Anthony Ellys
Encyclopedia
Anthony Ellys was an English churchman who became bishop of St David's
in 1752.
in Norfolk
, he was baptised on 8 June 1690. His father and grandfather were merchants there, and mayors of the borough. He was educated at Clare Hall, Cambridge
, where he graduated B.A. in 1712, M.A. in 1716, and D.D. in 1728, on the occasion of a royal visit to the university. He became a fellow of his college and took holy orders. In 1719, his father being mayor, the Yarmouth corporation appointed him minister of St George's Chapel in the own.
He became in 1721 a chaplain to Lord-chancellor Thomas Parker, 1st Earl of Macclesfield
, in 1724 vicar of St Olave, Jewry, and prebendary of Gloucester, and in 1729 vicar of Great Marlow
also, without surrendering earlier preferments. In 1723 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. In October 1752 he was appointed bishop of St. David's, and consecrated on 28 January in the following year. Ellys continued to hold his prebend and his city living in commendam
, and went every Sunday morning i winter from his house in Queen Square
to preach to his parishioners. He died at Gloucester on 16 January 1761, and was buried in the south aisle of Gloucester Cathedral
.
as bishop; But Archbishop Thomas Herring
, supported Ellys's preferment, a safe pair of hands and attached to the ecclesiastical establishment.
Ellys gave little support to the scheme of John Jones of Welwyn for establishing a seminary for clerical education in his diocese. The books offered by Jones to the bishop were transferred to the presbyterian academy at Carmarthen
.
His appointment as bishop was by some attributed to reputation which he had gained as being engaged on a major work in defence of the Protestant Reformation
; his ‘Defence of the Reformation’ never appeared. He published nothing more in his lifetime but a few sermons, preached on special occasions before the Lords, the Commons, and the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. After his death his friends published his Tracts on the Liberty spiritual and temporal of the Protestants of England, which was either a fragment or the whole of the long-expected great work. The first part, which appeared in 1763, was largely an anti-Catholic polemic; the second part, issued in 1765, was a treatise on constitutional liberty based around the Glorious Revolution
.
, and left one daughter, who married unhappily and became insane.
Bishop of St David's
The Bishop of St David's is the ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of St David's.The succession of bishops stretches back to Saint David who in the 6th century established his seat in what is today the city of St David's in Pembrokeshire, founding St David's Cathedral. The current Bishop of St...
in 1752.
Life
Born at YarmouthGreat Yarmouth
Great Yarmouth, often known to locals as Yarmouth, is a coastal town in Norfolk, England. It is at the mouth of the River Yare, east of Norwich.It has been a seaside resort since 1760, and is the gateway from the Norfolk Broads to the sea...
in Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
, he was baptised on 8 June 1690. His father and grandfather were merchants there, and mayors of the borough. He was educated at Clare Hall, Cambridge
Clare College, Cambridge
Clare College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England.The college was founded in 1326, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the University after Peterhouse. Clare is famous for its chapel choir and for its gardens on "the Backs"...
, where he graduated B.A. in 1712, M.A. in 1716, and D.D. in 1728, on the occasion of a royal visit to the university. He became a fellow of his college and took holy orders. In 1719, his father being mayor, the Yarmouth corporation appointed him minister of St George's Chapel in the own.
He became in 1721 a chaplain to Lord-chancellor Thomas Parker, 1st Earl of Macclesfield
Thomas Parker, 1st Earl of Macclesfield
Thomas Parker, 1st Earl of Macclesfield PC, FRS was an English Whig politician.-Youth and early career:He was born in Staffordshire, the son of Thomas Parker, an attorney at Leek. He was educated at Adams' Grammar School and Trinity College, Cambridge...
, in 1724 vicar of St Olave, Jewry, and prebendary of Gloucester, and in 1729 vicar of Great Marlow
Great Marlow
Great Marlow is a civil parish within Wycombe district in the English county of Buckinghamshire located north of the town of Marlow and south of High Wycombe. The parish includes the hamlets of Bovingdon Green, Burroughs Grove, Chisbridge Cross and Marlow Common, and Danesfield Base, a housing...
also, without surrendering earlier preferments. In 1723 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. In October 1752 he was appointed bishop of St. David's, and consecrated on 28 January in the following year. Ellys continued to hold his prebend and his city living in commendam
In Commendam
In canon law, commendam was a form of transferring an ecclesiastical benefice in trust to the custody of a patron...
, and went every Sunday morning i winter from his house in Queen Square
Queen Square
Queen Square is a square in the Bloomsbury district of the London Borough of Camden, England. Queen Square was originally constructed between 1716 and 1725.- Name :...
to preach to his parishioners. He died at Gloucester on 16 January 1761, and was buried in the south aisle of Gloucester Cathedral
Gloucester Cathedral
Gloucester Cathedral, or the Cathedral Church of St Peter and the Holy and Indivisible Trinity, in Gloucester, England, stands in the north of the city near the river. It originated in 678 or 679 with the foundation of an abbey dedicated to Saint Peter .-Foundations:The foundations of the present...
.
Views
Ellys was a moderate Whig. There was some objection to the nomination of an upholder of the Test ActTest Act
The Test Acts were a series of English penal laws that served as a religious test for public office and imposed various civil disabilities on Roman Catholics and Nonconformists...
as bishop; But Archbishop Thomas Herring
Thomas Herring
Thomas Herring was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1747 to 1757.He was educated at Wisbech Grammar School and later Jesus College, Cambridge. At Cambridge, he was a contemporary of Matthew Hutton, who succeeded him in turn in each of his dioceses...
, supported Ellys's preferment, a safe pair of hands and attached to the ecclesiastical establishment.
Ellys gave little support to the scheme of John Jones of Welwyn for establishing a seminary for clerical education in his diocese. The books offered by Jones to the bishop were transferred to the presbyterian academy at Carmarthen
Carmarthen
Carmarthen is a community in, and the county town of, Carmarthenshire, Wales. It is sited on the River Towy north of its mouth at Carmarthen Bay. In 2001, the population was 14,648....
.
Works
In 1736 he published ‘A Plea for the Sacramental Test as best Security for the Church established, and very conducive to the Welfare of the State.’ In 1752 he published anonymously some ‘Remarks on Mr. Hume's Essay concerning Miracles,’ which, though ‘written in a sensible and genteel manner,’ ‘did not excite the attention they deserved.’His appointment as bishop was by some attributed to reputation which he had gained as being engaged on a major work in defence of the Protestant Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
; his ‘Defence of the Reformation’ never appeared. He published nothing more in his lifetime but a few sermons, preached on special occasions before the Lords, the Commons, and the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. After his death his friends published his Tracts on the Liberty spiritual and temporal of the Protestants of England, which was either a fragment or the whole of the long-expected great work. The first part, which appeared in 1763, was largely an anti-Catholic polemic; the second part, issued in 1765, was a treatise on constitutional liberty based around the Glorious Revolution
Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688, is the overthrow of King James II of England by a union of English Parliamentarians with the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau...
.
Family
He married Anne, eldest daughter of Sir Stephen Anderson of Eyworth, BedfordshireBedfordshire
Bedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....
, and left one daughter, who married unhappily and became insane.