Thomas Turner (September, 1645 – 29 April 1714) was an English churchman and academic,
Archdeacon of Essex and President of
Corpus Christi College, Oxford
Corpus Christi College (formally, Corpus Christi College in the University of Oxford; informally abbreviated as Corpus or CCC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1517, it is the 12t ...
.
Life
The second son of
Thomas Turner,
Dean of Canterbury
The Dean of Canterbury is the head of the Chapter of the Cathedral of Christ Church, Canterbury, England. The current office of Dean originated after the English Reformation, although Deans had also existed before this time; its immediate precur ...
, he was born at
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
on 19 or 20 September 1645; he was a younger brother of
Francis Turner. Thomas originally matriculated at
Hart Hall
Hertford College ( ), previously known as Magdalen Hall, is a colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It is located on Catte Street in the centre of Oxford, directly opposite the main ga ...
on 10 May 1662, but on 6 October 1663 he was admitted to a Gloucestershire scholarship at Corpus, of which he became fellow in 1672. He graduated B.A. on 15 March 1666, M.A. in 1669, B.D. in 1677, and D.D. in 1683.
From 1672 to 1695 he was vicar of Milton, near
Sittingbourne
Sittingbourne is an industrial town in Kent, south-east England, from Canterbury and from London, beside the Roman Watling Street, an ancient British trackway used by the Romans and the Anglo-Saxons and next to the Swale, a strip of sea separa ...
,
Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
, and from 1680 to 1689 rector of
Thorley,
Hertfordshire. He became rector of
Fulham, Middlesex, in 1688, archdeacon of Essex in 1680, canon of Ely in 1686, canon of
St Paul's Cathedral in 1682, and precentor in 1690. These preferments, except the sinecure rectory of Fulham and the canonry and precentorship of St. Paul's, he resigned at or shortly after his election to the presidency of Corpus on 13 March 1688. The rapid election, which took place within a week of the death of his predecessor
Robert Newlyn, diminished the chance of any interference from the court of James II.
Turner reformed the college and spent his own money on it. In 1706 he began what are now the Fellows' buildings, to a design attributed to
Henry Aldrich
Henry Aldrich (15 January 1648 – 14 December 1710) was an English theologian, philosopher, and composer.
Life
Aldrich was educated at Westminster School under Dr Richard Busby. In 1662, he entered Christ Church, Oxford, and in 1689 was ma ...
. They were completed in 1712. Turner died on 29 April 1714, and is buried in the college chapel, where, as also at
Stowe Nine Churches
Stowe may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
*Stowe, Buckinghamshire, a civil parish and former village
**Stowe House
**Stowe School
* Stowe, Cornwall, in Kilkhampton parish
* Stowe, Herefordshire, in the List of places in Herefordshire
* Stowe, Linc ...
in
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by
two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...
, there is a lengthy inscription about his bequests. These included a major benefaction to the
Corporation of the Sons of the Clergy.
Turner was, from the hints of
Thomas Hearne, suspected of
Jacobite sympathies, but on very slender grounds. His publication was a sermon preached at Whitehall on 29 May 1685 before James II, to whom he was chaplain. In this sermon there is criticism of
Thomas Hobbes
Thomas Hobbes ( ; 5/15 April 1588 – 4/14 December 1679) was an English philosopher, considered to be one of the founders of modern political philosophy. Hobbes is best known for his 1651 book ''Leviathan'', in which he expounds an influ ...
's position, that a 'state of nature is a state of war.'
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Turner, Thomas
1645 births
1714 deaths
Archdeacons of Essex
Presidents of Corpus Christi College, Oxford