John Disney (26 December 1677 - 3 February 1729/30) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

man. He was Vicar of Croft and Kirkby-on-Bain,

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...

from 1719 to 1722, and Vicar of St. Mary's Church, Nottingham from 2 October 1722 to 1729/30. He was the first of four John Disneys; father of John Disney of Lincoln, grandfather of

John Disney (Unitarian) John Disney (1746–1816) was an English Unitarian minister and biographical writer, initially an Anglican clergyman active against subscription to the Thirty Nine Articles. Life He was the third son of John Disney of Lincoln, born 28 September ...

(1746–1816), and great-grandfather of John Disney (1779–1857) the barrister and antiquarian.

Life

He was born in

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln ...

, the son of

Daniel Disney Daniel Disney (1656–1734) of Swinderby, Lincolnshire, was an 18th-century English non-conformist landowner. Life Disney married 1674 Catherine Fynes (died 1690), younger daughter and co-heiress of Henry Fynes (1611–1670), whose father Sir ...

Swinderby Swinderby is a village and civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. The village is situated just north of the A46 road, south-west from Lincoln and north-east from Newark. Swinderby lies within a rural agricultur ...

. He began his education at

Lincoln Grammar School Lincoln Grammar School or Lincoln Free School was formed as the result of the amalgamation of the Lincoln City Free School and the Lincoln Chapter Grammar School. The amalgamation occurred in January 1584, but the two schools may have been effec ...

, but his parents were

dissenter A dissenter (from the Latin ''dissentire'', "to disagree") is one who dissents (disagrees) in matters of opinion, belief, etc. Usage in Christianity Dissent from the Anglican church In the social and religious history of England and Wales, and ...

s and he moved school to a private college, also in Lincoln. Despite his upbringing, he was confirmed 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 ...

, sometime before 1698. In May of that year, he married Mary Woodhouse. He entered the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...

in order to study law, but with no intention of practising at the bar. He gained sufficient knowledge to act as a competent

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

and more than once was publicly complimented by the judges of the circuit for being efficient and impartial. As a supporter of the

Societies for the Reformation of Manners The Society for the Reformation of Manners was founded in the Tower Hamlets area of London in 1691.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 Justi ...

William Wake William Wake (26 January 165724 January 1737) was a priest in the Church of England and Archbishop of Canterbury from 1716 until his death in 1737. Life Wake was born in Blandford Forum, Dorset, and educated at Christ Church, Oxford. He took ...

, who had been

bishop of Lincoln The Bishop of Lincoln is the ordinary (diocesan bishop) of the Church of England Diocese of Lincoln in the Province of Canterbury. The present diocese covers the county of Lincolnshire and the unitary authority areas of North Lincolnshire and ...

in Disney's early days. He was ordained priest in

Lincoln Cathedral Lincoln Cathedral, Lincoln Minster, or the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lincoln and sometimes St Mary's Cathedral, in Lincoln, England, is a Grade I listed cathedral and is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Lincoln. Constructio ...

in 1719 by the bishop of Lincoln,

Edmund Gibson Edmund Gibson (16696 September 1748) was a British divine who served as Bishop of Lincoln and Bishop of London, jurist, and antiquary. Early life and career He was born in Bampton, Westmorland. In 1686 he was entered a scholar at Queen's Coll ...

, and immediately took the nearby livings of Croft and Kirkby-on-Bain. He resigned in 1722 to become vicar of St. Mary's Church, Nottingham. The story for which Disney is remembered involves the buccaneering Archbishop Blackburne performing confirmation in St. Mary's. At the end of the proceedings, the archbishop sent out his messenger to fetch his pipe, tobacco and some ale. The messenger, returning laden up the aisle, was ejected by the Rev. John Disney with the words ''Neither Bishop nor Archbishop shall make a tippling house of St. Mary's so long as I am its Vicar''.

Death and legacy

Upon his death in 1729–30, he left a widow and eight children, five sons and three daughters. The entry for his death in the parish registers is followed by the abbreviation "Aff.". This was in accordance with the law passed in 1678, which demanded an

affidavit An ( ; Medieval Latin for "he has declared under oath") is a written statement voluntarily made by an ''affiant'' or '' deponent'' under an oath or affirmation which is administered by a person who is authorized to do so by law. Such a statemen ...

that the bodies had been buried in woollen shrouds. His eldest son, John Disney of Lincoln, was

High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire This is a list of the High Sheriffs of the English county of Nottinghamshire. The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuri ...

in 1733. His writing mostly relating to the Societies for the Reformation of Manners was prolific, but he also found time to research and publish ''The Genealogy of the most Serene and Illustrious House of Brunswick-Lunenburgh, the present Royal Family of Great Britain'' in 1714.

References

*''

Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Disney, John Vicars of St Mary's Church, Nottingham 1677 births 1730 deaths People from Lincoln, England 18th-century English Anglican priests People educated at Lincoln Grammar School