Jonathan Shipley (1714 – 6 December 1788) was a clergyman who held offices 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 ...

(including

Dean of Winchester The Dean of Winchester is the head of the Chapter of Winchester Cathedral in the city of Winchester, England, in the Diocese of Winchester. Appointment is by the Crown. The first incumbent was the last Prior, William Kingsmill, Catherine Ogle ...

from 1760 to 1769), who became

Bishop of Llandaff The Bishop of Llandaff is the ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of Llandaff. Area of authority The diocese covers most of the County of Glamorgan. The bishop's seat is in the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul (the site of a ...

from January to September 1769 and

Bishop of St Asaph The Bishop of St Asaph heads the Church in Wales diocese of St Asaph. The diocese covers the counties of Conwy and Flintshire, Wrexham county borough, the eastern part of Merioneth in Gwynedd and part of northern Powys. The Episcopal seat is loca ...

from September 1769 until his death.

Life

Early life and career

He was the son of a London

stationer Stationery refers to commercially manufactured writing materials, including cut paper, envelopes, writing implements, continuous form paper, and other office supplies. Stationery includes materials to be written on by hand (e.g., letter paper) ...

; his mother's family were owners of Twyford House, a large manor in

Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...

, England. His brother, the portrait painter

William Shipley William Shipley (baptised: 2 June 1715 – 28 December 1803) was an English drawing master, social reformer and inventor who, in 1754, founded an arts society in London that became The Royal Society of Arts, or Royal Society for the Encourage ...

(1714–1803), later originated the

Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...

. Jonathan grew up at

Walbrook Walbrook is a City ward and a minor street in its vicinity. The ward is named after a river of the same name. The ward of Walbrook contains two of the City's most notable landmarks: the Bank of England and the Mansion House. The street runs ...

in the City of London and was educated at

Reading School Reading School is a grammar school for boys with academy status in the English town of Reading, the county of Berkshire. It traces its history back to the school of Reading Abbey and is, thus, one of the oldest schools in England. There are no ...

in Berkshire. He received his college training at

St John's College, Oxford St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its founder, Sir Thomas White, intended to pro ...

, from where he received a BA degree in 1735, an MA degree in 1738, and a DD degree in 1748. He was ordained about 1738, and acted as

tutor TUTOR, also known as PLATO Author Language, is a programming language developed for use on the PLATO system at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign beginning in roughly 1965. TUTOR was initially designed by Paul Tenczar for use in co ...

in the household of the 3rd Earl of Peterborough. In 1743, he became

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 ...

Silchester Silchester is a village and civil parish about north of Basingstoke in Hampshire. It is adjacent to the county boundary with Berkshire and about south-west of Reading. Silchester is most notable for the archaeological site and Roman town of ...

and

Sherborne St John Sherborne St John is a village and civil parish near Basingstoke in the English county of Hampshire. History The village was named in the Domesday book as ''Sireburne''. It became ''Shireburna'' (12th century), Schyreburne (13th century) and Sh ...

in Hampshire, and

prebendary A prebendary is a member of the Roman Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of the ...

. He was appointed to a

canonry A canon (from the Latin , itself derived from the Greek , , "relating to a rule", "regular") is a member of certain bodies in subject to an ecclesiastical rule. Originally, a canon was a cleric living with others in a clergy house or, later, i ...

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 ...

, in 1748, and in 1760 to the

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residenc ...

and the living of

Chilbolton Chilbolton is a village and civil parish in Hampshire, England, near to Stockbridge. It is situated north of Southampton and south of Andover. Its most notable feature is the Chilbolton Observatory situated on the disused RAF Chilbolton airfie ...

, also in Hampshire, which he held in addition to his earlier preferments. Shipley was painted by

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 ...

– two 1777 prints after the portrait, engraved by

John Raphael Smith John Raphael Smith (1751 – 2 March 1812) was a British painter and mezzotinter. He was the son of Thomas Smith of Derby, the landscape painter, and father of John Rubens Smith, a painter who emigrated to the United States. Biography Bapt ...

, are now in the National Portrait Gallery. At least one letter from Reynolds to Shipley survives, dated 25 September 1784 – the artist wrote thanking Shipley for his congratulations on being appointed Chief Painter to the King, declining an invitation to visit him at Chilbolton and hoping to visit him at St Asaph en route for Ireland the following year

Political involvement

On 19 January 1769 he was nominated bishop of Llandaff, with his consecration on 12 February. He was friends with

Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first United States secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795. Born out of wedlock in Charlest ...

. On 8 September the same year he was translated to be Bishop of St Asaph. He was much concerned with politics, and joined the Whig party in strong opposition to the policy of

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 ...

towards the American colonies. In 1774, when the

British Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative supremacy ...

were discussing punitive measures against the town of

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

after the

Tea Party A tea party is a social gathering event held in the afternoon. For centuries, many societies have cherished drinking tea with a company at noon. Tea parties are considered for formal business meetings, social celebrations or just as an afternoon ...

incident, Shipley was apparently the only Church of England Bishop (who were legally constituted members of Parliament) who raised his voice in opposition. He prepared a speech in protest against the proposed measures, but was not given the opportunity to present it. Therefore, he had it published, but due to the general feeling in England against the rebellious colonies, the speech had no effect. In the speech he pointed out that in the year 1772, the Crown had collected only 85 pounds from the American colonies. He stated: "Money that is earned so dearly as this ought to be expended with great wisdom and economy." For these views, St. Asaph Street in Old Town, Alexandria, Virginia, in the United States, was named after one of Shipley's bishoprics. Shipley also maintained a strong friendship with the

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

printer

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...

, who stayed with Shipley in Winchester, and while there wrote much of his autobiography. In 1784, in a letter to

Henry Laurens Henry Laurens (December 8, 1792) was an American Founding Father, merchant, slave trader, and rice planter from South Carolina who became a political leader during the Revolutionary War. A delegate to the Second Continental Congress, Laure ...

, Franklin called Shipley "America's constant friend, the good Bishop of Asaph." In 1779, Shipley was the only bishop to advocate the abolition of all laws against

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

dissenters.

Marriage, issue and death

Jonathan Shipley married Anna Maria Mordaunt, daughter of Rev George Mordaunt and Elizabeth Doyley, and left descendants – his son,

William Davies Shipley William Davies Shipley (5 October 1745 (OS) – 7 May 1826) was an Anglican priest who served as Dean of St Asaph for nearly 52 years, from 27 May 1774 until his death. In a legal cause célèbre which became known as the Case of the Dean of ...

(1745–1826), became

Dean of St Asaph This is a list of the deans of St Asaph Cathedral, Wales. *-1357 Llywelyn ap Madog *1357–1376 William Spridlington *1403 Richard Courtenay (afterwards Dean of Wells, 1410) *1455-1461 David Blodwell *1463-1492 John Tapton *1511-1542 Fouk ...

. His eldest daughter, Anna Maria Shipley, married

Sir William Jones Sir William Jones (28 September 1746 – 27 April 1794) was a British philologist, a puisne judge on the Supreme Court of Judicature at Fort William in Bengal, and a scholar of ancient India. He is particularly known for his proposition of th ...

, and another daughter Georgiana Shipley became a painter and art patron.

Commemoration

Thomas Moule Thomas Moule (14 January 1784 – January 1851) was an English antiquarian, writer on heraldry, and one of Victorian England's most influential map-makers. He is best known for his popular and highly decorated county maps of England, steel-engra ...

's ''English Counties'' (1837 edition) states that the chancel of St Mary's Church, Twyford then contained "a mural monument, with a bust, by

Joseph Nollekens Joseph Nollekens R.A. (11 August 1737 – 23 April 1823) was a sculptor from London generally considered to be the finest British sculptor of the late 18th century. Life Nollekens was born on 11 August 1737 at 28 Dean Street, Soho, London, ...

" in Shipley's memory. The church was largely rebuilt in the 19th century, and the monument survives in the present building.

References

External links

Jonathan Shipley
at th
Eighteenth-Century Poetry Archive (ECPA)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shipley, Jonathan 1714 births 1788 deaths 18th-century Welsh Anglican bishops Alumni of St John's College, Oxford Bishops of Llandaff Bishops of St Asaph Deans of Winchester People educated at Reading School People from the City of London