The Venerable Thomas Ball ( 1697 – 19 July 1770) was the son of Lawrence Ball, of

Eccleston, Lancashire Eccleston is a village and civil parish of the Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England. It is beside the River Yarrow, and was formerly an agricultural and later a weaving settlement. History Its name came from the Celtic word ''"eglēs"' ...

, and a

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 ...

clergyman.

Family

Thomas Ball married Margaret Mill (1712–1783) in Greatham, Sussex, on 8 July 1732 when he was 36 years old, they had at least four children, one of which, Ann Ball born 1738, married

Charles Harward Charles Harward ( 1 August 1723 - 15 July 1802) was an Anglican priest, born in Hayne House Plymtree, Devon. Family Charles Harward married Ann Ball (1738–1785) on 24 March 1763 at Saint Martins in the Fields, Westminster, London. Ann was the ...

(1723–1802) in 1763, who was his successor as Dean of Chichester Cathedral in 1770. Another daughter Elizabeth Ball (1750–1797) married

William Hayley William Hayley (9 November 174512 November 1820) was an English writer, best known as the biographer of his friend William Cowper. Biography Born at Chichester, he was sent to Eton College, Eton in 1757, and to Trinity Hall, Cambridge, in 176 ...

(1745–1820) the poet, whose great uncle was

William Haley Sir William John Haley, KCMG (24 May 1901 – 6 September 1987) was a British newspaper editor and broadcasting administrator. Biography Haley grew up on the island of Jersey and attended Victoria College. In 1918 he began to study journa ...

the Dean of Chichester Cathedral from 1699 to 1715.

Education

Ball matriculated in 1715 at age 18. He then went on to study at

Brasenose College Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The library and chapel were added in the m ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

where he was awarded his

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 years ...

degree in 1719. He received his

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 ...

from

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of th ...

in 1726.

Career

Ball was ordained in 1723 and became vicar of

Boxgrove Boxgrove is a village, ecclesiastical parish and civil parish in the Chichester District of the English county of West Sussex, about north east of the city of Chichester. The village is just south of the A285 road which follows the line of the R ...

, a village near

Chichester Chichester () is a cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. It is the only ci ...

, the same year. This was a living he held for 30 years.Hennessy. Chichester Diocese Clergy Lists. p. 36 While at Boxgrove he took a year out to be a schoolmaster in Carolina between 1725 and 1726.Fothergill. Emigrant Ministers. p. 12 He was

prebendary A prebendary is a member of the Roman Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of the ...

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from Watling Street, the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the Lon ...

from 1727 to 1730, and prebendary of

Eartham Eartham is a village and civil parish in the District of Chichester in West Sussex, England located north east of Chichester east of the A285 road. There is an Anglican parish church dedicated to St Margaret and a public house, The George, fo ...

from 1730.Holtby. The Restoration to 1790 ''in'' Hobbs. Chichester Cathedral: An Historic survey. pp. 110–111 Ball became a residentiary canon at

Chichester Cathedral Chichester Cathedral, formally known as the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity, is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Chichester. It is located in Chichester, in West Sussex, England. It was founded as a cathedral in 1075, when the seat of the ...

in 1735 and was offered, but declined, the office of

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 * ...

in 1741. In 1736 he was appointed

archdeacon of Chichester The post of Archdeacon of Chichester was created in the 12th century, although the Diocese of Sussex was founded by St Wilfrid, the exiled Bishop of York, in AD 681. The original location of the see was in Selsey. The see was moved to Chichester, ...

. Ball failed to secure the

deanery of Worcester The Dean of Worcester is the head of the Chapter of Worcester Cathedral in Worcester, England. The current dean is Peter Atkinson, who lives at The Deanery, College Green, Worcester. Crockford's on-line accessed by subscription Tuesday 11 June ...

so when nominated to be

dean of Chichester The Dean of Chichester is the dean of Chichester Cathedral in Sussex, England. Bishop Ralph is credited with the foundation of the current cathedral after the original structure built by Stigand was largely destroyed by fire in 1114. Ralph di ...

(again) in 1754 he accepted it. He also continued in his post as archdeacon of Chichester. The career of Thomas Ball reveals a close linking of the political and ecclesiastical life of Sussex in the middle of the 18th century. Dean Ball and his chapter were major supporters of the Whig Party in the county and for the

Duke of Newcastle Duke of Newcastle upon Tyne was a title that was created three times, once in the Peerage of England and twice in the Peerage of Great Britain. The first grant of the title was made in 1665 to William Cavendish, 1st Marquess of Newcastle u ...

and his family. The key role of Ball was indicated in a letter from Newcastle to the

Duke of Richmond Duke of Richmond is a title in the Peerage of England that has been created four times in British history. It has been held by members of the royal Tudor dynasty, Tudor and House of Stuart, Stuart families. The current dukedom of Richmond was ...

in 1740, where he said "I reckon he

all All or ALL may refer to: Language * All, an indefinite pronoun in English * All, one of the English determiners * Allar language (ISO 639-3 code) * Allative case (abbreviated ALL) Music * All (band), an American punk rock band * ''All'' (All al ...

is the best agent we have in our parts, and will do whatever you have Him..". Thomas Ball died on 19 July 1770 and is buried in Chichester Cathedral.

Notes

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ball, Thomas Deans of Chichester Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge 1697 births 1770 deaths Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford Archdeacons of Chichester People from Boxgrove