Memorial to Thomas Balguy in Winchester Cathedral

Thomas Balguy (1716–1795) was an English churchman, archdeacon of Salisbury from 1759 and then

Archdeacon of Winchester The Archdeacon of Winchester is a senior ecclesiastical officer within the Diocese of Winchester. History Originally created as the archdeaconry of Basingstoke on 26 July 1927 within the Diocese of Winchester and from the old Archdeaconry of Wi ...

Life

He was the son of John Balguy, and was born at Cox-Close 27 September 1716, educated at the Ripon Free School, and admitted to St John's College, Cambridge in 1734; was

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

1737,

M.A. 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 ...

1741, S.T.P. 1758. He was elected to a Platt fellowship at St. John's in March 1741, which he held till 1748. In 1744 he became assistant tutor to his friend William Samuel Powell, tutor and later master of the college, and gave lectures on

moral philosophy Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns ...

and the evidences 'for sixteen years.' In 1743 he was deputy public orator, and in 1758 tutor to the

Duke of Northumberland Duke of Northumberland is a noble title that has been created three times in English and British history, twice in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of Great Britain. The current holder of this title is Ralph Percy, 12th Duke o ...

. He states in his father's ''Life'' that he owed all his preferments to Benjamin Hoadley, who had given his father a prebend of Salisbury. His father, as prebendary, presented him (1748) to the rectory of North Stoke, near

Grantham Grantham () is a market and industrial town in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, situated on the banks of the River Witham and bounded to the west by the A1 road. It lies some 23 miles (37 km) south of the Lincoln and ...

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-we ...

, which he vacated in 1771 on becoming vicar of

Alton, Hampshire Alton ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England, near the source of the River Wey. It had a population of 17,816 at the 2011 census. Alton was recorded in the Domesday Survey of 1086 as ''Aoltone' ...

. Through Hoadley's influence he obtained a prebend of Winchester in 1758, and became archdeacon of Salisbury in 1759, and afterwards Archdeacon of Winchester. Balguy was one of the admirers and disciples of

William Warburton William Warburton (24 December 16987 June 1779) was an English writer, literary critic and churchman, Bishop of Gloucester from 1759 until his death. He edited editions of the works of his friend Alexander Pope, and of William Shakespeare. Li ...

, and his name frequently appears in Warburton's correspondence with Richard Hurd. On Warburton's death in 1781 he declined the appointment to the vacant bishopric of Gloucester on the ground of failing health and approaching blindness, and died 19 January 1795 at his prebendal house at Winchester. A monument to him is in the south aisle of

Winchester Cathedral The Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity,Historic England. "Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity (1095509)". ''National Heritage List for England''. Retrieved 8 September 2014. Saint Peter, Saint Paul and Saint Swithun, commonly known as Winches ...

Works

Thomas, less of a

latitudinarian Latitudinarians, or latitude men, were initially a group of 17th-century English theologiansclerics and academicsfrom the University of Cambridge who were moderate Anglicans (members of the Church of England). In particular, they believed that ...

than his father, and opposed the agitation for a relaxation of the 39 Articles. In 1769 he published a sermon on the consecration of Bishop Shipley, which was answered by

Joseph Priestley Joseph Priestley (; 24 March 1733 – 6 February 1804) was an English chemist, natural philosopher, separatist theologian, grammarian, multi-subject educator, and liberal political theorist. He published over 150 works, and conducted exp ...

in ''Observations upon Church Authority''. In 1772 he published an archidiaconal charge, in which he defended subscription to articles of religion; and in 1775 a sermon at the consecration of Bishops Hurd and Moore, which was answered in remarks 'by one of the prebendary clergy'. In 1775 he edited the sermons of his friend William Samuel Powell, with a ''Life'' of the author; and in 1782 ''Divine Benevolence asserted'', part of an unfinished treatise on

natural religion Natural religion most frequently means the "religion of nature", in which God, the soul, spirits, and all objects of the supernatural are considered as part of nature and not separate from it. Conversely, it is also used in philosophy to describe s ...

. In 1785 he republished his father's essay on Redemption, and a collection of sermons and charges. His discourses, edited by Rev. James Drake (a relation to whom his manuscripts were bequeathed), were republished at Cambridge in 1820.

References

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Balguy, Thomas 1716 births 1795 deaths Archdeacons of Salisbury Archdeacons of Winchester (ancient) Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge