Thomas Legh Claughton (6 November 1808 – 25 July 1892) was a British academic, poet, and clergyman. He was
professor of poetry
The Professor of Poetry is an academic appointment at the University of Oxford. The chair was created in 1708 by an endowment from the estate of Henry Birkhead. The professorship carries an obligation to lecture, but is in effect a part-time po ...
at
Oxford University
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 ...
from 1852 to 1857;
Bishop of Rochester
The Bishop of Rochester is the ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Rochester in the Province of Canterbury.
The town of Rochester has the bishop's seat, at the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary, which was foun ...
; and the first
Bishop of St Albans
The Bishop of St Albans is the Ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of St Albans in the Province of Canterbury. The bishop is supported in his work by two suffragan bishops, the Bishop of Hertford and the Bishop of Bedford, and three arc ...
.
[Sutton, C. W. "Claughton, Thomas Legh (1808–1892)." Rev. H. C. G. Matthew. '']Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...
''. Ed. H. C. G. Matthew and Brian Harrison. Oxford: OUP
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...
, 2004
Accessed 10 Feb 2007
Biography
Claughton was born at Haydock Lodge in
Haydock
Haydock is a village within the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens, in Merseyside, England. At the 2011 Census, it had a population of 11,416 Haydock's historic area covers the Haydock electoral ward and a section of the Blackbrook ward.
Haydoc ...
, then in
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
. He was the son of Lancashire
MP Thomas Claughton and his wife, Maria.
Educated at
The King's School, Chester
The King's School, Chester, is a British co-educational independent day school for children aged 4 to 18. It is one of the seven 'King's Schools' established (or re-endowed and renamed) by King Henry VIII in 1541 after the Dissolution of ...
and
Rugby School
Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England.
Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. Up ...
, he was admitted in 1826 to
Trinity College, Oxford
(That which you wish to be secret, tell to nobody)
, named_for = The Holy Trinity
, established =
, sister_college = Churchill College, Cambridge
, president = Dame Hilary Boulding
, location = Broad Street, Oxford OX1 3BH
, coordinates ...
, where he took a first in
Literae Humaniores in 1831.
Remaining at Oxford, he held the post of select preacher to the University four times between 1841 and 1868 and from 1852 to 1857 he held the office of
Professor of Poetry
The Professor of Poetry is an academic appointment at the University of Oxford. The chair was created in 1708 by an endowment from the estate of Henry Birkhead. The professorship carries an obligation to lecture, but is in effect a part-time po ...
.
Ordained in 1834, Claughton was assigned no
cure
A cure is a substance or procedure that ends a medical condition, such as a medication, a surgical operation, a change in lifestyle or even a philosophical mindset that helps end a person's sufferings; or the state of being healed, or cured. The ...
until 1841, when he was appointed vicar of
Kidderminster
Kidderminster is a large market and historic minster town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, south-west of Birmingham and north of Worcester. Located north of the River Stour and east of the River Severn, in the 2011 census, it had ...
. This post he held for 26 years and was widely acclaimed for his work.
In April 1867, Claughton was nominated
Bishop of Rochester
The Bishop of Rochester is the ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Rochester in the Province of Canterbury.
The town of Rochester has the bishop's seat, at the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary, which was foun ...
on the recommendation of
Lord Derby
Edward George Geoffrey Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby, (29 March 1799 – 23 October 1869, known before 1834 as Edward Stanley, and from 1834 to 1851 as Lord Stanley) was a British statesman, three-time Prime Minister of the United Kingdom ...
, for whose installation as Chancellor of Oxford Claughton had written an ode.
In 1877, the
Diocese of St Albans
The Diocese of St Albans forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England and is part of the wider Church of England, in turn part of the worldwide Anglican Communion.
The diocese is home to more than 1.6 million people and comprises the hi ...
was created. Essentially land north of the Thames in the counties of Essex and Hertfordshire, previously ministered under Claughton's see, the
Diocese of Rochester
The Diocese of Rochester is a Church of England diocese in the English county of Kent and the Province of Canterbury. The cathedral church of the diocese is Rochester Cathedral in the former city of Rochester. The bishop's Latin episcopal signat ...
, formed the new diocese. Possibly as he already resided in the newly created Diocese, Claughton chose to become the first Bishop of St Albans, a post which he held until 1890.
Family
Claughton married the Honourable Julia Susannah Ward, eldest daughter of the
10th Lord Ward and had five sons and four daughters:
* Amelia Maria Claughton (1843–1894), who married 1st
Augustus Henry Archibald Anson and 2nd
George John Douglas Campbell, 8th Duke of Argyll
* Hyacinthe Anne Claughton (1844–1845)
* William Claughton (1845–1860)
* The Rev. Canon Thomas Legh Claughton (1846–1915), a clergyman who married Henrietta Louisa Horatia Mildmay, granddaughter of
Sir Henry St John-Mildmay, 4th Bart.
* Katharine Susannah Claughton (1848–1934), who married Ronald George Elidor Campbell, son of the
2nd Earl of Cawdor
* The Rev. Piers Leopold Claughton (1850–1939), a clergyman
* Lucy Ellinor Claughton (1852–1939)
* Robert Dudley Claughton (1854–1855)
*
Sir Gilbert Henry Claughton, 1st Bart. (1856–1921), a businessman and politician
From his enthronement as 98th Bishop of Rochester to his resignation from the bishopric of St Albans in 1890, Claughton resided at
Danbury Palace
Danbury Place was an English country house, first built by Walter Mildmay in the time of Elizabeth I, dated to 1589. It is situated on one of the highest points of the county of Essex.
The house was demolished and rebuilt on an adjoining site aro ...
(near
Chelmsford
Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Southend-on-Sea and Colchester. It is located north-east of London a ...
), where he died. It was a distinguished occupancy as his elder daughter, Amelia, married (for her second time) the Duke of Argyll at a ceremony at the Palace. He is buried in
St Albans Cathedral
St Albans Cathedral, officially the Cathedral and Abbey Church of St Alban but often referred to locally as "the Abbey", is a Church of England cathedral in St Albans, England. Much of its architecture dates from Normans, Norman times. It cease ...
.
His widow died at the Priory,
Dudley
Dudley is a large market town and administrative centre in the county of West Midlands, England, southeast of Wolverhampton and northwest of Birmingham. Historically an exclave of Worcestershire, the town is the administrative centre of the ...
, on 28 May 1902, aged 84.
Selected works
*"Voyages of Discovery to the Polar Regions" (1829), poem – winner of the
Newdigate prize for 1829
*''Questions on the Collects, Epistles, and Gospels'' (1853–57), 2 vols.
References
External links
Bibliographic directoryfrom
Project Canterbury Project Canterbury (sometimes abbreviated as PC) is an online archive of material related to the history of Anglicanism. It was founded by Richard Mammana, Jr. in 1999 with a grant from Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold, and is ho ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Claughton, Thomas Legh
1808 births
1892 deaths
Alumni of Trinity College, Oxford
Bishops of Rochester
Bishops of St Albans
Fellows of Trinity College, Oxford
People educated at Rugby School
People from Winwick, Cheshire
19th-century Church of England bishops
Burials at St Albans Cathedral
People educated at The King's School, Chester
Oxford Professors of Poetry
English male poets
19th-century English poets
19th-century male writers