Lord John George de la Poer Beresford (22 November 1773 – 18 July 1862) was an Anglican archbishop and Primate.
Background
Born at
Tyrone House
Tyrone House in County Galway is a ruined manor house, built in the 1770s on a promontory by the estuary of the Kilcolgan river, about from the village of Kilcolgan, County Galway, Ireland.
The house was destroyed by the local Irish Republ ...
, Dublin, he was the second surviving son of
George de La Poer Beresford, 1st Marquess of Waterford
George de la Poer Beresford, 1st Marquess of Waterford, KP, PC (Ire) (8 January 1735 – 3 December 1800) was an Irish politician, known as George Beresford, 2nd Earl of Tyrone from 1763 to 1789.
Beresford was the eldest son of Marcus Be ...
and his wife Elizabeth, only daughter of Henry Monck and maternal granddaughter of
Henry Bentinck, 1st Duke of Portland
Henry Bentinck, 1st Duke of Portland (17 March 1682 – 4 July 1726), of Titchfield, Hampshire, styled Viscount Woodstock from 1689 until 1709, was a British Whig politician who sat in the English and British House of Commons from 1705 until 17 ...
.
He attended
Eton College
Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...
and
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 ...
, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1793 and a
Master of Arts
A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...
three years later.
[
]
Career
Beresford was ordained a priest in 1797 and began his ecclesiastical career with incumbencies at Clonegal
Clonegal, officially Clonegall ( ; ), is a village in the southeast of County Carlow, Ireland. It is in a rural setting, close to the border between counties Wexford and Carlow, 5 km from Bunclody, County Wexford and 22 km from Carl ...
and Newtownlennan. In 1799 he became Dean of Clogher
The Dean of Clogher is a dignitary of the Diocese of Clogher within the Church of Ireland. The title may be held by any licensed incumbent in the diocese, not necessarily the rector of one of the cathedral parishes of Clogher. The Dean, with the C ...
; and was raised to the episcopate as Bishop of Cork and Ross
The Bishop of Cork and Ross is an episcopal title which takes its name after the city of Cork and the town of Rosscarbery in Republic of Ireland. The combined title was first used by the Church of Ireland from 1638 to 1660 and again from 1679 to ...
in 1805. He was translated becoming Bishop of Raphoe
The Bishop of Raphoe ( ) is an episcopal title which takes its name after the town of Raphoe in County Donegal, Ireland. In the Roman Catholic Church it remains a separate title, but in the Church of Ireland it has been united with another bis ...
two years later and was appointed 90th Bishop of Clogher
The Bishop of Clogher is an episcopal title which takes its name after the village of Clogher in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. Following the Reformation, there are now parallel apostolic successions: one of the Church of Ireland and the ot ...
in 1819.[ Beresford was again translated to become ]Archbishop of Dublin
The Archbishop of Dublin is an archepiscopal title which takes its name after Dublin, Ireland. Since the Reformation, there have been parallel apostolic successions to the title: one in the Catholic Church and the other in the Church of Irelan ...
in the next year and was sworn of the Privy Council of Ireland
His or Her Majesty's Privy Council in Ireland, commonly called the Privy Council of Ireland, Irish Privy Council, or in earlier centuries the Irish Council, was the institution within the Dublin Castle administration which exercised formal executi ...
.[ In 1822, he went on to be the 106th ]Archbishop of Armagh
In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdio ...
and therefore also Primate of All Ireland
The Primacy of Ireland was historically disputed between the Archbishop of Armagh and the Archbishop of Dublin until finally settled by Pope Innocent VI. ''Primate'' is a title of honour denoting ceremonial precedence in the Church, and in t ...
.[ He became Prelate of the ]Order of St Patrick
The Most Illustrious Order of Saint Patrick is a dormant British order of chivalry associated with Ireland. The Order was created in 1783 by King George III at the request of the then Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, The 3rd Earl Temple (later cre ...
and Lord Almoner
The Royal Almonry is a small office within the Royal Households of the United Kingdom, headed by the Lord High Almoner, an office dating from 1103. The almoner is responsible for distributing alms to the poor.
The Lord High Almoner is usually a ...
of Ireland.[ Having been vice-chancellor from 1829, he was appointed the 15th Chancellor of the ]University of Dublin
The University of Dublin ( ga, Ollscoil Átha Cliath), corporately designated the Chancellor, Doctors and Masters of the University of Dublin, is a university located in Dublin, Ireland. It is the degree-awarding body for Trinity College Dubl ...
in 1851, a post he held until his death in 1862.[
]
Restoration of St Patrick's Cathedral
Beresford employed Lewis Nockalls Cottingham
Lewis Nockalls Cottingham (1787 – 13 October 1847) was a British architect who pioneered the study of Medieval Gothic architecture. He was a restorer and conservator of existing buildings. He set up a Museum of Medieval Art in Waterloo Road, Lon ...
, one of the most skilled architects at that time, to restore Armagh's St Patrick's Cathedral. Cottingham removed the old stunted spire and shored up the belfry stages while he re-built the piers and arches under it. The arcade walls which had fallen away as much as 21 inches from the perpendicular on the south side and 7 inches on the North side, were straightened by means of heated irons, and the clerestory windows which had long been concealed, were opened out, and filled with tracery.
Beresford is unsympathetically represented by Montalembert with whom he had breakfast at Gurteen de la Poer during his tour of Ireland.
Beresford died at Woburn, the home of his niece, in the parish of Donaghadee
Donaghadee ( , ) is a small town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies on the northeast coast of the Ards Peninsula, about east of Belfast and about six miles (10 km) south east of Bangor. It is in the civil parish of Donaghadee and ...
;[Arthur H. Grant, ‘Beresford, Lord John George de la Poer (1773–1862)’, rev. Kenneth Milne, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 200]
accessed 10 Aug 2015
/ref> and was buried in the cathedral. There is a memorial to him in the south aisle at St Patrick's.["Funary Monuments & Memorials in St Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh" Curl, J.S. pp90-93: Whitstable; Historical Publications; 2013 ] His immediate successor as Archbishop was his first cousin once removed.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beresford, John George de la Poer
1773 births
1862 deaths
Christian clergy from Dublin (city)
People educated at Eton College
19th-century Anglican archbishops
Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford
Deans of Clogher
Bishops of Cork and Ross (Church of Ireland)
Anglican bishops of Raphoe
Bishops of Clogher (Church of Ireland)
Anglican archbishops of Armagh
Anglican archbishops of Dublin
Burials at St Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh (Church of Ireland)
Chancellors of the University of Dublin
Members of the Privy Council of Ireland
Irish Anglican archbishops
Younger sons of marquesses
John
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Secon ...