Rev. John Russell Greenhill (baptised 11 December 1727 – 20 December 1813) was an English cleric, known as the owner of

Chequers Chequers ( ), or Chequers Court, is the country house of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. A 16th-century manor house in origin, it is located near the village of Ellesborough, halfway between Princes Risborough and Wendover in Bucking ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

Life

He was the son of Samuel Greenhill (died 1749) of

Swyncombe Swyncombe is a Hamlet (place), hamlet and large Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the high Chiltern Hills, Chilterns, within the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty about east of Wallingford, Oxfordshire, England. Swyncombe hamlet cons ...

, Oxfordshire of the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

and Elizabeth Russell, daughter of John Russell. His mother belonged to the Russell of Chequers Court family and was descended from

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...

. He was baptised in Calcutta in December 1727, only three months after his parents' marriage. His mother died a year later. Greenhill matriculated at

Trinity College, Oxford (That which you wish to be secret, tell to nobody) , named_for = The Holy Trinity , established = , sister_college = Churchill College, Cambridge , president = Dame Hilary Boulding , location = Broad Street, Oxford OX1 3BH , coordinates ...

in 1746, graduating

B.C.L. Bachelor of Civil Law (abbreviated BCL, or B.C.L.; la, Baccalaureus Civilis Legis) is the name of various degrees in law conferred by English-language universities. The BCL originated as a postgraduate degree in the universities of University of O ...

in 1754 and D.C.L. in 1759. s:Alumni Oxonienses: the Members of the University of Oxford, 1715-1886/Greenhill, John Russell He was ordained deacon by

Thomas Secker Thomas Secker (21 September 16933 August 1768) was the Archbishop of Canterbury in the Church of England. Early life and studies Secker was born in Sibthorpe, Nottinghamshire. In 1699, he went to Richard Brown's free school in Chesterfield, D ...

in 1754, and priest in 1755. He became rector of

Fringford Fringford is a village and civil parish in Oxfordshire, about northeast of Bicester. The parish is bounded to the east by the Roman road that linked Alchester Roman Town with Roman Towcester, to the south by a brook that joins the River Bure, ...

in 1756, with the addition of

Marsh Gibbon Marsh Gibbon is a village and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England. It is close to the A41 and the border with Oxfordshire about east of Bicester. History The village name comes from the English word 'marsh', describing the typical state o ...

in 1779, both livings being in Oxfordshire. While Rector of

, Greenhill kept a weather diary, from 1780 to 1787. His diary entries include daily temperature and barometer readings, along with notes on wind direction and sundry comments on weather conditions. On the death of his cousin Mary Russell, Greenhill inherited Chequers. From 1773 until his death he was

lord of the manor Lord of the Manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England, referred to the landholder of a rural estate. The lord enjoyed manorial rights (the rights to establish and occupy a residence, known as the manor house and demesne) as well as seig ...

Cottisford Cottisford is a village and civil parish in Oxfordshire, about south of Brackley in neighbouring Northamptonshire. The parish's northern and northwestern boundaries form part of the boundary between the two counties. The parish includes the ham ...

, also in Oxfordshire.Lobel, 1959, pages 103-116 Greenhill died on December 20, 1813.

Family

On 5 June 1758, Greenhill married Elizabeth Noble, daughter of Matthew Noble of Sunderland, at

St Andrew, Holborn The Church of St Andrew, Holborn, is a Church of England church on the northwestern edge of the City of London, on Holborn within the Ward of Farringdon Without. History Roman and medieval Roman pottery was found on the site during 2001/02 exc ...

. Sir

Robert Greenhill-Russell Sir Robert Greenhill-Russell, 1st Baronet (1763 – 12 December 1836), born Robert Greenhill, was a British politician. He was born in 1763 to the Rev. John Russell Greenhill and Elizabeth Noble. He was the grandson of Elizabeth Russell, who be ...

, 1st Baronet Greenhill-Russell of Chequers Court, was their son. He inherited both Chequers and Cottisford.

References

Sources

* 1727 births 1813 deaths 18th-century English Anglican priests Alumni of Trinity College, Oxford {{UK-reli-bio-stub