John Harley (29 September 1728 – 7 January 1788) was a British bishop. Harley was the second son of Edward Harley, 3rd Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer. He was educated at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

, matriculating in 1747, graduating B.A. 1749, M.A. 1752, B.D. &

D.D. A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity. In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ra ...

1778. He was

Archdeacon of Shropshire The Archdeacon of Ludlow is a senior ecclesiastical officer within the Diocese of Hereford. Prior to 1876 the post was known by its previous title of Archdeacon of Shropshire or alternatively as the Archdeacon of Salop in the Diocese of Hereford. ...

from 1760 to 1769 and then Archdeacon of Hereford from 1769 to 1787. He was Dean of Windsor, Registrar of the Order of the Garter and briefly, at the end of his life, the

Bishop of Hereford The Bishop of Hereford is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Hereford in the Province of Canterbury. The episcopal see is centred in the Hereford, City of Hereford where the bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is in the Hereford Cathedr ...

before his death aged 59 in 1788. His son

Edward Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sa ...

(by his wife Roach Vaughan, daughter of Gwynne Vaughan of Trebarry,

Radnorshire , HQ = Presteigne , Government = Radnorshire County Council (1889–1974) Radnorshire District Council (1974–1996) , Origin = , Status = historic county, administrative county , Start ...

) succeeded Harley's elder brother (

) as 5th Earl of Oxford.

References

1728 births 1788 deaths Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Younger sons of earls Archdeacons of Shropshire Archdeacons of Hereford Deans of Windsor Bishops of Hereford 18th-century Church of England bishops John Registrars of the Order of the Garter {{UK-bishop-stub