Bell's Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Lichfield: A Description of Its Fabric and A Brief History of the Espicopal SeeClifton, A. B.
History
Bell's Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Lichfield: A Description of Its Fabric and A Brief History of the Espicopal See
Clifton, A. B.
Lichfield Cathedral
Hacket's dean cannot have confirmed the clergy in their opinion of
Charles, whose appointment to the post he had purchased; so bad was he
that the bishop excommunicated him, and the sentence was even read in
the cathedral while he was there, but he heeded it not. The chapter
loathed him, but apparently the king's feelings were different, for
at Hacket's death he was appointed to succeed him. So =Thomas Wood=
(1671-1692) became bishop, and was the worst the see ever had: he lived
much away from the diocese. Lancelot Addison, the father of the famous
Joseph Addison, was dean in his time. William III., staying a night
at the deanery, was attracted to the genial essayist early; and we may
imagine that he must have been greatly influenced by that part of his
life spent within the cathedral close.
The next bishop was =William Lloyd= (1692-1699): he came from St. Asaph,
and went to Worcester. While bishop of St. Asaph he was one of the seven
bishops who were sent to the Tower in 1688. =John Hough= (1699-1717)
came next; he also had crossed the path of James II., for he had been
elected President of Magdalen over the head of James's nominee, but
James had proved the stronger at the time, and he was ejected, only to
be reinstated by the frightened king soon after. At the Revolution he
was made bishop of Oxford, whence he was translated hither; he afterwards
refused the primacy.
The next two bishops--=Edward Chandler= (1717-1730) and =Richard
Smallbroke= (1730-1749)--were distinguished defenders of Christianity
against the infidelity of the time. Their controversial writings are
numerous and well known.
The next bishop, =Frederick Cornwallis= (1749-1768), afterwards became
Archbishop of Canterbury. Then came =John Egerton= (1768-1771),
from Bangor, and went to Durham; =Brownlow North= (1771-1774), who
was translated to Worcester, and thence to Winchester; =Richard Hurd=
(1774-1781), who also went to Worcester; =James Cornwallis= (1781-1824),
and =Henry Ryder= (1824-1836), who came from Gloucester. He succeeded in
founding many new churches and immensely increasing the membership of the
Church in the diocese. His successor, =Samuel Butler= (1836-1843), went
on with this work. It was in his time that the archdeaconry of Coventry
was taken from the diocese and added to Worcester. The title of the see
now becomes Lichfield only; Coventry, which at one time held the premier
place in the title, and then the second, now slips out altogether.
Ten years later the deanery of Bridgenorth was allotted to Hereford,
and in the same year all peculiar and exempt jurisdiction was abolished,
so that the archdeacons had power to visit every church in the diocese;
the number of canons of Lichfield was reduced from six to four.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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