Lord Francis Seymour (1725 - 16 Feb 1799) was a

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 of 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 ...

and a younger son of

Edward Seymour, 8th Duke of Somerset Edward Seymour, 8th Duke of Somerset (December 1694 or early 1695 – December 1757) was an English peer and landowner. Family The son of Sir Edward Seymour, 5th Baronet, of Berry Pomeroy, a descendant of Lord Protector Somerset by his f ...

. He was

Dean of Wells The Dean of Wells is the head of the Chapter of Wells Cathedral in the Mendip district of Somerset, England. The dean's residence is The Dean's Lodging, 25 The Liberty, Wells. List of deans High Medieval *1140–1164: Ivo *1164–1189: Ric ...

from 1766 until his death.

Biography

Seymour was the fifth child and fourth son of

, the son and heir of

Sir Edward Seymour, 5th Baronet Sir Edward Seymour, of Berry Pomeroy, 5th Baronet (1660 or 1663 – 29 December 1740) of Bradley House, Maiden Bradley, Wiltshire was an English landowner and Tory politician. Early life Seymour was baptized on 18 December 1663, the eldest ...

, on whose death in December 1740 his father inherited manors in Wiltshire and Devon and the

baronetcy A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

. On 10 October 1743, Seymour matriculated at

Queen's College, Oxford The Queen's College is a 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 predominantly neoclassical architecture, ...

, aged eighteen. However, ''

Alumni Oxonienses ''Alumni Oxonienses: The Members of the University of Oxford'' is a biographical reference work by Joseph Foster (1844–1905), published by Oxford University Press, listing the alumni of the University of Oxford. Foster's work was compiled pri ...

'' does not record that he took a degree. On 11 September 1744, with the unexpected death of George Seymour, Viscount Beauchamp (1725–1744), the only son of

Algernon Seymour, 7th Duke of Somerset General Algernon Seymour, 7th Duke of Somerset (11 November 16847 February 1750), styled Earl of Hertford until 1748, of Petworth House in Sussex, was a British Army officer and Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1708 until 17 ...

, the likelihood emerged of Seymour's father succeeding a distant cousin as

Duke of Somerset Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are rank ...

, as the Duke was then aged sixty and his wife was past child-bearing age. On 23 November 1750 the Duke died, Seymour's father duly succeeded to his titles, but not most of his estates, and Seymour thus gained the

courtesy title A courtesy title is a title that does not have legal significance but rather is used through custom or courtesy, particularly, in the context of nobility, the titles used by children of members of the nobility (cf. substantive title). In some co ...

of Lord Francis.''The Complete Peerage'', vol. XII, pp. 82-83. Being the son of a Duke gave him better prospects of advancement. In 1752 Lord Francis was appointed as chaplain-in-ordinary to King George II, and in 1755 he was made Canon of the fourth stall at

St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle in England is a castle chapel built in the late-medieval Perpendicular Gothic style. It is both a Royal Peculiar (a church under the direct jurisdiction of the monarch) and the Chapel of the Order of the Gar ...

, a position he held until 1766. He was then appointed as

Dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

Wells Wells most commonly refers to: * Wells, Somerset, a cathedral city in Somerset, England * Well, an excavation or structure created in the ground * Wells (name) Wells may also refer to: Places Canada *Wells, British Columbia England * Wells ...

benefice A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...

he held from 1766 until his death on 16 February 1799.W. Phelps, ''The history and antiquities of Somersetshire'' (London: J. B. Nichols & Son), 1839 When his elder brother Webb Seymour's male line died out in 1923, Lord Francis Seymour's great-great-grandson Colonel Edward Seymour inherited the family estates and became 16th

, although it took him until 1925 to establish his claim to the dukedom.

Ancestry

References

Deans of Wells 1799 deaths 1725 births Canons of Windsor Younger sons of dukes {{ChurchofEngland-dean-stub