...
.
In 1731 he submitted the findings of the ''Inquiry into Illegal Popish Schools by the House of Lords'', which was set up "to prevent the growth of Popery, and to secure this Kingdom from any dangers from the great Number of Papists in this Nation". He supported the setting up of the
charter school
A charter school is a school that receives government funding but operates independently of the established state school system in which it is located. It is independent in the sense that it operates according to the basic principle of autono ...
system, "to teach the children of the papists the English tongue, and the principles of the Christian religion", as long as they converted to Protestantism. In 1731 George II was petitioned for a charter to set up these schools, which was granted in 1733. Boulter contributed £400 towards the construction of a charter school for girls at
Santry
Santry () is a suburb on the northside of Dublin, Ireland, bordering Coolock, Glasnevin, Kilmore and Ballymun. It straddles the boundary of Dublin City Council and Fingal County Council jurisdictions.
The character of the area has changed ...
, Dublin.
[ John D'Alton: ''History of the County of Dublin'', 1835, p. 259]
He was responsible for forcing through a bill that revalued the price of gold in 1738, to the benefit of the poor.
References
*Stuart, James (1900). ''Historical memoirs of the city of Armagh''. Dublin, Browne & Nolan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boulter, Hugh
1672 births
1742 deaths
Anglican archbishops of Armagh
Bishops of Bristol
Archdeacons of Surrey
18th-century Anglican archbishops
People educated at Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood
Deans of Christ Church, Oxford
Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford
Members of the Privy Council of Ireland
Members of the Irish House of Lords
18th-century Church of England bishops