Sir William Dawes, 3rd Baronet (12 September 1671 – 30 April 1724), was an
Anglican
Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...
prelate. He served as
Bishop of Chester
The Bishop of Chester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chester in the Province of York.
The diocese extends across most of the historic county boundaries of Cheshire, including the Wirral Peninsula and has its see in the C ...
from 1708 to 1714 and then as
Archbishop of York
The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers th ...
from 1714 to 1724. Politically he was a
Hanoverian Tory
Hanoverian Tories were Tory supporters of the Hanoverian Succession of 1714. At the time many Tories favoured the exiled Jacobite James Francis Edward Stuart to take the British and Irish thrones, while their arch rivals the Whigs supported the ...
, who favoured the
Hanoverian Succession
The Act of Settlement is an Act of the Parliament of England that settled the succession to the English and Irish crowns to only Protestants, which passed in 1701. More specifically, anyone who became a Roman Catholic, or who married one, bec ...
.
Education
Dawes was born at Lyons, near
Braintree in Essex and from the age of nine attended
Merchant Taylors' School in London. Already excelling in Hebrew by the age of 15, he was barely 18 when he wrote his work in verse: ''The Anatomy of Atheisme'', and his eminent ''The Duties of the Closet'' in prose.
In 1687, William matriculated 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 ...
, of which college he also became a fellow, then migrated to
St Catharine's Hall, Cambridge in 1689. He graduated
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 ...
(MA Cantab) from St Catharine's in 1695, on royal decree (''
per lit. reg.'') due to his young age; in 1696 he graduated in theology of
Doctor of Divinity
A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity.
In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ran ...
(DD).
Anglican priest
William Dawes became the permanent pastor of
William III William III or William the Third may refer to:
Kings
* William III of Sicily (c. 1186–c. 1198)
* William III of England and Ireland or William III of Orange or William II of Scotland (1650–1702)
* William III of the Netherlands and Luxembourg ...
(1688–1702) and was later court pastor of
Queen Anne (1702–14). From 1698, at a young age, he was Canon of
Worcester Cathedral
Worcester Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Worcester, in Worcestershire
Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified ...
.
He was Master of
St Catharine's Hall, Cambridge between 1697 and 1714 and
Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge, 1698–9.
In 1698 he was appointed rector in the village of
Bocking (where the rector is called Dean of Bocking) near to his estates in Essex. Here he introduced the innovative custom of taking
Holy Communion
The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instituted ...
not only on the three great feasts, but once every month.
On 8 February 1708
he was consecrated
Bishop of Chester
The Bishop of Chester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chester in the Province of York.
The diocese extends across most of the historic county boundaries of Cheshire, including the Wirral Peninsula and has its see in the C ...
: this was at the personal wish of Queen Anne, who overruled the advice of her ministers in appointing him. He was
Archbishop of York
The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers th ...
from 1714 until his death in 1724 and a
Privy Counsellor
The Privy Council (PC), officially His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a privy council, formal body of advisers to the British monarchy, sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its membership mainly comprises Politics of the United King ...
. He owed his advancement to the goodwill of the Queen and of his predecessor,
John Sharp, who had great regard for him, and had great influence with the Queen: it was Sharp's dying request that Dawes succeed him at York, which the Queen happily granted. He restored the Archbishop's palace in York, the
Bishopthorpe
Bishopthorpe is a village and civil parish three miles south of York in the City of York unitary authority area and ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England. Bishopthorpe is close to the River Ouse, and has a population of 3,174, in ...
.
He died on 30 April 1724 from inflammation of the bowels. He was buried in the chapel of St Catharine's together with his wife. He was the most outstanding preacher of his period, a representative of the ideal of an aristocratic prelate, of a high and authoritative personality.
Family
William Dawes was the son of
John Dawes, 1st Baronet of Putney and Jane (Christian) Hawkins the Daughter of Richard Hawkins of Bocking near Braintree Essex. According to
Samuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys (; 23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an English diarist and naval administrator. He served as administrator of the Royal Navy and Member of Parliament and is most famous for the diary he kept for a decade. Pepys had no mariti ...
, his parents' marriage gave rise to a good deal of gossip. His orphaned mother was an heiress, aged only sixteen, and it was claimed that her husband married her without her guardian's consent.
[A genealogical and heraldic history of the extinct and dormant baronetcies ... by John Burke] After his father's death his mother remarried the noted shipbuilder Sir
Anthony Deane, by whom she had eight more children.
William married Frances Cole d'Arcy (1673–1705; daughter of
Thomas d'Arcy
Thomas D'Arcy is a Canadian singer and songwriter born in Guernsey, Channel Islands. D'Arcy's family immigrated to Toronto, Ontario in 1981. He has been a member of indie rock bands The Carnations, All Systems Go!, Small Sins, Another Blue Doo ...
and Jane Cole ) on 1 December 1692, at
St Edmund King and Martyr, Lombard St,
City of London
The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...
.
Their daughter Elizabeth married
William Milner (?−1745), 1st Baronet of
Nun Appleton Hall, MP for York in the early 18th century.
Styles and titles
*1690–1695:
Sir
''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 ...
William Dawes
*1695–1696: ''
The Reverend
The Reverend is an style (manner of address), honorific style most often placed before the names of Christian clergy and Minister of religion, ministers. There are sometimes differences in the way the style is used in different countries and c ...
'' Sir William Dawes
*1696–1698: ''The Reverend''
Doctor
Doctor or The Doctor may refer to:
Personal titles
* Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree
* A medical practitioner, including:
** Physician
** Surgeon
** Dentist
** Veterinary physician
** Optometrist
*Other roles
** ...
Sir William Dawes
*1698: ''The Reverend''
Canon
Canon or Canons may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base
* Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture
** Western ca ...
Doctor Sir William Dawes
*1698–1708: ''The
Very Reverend
The Very Reverend is a Style (manner of address), style given to members of the clergy. The definite article "The" should always precede "Reverend" as "Reverend" is a style or fashion and not a title.
Catholic
In the Catholic Church, the style i ...
'' Doctor Sir William Dawes
*1708–1714: ''The
Right Reverend
The Right Reverend (abbreviated The Rt Revd, The Rt Rev'd, The Rt Rev.) is a style applied to certain religious figures.
Overview
*In the Anglican Communion and the Catholic Church in Great Britain, it applies to bishops, except that ''The M ...
'' Doctor Sir William Dawes
*1714–1724: ''The
Most Reverend
The Most Reverend is a style applied to certain religious figures, primarily within the historic denominations of Christianity, but occasionally in some more modern traditions also. It is a variant of the more common style "The Reverend".
Anglic ...
and
Right Honourable
''The Right Honourable'' (abbreviation: ''Rt Hon.'' or variations) is an honorific style traditionally applied to certain persons and collective bodies in the United Kingdom, the former British Empire and the Commonwealth of Nations. The term is ...
'' Doctor Sir William Dawes
References
* Stuart Handley
Dawes, Sir William, third baronet (1671–1724) ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004
*
* ''The whole works of ... Sir William Dawes, in 3 volumes, with a preface, giving some account of the life ... of the author.'' London, 1732, 1733.
Attribution
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dawes, William
1671 births
1724 deaths
Archbishops of York
Bishops of Chester
18th-century Anglican archbishops
Baronets in the Baronetage of England
Doctors of Divinity
Masters of St Catharine's College, Cambridge
Vice-Chancellors of the University of Cambridge
Alumni of St John's College, Oxford
Members of the Privy Council of Great Britain
Deans of Bocking
People from Braintree District
18th-century Church of England bishops
17th-century Anglican theologians
18th-century Anglican theologians