Richard Robinson, 1st Baron Rokeby (1708 – 10 October 1794), was an

Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the State rel ...

churchman.

Life

He was a younger son of William Robinson (died 1720) of Rokeby,

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

and later of Merton,

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

and Anne Walters (died 1730), daughter and heiress of Robert Walters of Cundall.

Sir Thomas Robinson, 1st Baronet Sir Thomas Robinson, 1st Baronet (1703–1777), of Rokeby, Yorkshire, was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1727 to 1734 and was a Governor of Barbados. He was an architect, collector and an extravagant character, whose ...

(1703-1777) was his elder brother. He was educated at

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

and

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

(BA 1730, MA 1733, BD & DD 1748). Robinson came to

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

Lionel Sackville, 1st Duke of Dorset Lionel Cranfield Sackville, 1st Duke of Dorset (18 January 168810 October 1765) was a British politician who served as Lord President of the Council from 1745 to 1751. He also twice served as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland from 1730 to 1737 and aga ...

in 1751 when Dorset was reappointed

Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the K ...

, and was swiftly raised to the Irish episcopate as

Bishop of Killala and Achonry The Bishop of Killala and Achonry was the Ordinary of the Church of Ireland diocese of Killala and Achonry in the Ecclesiastical Province of Tuam. The diocese comprised part of Counties Mayo and Sligo in Ireland. The Episcopal see was a union ...

. He was translated from the

See of Kildare See or SEE may refer to: * Visual perception Arts, entertainment, and media * Music: ** See (album), ''See'' (album), studio album by rock band The Rascals *** "See", song by The Rascals, on the album ''See'' ** See (Tycho song), "See" (Tycho son ...

, which he had occupied since 1761, to the Archbishopric of Armagh in 1765. In 1777 he was created Baron Rokeby, of

Armagh Armagh ( ; , , " Macha's height") is a city and the county town of County Armagh, in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Primates of All ...

in the County of Armagh, in the

Peerage of Ireland The peerage of Ireland consists of those Peerage, titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lordship of Ireland, Lord or Monarchy of Ireland, King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great B ...

, with special remainder to Matthew Robinson (1694–1778) of West Layton, in the North Riding of the county of Yorkshire, his second cousin, twice removed, who predeceased him. In 1774 he founded the County Infirmary. In 1780 he donated land for the erection of a new prison and in 1771 he founded the Armagh Public Library. In 1790 he founded the

Armagh Observatory Armagh Observatory is an astronomical research institute in Armagh, Northern Ireland. Around 25 astronomers are based at the observatory, studying stellar astrophysics, the Sun, Solar System astronomy and Earth's climate. In 2018, Armagh Obs ...

as part of his plan for a university in

. Archbishop Lord Rokeby died at Clifton in

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

on 10 October 1794, and was buried in Armagh Cathedral. He was succeeded by Matthew Robinson, 2nd Baron Rokeby, the son of his second cousin Matthew Robinson, who inherited his titles, and was a noted eccentric. There is a memorial to Robinson in the south aisle at

St Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh There are two St Patrick's Cathedrals in Armagh, Northern Ireland: * St Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh (Church of Ireland), the Anglican cathedral (and the Catholic cathedral prior to the Protestant Reformation) * St Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh (Roma ...

Reputation

Robert Walpole Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford (; 26 August 1676 – 18 March 1745), known between 1725 and 1742 as Sir Robert Walpole, was a British Whigs (British political party), Whig statesman who is generally regarded as the ''de facto'' first Prim ...

called Robinson 'a proud but superficial man'.

John Wesley John Wesley ( ; 2 March 1791) was an English cleric, Christian theology, theologian, and Evangelism, evangelist who was a principal leader of a Christian revival, revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The societies ...

accused him of being more interested in buildings than in the care of souls.

Richard Cumberland Richard Cumberland may refer to: * Richard Cumberland (philosopher) Richard Cumberland (15 July 1631 (or 1632) – 9 October 1718) was an English philosopher, and Bishop of Peterborough from 1691. In 1672, he published his major work, ''De leg ...

described him as "splendid, liberal, lofty ... publicly ambitious of great deeds, and privately capable of good ones, ... he made no court to popularity by his manners but he benefited a whole nation by his public works".''Memoirs'', volume 2, pps. 353-54, quoted from

The Complete Peerage ''The Complete Peerage'' (full title: ''The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom Extant, Extinct, or Dormant''); first edition by George Edward Cokayne, Clarenceux King of Arms; 2nd edition re ...

Architectural benefactor

The Canterbury Gate at

, completed in 1873, is one monument to Archbishop Lord Rokeby's munificence. The gate is inscribed: :MUNIFICENTIA ALUMNORUM PRAECIPUE RICARDI ROBINSON ARCHICEP. ARMAGH. :(By the munificence of alumni, especially of Richard Robinson, Archbishop of Armagh.) Image:Christ Church, peckwater quadrangle 04.JPG, The Canterbury Gate, Christ Church, Oxford Image:Rokeby Hall County Louth.jpg, Robinson's Rokeby Hall, near Dunleer, County Louth, Ireland, by

Cooley Cooley may refer to: *Cooley (surname), a surname (and a list of people with the surname) *Cooley Distillery, an Irish whiskey distillery *Cooley LLP, a Silicon Valley–based law firm *Cooley Peninsula, Ireland * Cooley High School, Detroit, Michig ...

and Johnston Image:Rokeby Hall conservatory.jpg, Robinson's Rokeby Hall, and its conservatory

References

External links

Portraits of Richard Robinson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rokeby, Richard Robinson, 1st Baron Robinson, Richard Robinson, Richard People educated at Westminster School, London Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Barons in the Peerage of Ireland Peers of Ireland created by George III Deans of Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin Robinson, Richard Ordained peers Robinson, Richard Robinson, Richard Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Bishops of Killala and Achonry Bishops of Ferns and Leighlin Anglican bishops of Kildare Members of the Irish House of Lords Anglican archbishops of Armagh British expatriate archbishops