John Thomas (14 October 1712 – 22 August 1793) was an English churchman,

Bishop of Rochester The Bishop of Rochester is the ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Rochester in the Province of Canterbury. The town of Rochester has the bishop's seat, at the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary, which was foun ...

from 1774.

Life

Born in

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumb ...

, he was the eldest son of John Thomas (died 1747), vicar of

Brampton, Cumberland Brampton is a market town, Civil parishes in England, civil parish and Wards and electoral divisions of the United Kingdom, electoral ward within the City of Carlisle district of Cumbria, England, about east of Carlisle, Cumbria, Carlisle and ...

, by his wife Ann, daughter of Richard Kelsick of

Whitehaven Whitehaven is a town and port on the English north west coast and near to the Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England. Historically in Cumberland, it lies by road south-west of Carlisle and to the north of Barrow-in-Furness. It is th ...

, a captain in the merchant service. He was educated at the Carlisle grammar school, and went to

The Queen's College, Oxford The Queen's College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford, England. The college was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Philippa of Hainault. It is distinguished by its pred ...

, matriculating on 17 December 1730. Soon after his admission he received a clerkship from the Provost

Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. When he was 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon. By the time of his death, 14 years later, he ...

(1670–1756). He became assistant master at an academy in

Soho Square Soho Square is a garden square in Soho, London, hosting since 1954 a ''de facto'' public park let by the Soho Square Garden Committee to Westminster City Council. It was originally called King Square after Charles II, and a much weathered s ...

, and then private tutor to the younger son of Sir William Clayton, bart., whose sister he later married. On 27 March 1737, Thomas was ordained a deacon, and on 25 September received priest's orders. On 27 January 1738, he was instituted rector of

Bletchingley Bletchingley (historically "Blechingley") is a village in Surrey, England. It is on the A25 road to the east of Redhill, Surrey, Redhill and to the west of Godstone, has a conservation area with Middle Ages, medieval buildings and is mostly on a ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, a living in the gift of Sir William Clayton. He graduated B.C.L. on 6 March 1742, and D.C.L. on 25 May 1742, and on 18 January 1749, he was appointed chaplain

in ordinary ''In ordinary'' is an English phrase with multiple meanings. In relation to the Royal Household, it indicates that a position is a permanent one. In naval matters, vessels "in ordinary" (from the 17th century) are those out of service for repair o ...

to HM The King (George II), a post which he retained under George III. On 23 April 1754, he was made a prebendary of Westminster, and in 1762 he was appointed sub-almoner to the archbishop of York. On 7 January 1766, he was instituted to the vicarage of

St Bride's, Fleet Street St Bride's Church is a church in the City of London, England. The building's most recent incarnation was designed by Sir Christopher Wren in 1672 in Fleet Street in the City of London, though Wren's original building was largely gutted by fire ...

, London, and in 1768 he became

Dean of Westminster The Dean of Westminster is the head of the chapter at Westminster Abbey. Due to the Abbey's status as a Royal Peculiar, the dean answers directly to the British monarch (not to the Bishop of London as ordinary, nor to the Archbishop of Canterbur ...

and of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...

. On 13 November 1774, he was consecrated bishop of Rochester. He marked his episcopacy by repairing the deanery at

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

and rebuilding the bishop's palace at

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 87,889 as of 2011. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, char ...

, which was in a ruinous state. He died at Bromley on 22 August 1793, and was buried in the vault of the parish church of Bletchingley.

Works

Thomas's ‘Sermons and Charges’ were collected and edited after his death by his nephew, George Andrew Thomas, in 1796 (London; 3rd ed. 1803). Several of his sermons were published separately in his lifetime. His portrait in the robes of the Bath, painted by

Sir Joshua Reynolds Sir Joshua Reynolds (16 July 1723 – 23 February 1792) was an English painter, specialising in portraits. John Russell said he was one of the major European painters of the 18th century. He promoted the "Grand Style" in painting which depend ...

, was formerly in the library of Queen's College. An engraving from it by Joseph Baker is prefixed to his ‘Sermons and Charges.’

Family

He was twice married: first, in 1742, to Anne Blackwell, widow of Sir Charles Blackwell, Bt and daughter of

Sir William Clayton, 1st Baronet Sir William Clayton, 1st Baronet (died 1744) of Marden Park, Surrey and later Harleyford, was an English politician who sat in the British House of Commons, House of Commons from 1715 to 1744. Clayton was the eldest surviving son of William Cl ...

, and Martha Kenrick. She died on 7 July 1772, and on 12 January 1776 he married Elizabeth, daughter of Charles Baldwin of

Munslow Munslow is a small village and civil parish in Shropshire, England. It is situated on the B4368, northeast of the small town of Craven Arms, in the Corvedale, at around above sea level. The village formed part of and gave its name to the hun ...

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...

, and widow of Sir Joseph Yates, judge of the court of king's bench. He left no children. Among other bequests he founded two scholarships at Queen's College for sons of clergymen educated at the grammar school at Carlisle, and during his lifetime he had endowed two similar scholarships at

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

References

Attribution

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, John 1793 deaths Bishops of Rochester 18th-century Church of England bishops Canons of Westminster Deans of Westminster 1712 births