Matthias Mawson (August 1683 – 23 November 1770) was an English clergyman and academic who served as
Master of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge and subsequently as
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 ...
,
Bishop of Chichester
The Bishop of Chichester is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chichester in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers the counties of East and West Sussex. The see is based in the City of Chichester where the bishop's seat ...
, and
Bishop of Ely
The Bishop of Ely is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Ely in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese roughly covers the county of Cambridgeshire (with the exception of the Soke of Peterborough), together with a section of nort ...
.
Life
He was born in August 1683, his father being a prosperous brewer at
Chiswick
Chiswick ( ) is a district of west London, England. It contains Hogarth's House, the former residence of the 18th-century English artist William Hogarth; Chiswick House, a neo-Palladian villa regarded as one of the finest in England; and Full ...
,
Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...
. He was educated at
St Paul's School, and was admitted in 1701 to
Corpus Christi College, Cambridge
Corpus Christi College (full name: "The College of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary", often shortened to "Corpus"), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. From the late 14th century through to the early 19th century ...
. He graduated B.A. 1704, M.A. 1708, B.D. 1716, D.D. 1725. He was a fellow of his college in 1707, and a moderator in the university in 1708. On 6 October 1724 he was appointed as
master of his college, and held the office till 20 February 1744. Soon after his appointment he was presented by Bishop
Thomas Green to the rectory of
Conington in
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...
, and afterwards to that of
Hadstock
Hadstock is a village in Essex, England, about from Saffron Walden. It is on the county boundary with Cambridgeshire and about from Cambridge. The 2001 Census recorded a parish population of 320, increasing to 332 at the 2011 Census.
The Chur ...
in
Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...
; the latter he held for many years. In 1730 and 1731 he was a reforming vice-chancellor of the university, in particular prohibiting the practice of exhuming bodies from the neighbouring churchyard, for dissection by medical students.
After refusing the
bishopric of Gloucester
The Diocese of Gloucester is a Church of England diocese based in Gloucester, covering the non-metropolitan county of Gloucestershire. The cathedral is Gloucester Cathedral and the bishop is the Bishop of Gloucester. It is part of the Provin ...
in 1734, Mawson was consecrated bishop of Llandaff, 18 February 1739. This diocese he administered for two years, and in 1740 was translated to Chichester. On the death of
Sir Thomas Gooch
''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...
in 1754, he was translated again, to Ely, where he remained for the rest of his life.
According to Arthur Collins' ''Peerage of England'' (1756) he married Penelope Compton, a daughter of Hatton Compton (d.1741) of Grendon Hall
in Northamptonshire,
Lieutenant of the Tower of London
The Lieutenant of the Tower of London serves directly under the Constable of the Tower. The office has been appointed at least since the 13th century. There were formerly many privileges, immunities and perquisites attached to the office. Like the ...
and a grandson of
Spencer Compton, 2nd Earl of Northampton
Spencer Compton, 2nd Earl of Northampton (May 160119 March 1643), styled Lord Compton from 1618 to 1630, was an English soldier and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1621 to 1622. He became a peer by writ of acceleration in 1626 ...
.
[Peerage of England: Containing a Genealogical and Historical Account of All ...
By Arthur Collins, Vol II, 1756, p.2]
/ref> However the ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (1885-1900) states that he was unmarried. He died at his house in Kensington Square
Kensington Square is a garden square in Kensington, London, W8. It was built from 1692 on land acquired for the purpose in 1685 and is the oldest such square in Kensington. The houses facing, Nos. 1–45, are listed Grade II for their architec ...
, 23 November 1770, aged eighty-seven years and three months, having been active and healthy until before his death. He was buried in his cathedral of Ely, and a monument was erected to his memory by his chaplain and executor, Dr. Warren.
Legacy
Mawson's official income and his inheritance of the fortune made by his brother in the family business gave him great wealth. To King's College, Cambridge, he made a large loan for their new buildings. At Ely he gave £1,000 to the cathedral. He also endowed Corpus Christi in 1754 with property sufficient to found twelve scholarships.
Works
Mawson's published works consist of single sermons, preached at anniversary gatherings, and the like, and a speech made before the gentlemen of Sussex, at Lewes, 11 October 1745, on the occasion of the Jacobite rising of 1745
The Jacobite rising of 1745, also known as the Forty-five Rebellion or simply the '45 ( gd, Bliadhna Theàrlaich, , ), was an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the Monarchy of Great Britain, British throne for his father, James Franci ...
.
Notes
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mawson, Matthias
1683 births
1770 deaths
Masters of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge
Bishops of Chichester
Bishops of Ely
Bishops of Llandaff
18th-century Church of England bishops
Vice-Chancellors of the University of Cambridge
People educated at St Paul's School, London
Fellows of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge
18th-century Welsh Anglican bishops
17th-century Anglican theologians
18th-century Anglican theologians