George Stone (bishop)
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George Stone (1708 – 19 December 1764) was the
Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the secon ...
Archbishop of Armagh (
Primate of All Ireland The Primacy of Ireland was historically disputed between the Archbishop of Armagh and the Archbishop of Dublin until finally settled by Pope Innocent VI. ''Primate'' is a title of honour denoting ceremonial precedence in the Church, and in ...
) from 1747 to his death.


Advancement

Born in London, the son of Andrew Stone, a London goldsmith. He was educated at
Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...
and Christ Church, Oxford. Having taken holy orders, his advancement in the Church was very rapid, mainly through the influence of his older brother Andrew Stone. Andrew's connections with
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made him able to promote the preferment of his brother George, who went to Ireland as chaplain to Lionel Sackville, 1st Duke of Dorset when that nobleman became Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in 1731. In 1733 Stone was made
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 * ...
of
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, and in the following year he exchanged this deanery for that of Derry. In 1740 he became
Bishop of Ferns and Leighlin The Bishop of Ferns and Leighlin was the Ordinary of Church of Ireland diocese of Ferns and Leighlin in the Province of Dublin. The diocese comprised all of counties Wexford and Carlow and part of counties Wicklow and Laois in Republic of Ire ...
, in 1743
Bishop of Kildare The Bishop of Kildare was an episcopal title which took its name after the town of Kildare in County Kildare, Ireland. The title is no longer in use by any of the main Christian churches having been united with other bishoprics. In the Roman Cath ...
, in 1745
Bishop of Derry The Bishop of Derry is an episcopal title which takes its name after the monastic settlement originally founded at Daire Calgach and later known as Daire Colm Cille, Anglicised as Derry. In the Roman Catholic Church it remains a separate title, b ...
, and in 1747 Archbishop of Armagh. During the two years that he occupied the See of Kildare he was also
Dean of Christ Church, Dublin The ''Dean of Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin'' is the senior official of that church, the cathedral of the Diocese of Dublin and Glendalough, United Diocese of Dublin and Glendalough in the Church of Ireland, and head of the Chapter, its governi ...
.


Primate of All Ireland

From the moment that he became
Primate of All Ireland The Primacy of Ireland was historically disputed between the Archbishop of Armagh and the Archbishop of Dublin until finally settled by Pope Innocent VI. ''Primate'' is a title of honour denoting ceremonial precedence in the Church, and in ...
, Stone proved himself more a politician than an ecclesiastic. "He was said to have been selfish, worldly-minded, ambitious and ostentatious; and he was accused, though very probably falsely, of gross private vice." His aim was to secure political power, a desire which brought him into conflict with Henry Boyle, the
Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...
of the
Irish House of Commons The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, but on a highly restrictive fran ...
, who had organized a formidable opposition to the government. The Duke of Dorset's reappointment to the Lord Lieutenancy in 1751, with his son
Lord George Sackville George Germain, 1st Viscount Sackville, PC (26 January 1716 – 26 August 1785), styled The Honourable George Sackville until 1720, Lord George Sackville from 1720 to 1770 and Lord George Germain from 1770 to 1782, was a British soldier and p ...
as Chief Secretary for Ireland, strengthened the primate's position and enabled him to triumph over the popular party on the constitutional question as to the right of the
Irish House of Commons The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, but on a highly restrictive fran ...
to dispose of surplus Irish revenue, which the government maintained was the property of
the Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...
. When Dorset was replaced by the Duke of Devonshire in 1755, Boyle was raised to the peerage as
Earl of Shannon Earl of Shannon is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1756 for the prominent Irish politician Henry Boyle, who served as Speaker of the Irish House of Commons and as Chancellor of the Irish Exchequer. The earldom is named a ...
and received a pension, and other members of the opposition also obtained pensions or places; and the archbishop, finding himself excluded from power, went into opposition to the government in alliance with John Ponsonby. These two, afterwards joined by the primate's old rival Lord Shannon, and usually supported by the
Earl of Kildare Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant "chieftain", particular ...
, regained control of affairs in 1758, during the
viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning " ...
alty of the
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. In the same year, Stone wrote a remarkable letter, preserved in the ''Bedford Correspondence'' (ii. 357), in which he speaks very despondingly of the material condition of Ireland and the distress of the people. The archbishop was one of the "undertakers" who controlled the Irish House of Commons, and although he did not regain the almost dictatorial power he had exercised at an earlier period, which had suggested a comparison between him and Cardinal Wolsey, he continued to enjoy a prominent share in the administration of Ireland until his death, which occurred in London on 19 December 1764. According to Horace Walpole, his death was due to ruining his constitution by an excess of food and alcohol.


Historical observations

Although this "much-abused prelate," as Lecky calls him, was a firm supporter of the English government in Ireland, he was far from being a man of tyrannical or intolerant disposition. It was due to his influence that in the anti-tithe disturbances in
Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...
in 1763 the government acted with conspicuous moderation, and that the movement was suppressed with very little bloodshed. He constantly favoured a policy of conciliation towards the Roman Catholics, whose loyalty he defended at different periods of his career both in his speeches in the
Irish House of Lords The Irish House of Lords was the upper house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from medieval times until 1800. It was also the final court of appeal of the Kingdom of Ireland. It was modelled on the House of Lords of England, with membe ...
and in his correspondence with ministers in London.
Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield, (22 September 169424 March 1773) was a British statesman, diplomat, and man of letters, and an acclaimed wit of his time. Early life He was born in London to Philip Stanhope, 3rd Earl of Ches ...
told him that he was the only man with the political skills to rule Ireland, but in a dig at his irregular private life, said that it would help if he became a clergyman. Archbishop Stone, who never married, was a man of remarkably handsome appearance; and his manners were "eminently seductive and insinuating". Richard Cumberland, who was struck by the "Polish magnificence" of the primate, speaks in the highest terms of his courage, tact, and qualities as a popular leader. Horace Walpole, who gives a generally unfavourable picture of his private character, acknowledges that Stone possessed "abilities seldom to be matched", and gives him credit for charity, generosity and an absence of malice; and he had the distinction of being mentioned by
David Hume David Hume (; born David Home; 7 May 1711 NS (26 April 1711 OS) – 25 August 1776) Cranston, Maurice, and Thomas Edmund Jessop. 2020 999br>David Hume" ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Retrieved 18 May 2020. was a Scottish Enlightenment phil ...
as one of the only two men of mark who had perceived merit in that author's ''History of England'' on its first appearance. He was himself the author of several volumes of
sermon A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present contexts. ...
s which were published during his lifetime.


Notes


References

*
Richard Mant Richard Mant (12 February 1776 – 2 November 1848) was an English churchman who became a bishop in Ireland. He was a prolific writer, his major work being a ''History of the Church of Ireland''. s:Mant, Richard (DNB00) Life He was born at ...
, ''History of the Church of Ireland'', vol. ii. (London, 1840) *
J. A. Froude James Anthony Froude ( ; 23 April 1818 – 20 October 1894) was an English historian, novelist, biographer, and editor of ''Fraser's Magazine''. From his upbringing amidst the Anglo-Catholic Oxford Movement, Froude intended to become a cler ...
, ''English in Ireland in the Eighteenth Century'' (3 vols., London, 1872–1874) * W. E. H. Lecky, ''History of Ireland in the Eighteenth Century'' (5 vols., London, 1892) *J. R. O'Flanagan, ''Lives of the Lord Chancellors and Keepers of the Great Seal of Ireland'' (2 vols., London, 1870). *Richard Cumberland, ''Memoirs'' (London, 1806) * Francis Hardy, ''Memoirs of the earl of Charlemont'' (2 vols., 2nd. ed., London, 1812) * Horace Walpole, ''Memoirs of the Reign of George II.'' (3 vols., London, 1846) *Bedford Correspondence (3 vols., London, 1842–1846) *Correspondence of Chatham (4 vols., London, 1838–1840). {{DEFAULTSORT:Stone, George 1708 births 1764 deaths 18th-century Anglican archbishops Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Members of the Irish House of Lords Deans of Derry Deans of Ferns Deans of Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin Anglican archbishops of Armagh People educated at Westminster School, London Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Bishops of Ferns and Leighlin Anglican bishops of Kildare Anglican bishops of Derry British expatriate archbishops