John Buckner, LL.D. (1734–1824) was an

Anglican clergyman The Anglican ministry is both the leadership and agency of Christian service in the Anglican Communion. "Ministry" commonly refers to the office of ordained clergy: the ''threefold order'' of bishops, priests and deacons. More accurately, Anglica ...

who served in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

as the Bishop of Chichester from 1797 to 1824.

Family

Baptised at

Boxgrove Boxgrove is a village, ecclesiastical parish and civil parish in the Chichester District of the English county of West Sussex, about north east of the city of Chichester. The village is just south of the A285 road which follows the line of the R ...

on 12 June 1734, he was the elder son of Richard Buckner (died 1777), steward to Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond, and his wife Mary Saunders (died 1772). His younger brother

Charles Buckner Admiral Charles Buckner (c. 1735–1811) was a Royal Navy officer who became Commander-in-Chief, The Nore. He was the brother of John Buckner, Bishop of Chichester, and grandfather of portraitist Richard Buckner. Early life Charles Buckner was ...

became an Admiral in the Royal Navy. On 6 December 1768 at

Portsmouth, Hampshire Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most densel ...

, he married Elizabeth Heron (born 1739), daughter of John Vining Heron and his wife Frances Leake, whose brothers in law were Rear-Admiral Charles Webber (1722-1783) and William Smith (1721-1803). The two did not have any children, she dying in July 1789 and he on 1 May 1824.

Education

John went to

Charterhouse School (God having given, I gave) , established = , closed = , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , president ...

(nominated by the Duke of Richmond for a foundation scholarship when 12 years old and had a free education). On leaving he received an exhibition to go to university. From 1751-55 he studied at

Clare College, Cambridge Clare College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the University after Peterhouse. It was refounded ...

. BA 1755. He became a Deacon in 1756 and a priest in 1758. MA 1765. LLD (Lambeth) 1787.

Career

Bishop Buckner's 1824 obituary in the ''

London Magazine ''The London Magazine'' is the title of six different publications that have appeared in succession since 1732. All six have focused on the arts, literature and miscellaneous topics. 1732–1785 ''The London Magazine, or, Gentleman's Monthly I ...

'' noted that he and his brother Charles had "owed their advancement in life" to a close relationship with the Dukes of Richmond. Indeed, it was speculated in a 2011 article that their father Richard might have been an illegitimate son of the first Duke, Charles Lennox, himself an illegitimate son of King Charles II. Traditional sources though hold that Richard Buckner was an immigrant from Westphalia. Tutor to the

Duke of Richmond Duke of Richmond is a title in the Peerage of England that has been created four times in British history. It has been held by members of the royal Tudor dynasty, Tudor and House of Stuart, Stuart families. The current dukedom of Richmond was ...

. 1762 Domestic Chaplain to the third

and present at the taking of

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

. 1761-1772 Vicar of Lyminster, Sussex. 1764-1766 Rector of West Stoke, Sussex. 1766-1774 Rector of Southwick. 1768 Prebendary of

Chichester Chichester () is a cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. It is the only ci ...

and Vicar of Westhampnett. 1771-1788 Vicar of

Eartham Eartham is a village and civil parish in the District of Chichester in West Sussex, England located north east of Chichester east of the A285 road. There is an Anglican parish church dedicated to St Margaret and a public house, The George, for ...

. 1772-1788 Vicar of

. 1785 Resident Canon of

. 1788-1824 Rector of

St Giles in the Fields St Giles in the Fields is the Anglican parish church of the St Giles district of London. It stands within the London Borough of Camden and belongs to the Diocese of London. The church, named for St Giles the Hermit, began as a monastery and ...

, London and Rector of

Newdigate Newdigate is a village and civil parish in the Mole Valley borough of Surrey lying in a relatively flat part of the Weald to the east of the A24 road between Dorking and Horsham, ESE of Guildford and south of London. Neighbouring paris ...

, Surrey. Prebendary of

. 1792 Archdeacon of

. 1797-1824 Bishop of

and was still active until he died. He had a house in Wigmore Street in London. Granted Arms jointly with his brother in 1804. The family vault is in the south transept of the cathedral, however this is believed to have been damaged and/or obscured when the cathedral tower fell down early in the 19th century. There are portraits of the bishop at Goodwood (by George Romney), in the Rector's Vestry of

and in the Bishop's Palace,

. It is recorded that Bishop Buckner, with the aid of a very considerable sum of money from his predecessor's estate, "applied a liberal addition of his own monies to render the house (palace) fit for episcopal residence; and his improvements were certainly dictated by judgement and taste." He was nominated

Bishop 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 ...

of the Diocese of Chichester by

King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

on 2 October, received Congé d'élire and letter missive on 11 October, elected on 27 October, and

Royal assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in other ...

on 10 November 1797. He was

consecrated Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

on 4 March and

enthroned Enthroned is a Belgian black metal band formed in Charleroi. It is one of the premier acts of the Belgian black metal scene. History The band was founded in 1993 by drummer Cernunnos. He soon recruited guitarist Tsebaoth and a vocalist from g ...

at Chichester Cathedral on 28 March 1798. He died in office on 1 May 1824.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buckner, John 1734 births 1824 deaths People educated at Charterhouse School Bishops of Chichester People from Lyminster People from Boxgrove