John Ireland (Dean of Westminster)
Encyclopedia
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
, who served as Dean of Westminster from 1816 until his death. In this role, he carried the crown during the coronation services
Coronation of the British monarch
The coronation of the British monarch is a ceremony in which the monarch of the United Kingdom is formally crowned and invested with regalia...
at Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
of two monarchs (George IV
George IV of the United Kingdom
George IV was the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and also of Hanover from the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later...
in 1821, William IV
William IV of the United Kingdom
William IV was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death...
in 1831). Theologically and politically conservative, as shown in his writings, he was generous with the considerable riches that he acquired during his career, making large donations to support education and relieve poverty in his home town. During his lifetime, he established scholarships at the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
, and in his will, he left money to establish the post of Dean Ireland's Professor of the Exegesis of Holy Scripture
Dean Ireland's Professor of the Exegesis of Holy Scripture
The position of Dean Ireland's Professor of the Exegesis of Holy Scripture was established at the University of Oxford in 1847. The professorship was instituted by John Ireland, Dean of Westminster from 1816 until his death in 1842, who acquired considerable riches during his ecclesiastical career...
.
Life
Ireland was the son of Thomas Ireland, a butcher from AshburtonAshburton, Devon
Ashburton is a small town on the edge of Dartmoor in Devon, adjacent to the A38 Devon Expressway.It was formerly important as a stannary town , and remains the largest town within the National Park, with a population of around 3,500...
, Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
; his mother was called Elizabeth. He was born in Asburton on 8 September 1761 and was taught at the grammar school there before moving to the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
. He matriculated
Matriculation
Matriculation, in the broadest sense, means to be registered or added to a list, from the Latin matricula – little list. In Scottish heraldry, for instance, a matriculation is a registration of armorial bearings...
at Oxford on 8 December 1779, as a member of Oriel College. He obtained his Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree in June 1783; he later obtained the degrees of Master of Arts (June 1810), and Bachelor
Bachelor of Divinity
In Western universities, a Bachelor of Divinity is usually an undergraduate academic degree awarded for a course taken in the study of divinity or related disciplines, such as theology or, rarely, religious studies....
and Doctor of Divinity
Doctor of Divinity
Doctor of Divinity is an advanced academic degree in divinity. Historically, it identified one who had been licensed by a university to teach Christian theology or related religious subjects....
(October 1810). After obtaining his first degree, he was ordained as a priest in the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
, and was a curate
Curate
A curate is a person who is invested with the care or cure of souls of a parish. In this sense "curate" correctly means a parish priest but in English-speaking countries a curate is an assistant to the parish priest...
near his home town for a time, before travelling abroad with the son of Sir James Wright, acting as the boy's tutor. He was then vicar of Croydon
Croydon
Croydon is a town in South London, England, located within the London Borough of Croydon to which it gives its name. It is situated south of Charing Cross...
, south of London, between 1793 and 1816.
Westminster Abbey
As well as ministering in Croydon, he was chaplain to the statesman Charles Jenkinson, 1st Earl of LiverpoolCharles Jenkinson, 1st Earl of Liverpool
Charles Jenkinson, 1st Earl of Liverpool PC , known as the Lord Hawkesbury between 1786 and 1796, was a British statesman. He was the father of Prime Minister Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool....
, who used his influence to have Ireland appointed as a prebend of Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
in 1802. Ireland rose to become subdean in 1806, and was additionally appointed as the Abbey's theological lecturer – the post dated from the time of Queen Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
, but had fallen into disuse. In this capacity, he addressed the king's scholars at the adjoining Westminster School
Westminster School
The Royal College of St. Peter in Westminster, almost always known as Westminster School, is one of Britain's leading independent schools, with the highest Oxford and Cambridge acceptance rate of any secondary school or college in Britain...
between 1806 and 1812, and preached to the House of Commons at St Margaret's Church, Westminster in 1813. He was offered, but declined, the position of Regius Professor of Divinity
Regius Professor of Divinity
The Regius Professorship of Divinity is one of the oldest and most prestigious of the professorships at the University of Oxford and at the University of Cambridge.Both chairs were founded by Henry VIII...
at Oxford at this time.
The Dean of Westminster, William Vincent
William Vincent
William Vincent was Dean of Westminster from 1803 to 1815.-Biography:Vincent born on 2 November 1739 in Limehouse Street Ward, London, was the fifth surviving son of Giles Vincent, packer and Portugal merchant, by Sarah .-Theological career:William was admitted at Westminster School as a ‘town...
, died in December 1815; Ireland was chosen as his successor and was installed in February 1816. In addition, he was Dean of the Order of the Bath
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
and rector
Rector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...
of Islip, Oxfordshire
Islip, Oxfordshire
Islip is a village and civil parish on the River Ray, just above its confluence with the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, England. It is about east of Kidlington and about north of Oxford. This village in Oxfordshire is not related to Islip, New York...
(holding the latter post, which was under the control of the Abbey, from 1816 to 1835). As Dean, he had the right of carrying the crown at the coronation service
Coronation of the British monarch
The coronation of the British monarch is a ceremony in which the monarch of the United Kingdom is formally crowned and invested with regalia...
; he did so in 1821 for George IV
George IV of the United Kingdom
George IV was the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and also of Hanover from the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later...
and in 1831 for William IV
William IV of the United Kingdom
William IV was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death...
. He was too ill for this role in 1838, when Victoria
Victoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
was crowned, and his place was taken by the subdean. Ireland remained Dean of Westminster until his death in 1842.
Wealth and benefactions
Ireland became rich through his ecclesiastical appointments, but he made a number of charitable donations in his lifetime, and was regarded as generous with his money. In 1825, he founded four scholarships at Oxford "for the promotion of classical learning and taste" at a personal cost of £4,000 (approximately £ as of ). Westminster School received £500 to institute prizes for Latin verse. A further £2,000 was donated to Ashburton to purchase a house for the schoolmaster, together with money for its repair and an annual fund for the assistance of elderly residents. At his death, he left more than £20,000 (over £ as of ); £10,000 went to the University of Oxford to establish the post of Dean Ireland's Professor of the Exegesis of Holy ScriptureDean Ireland's Professor of the Exegesis of Holy Scripture
The position of Dean Ireland's Professor of the Exegesis of Holy Scripture was established at the University of Oxford in 1847. The professorship was instituted by John Ireland, Dean of Westminster from 1816 until his death in 1842, who acquired considerable riches during his ecclesiastical career...
, and a further £2,000 went to Oriel College. A gift of £5,000 to build a new church in Westminster was later declared to be legally invalid.
Publications
Some of his sermons from his time in Croydon were published in 1796 as Five Discourses... for and against the Reception of Christianity by the Antient Jews and Greeks. Lectures at Westminster School between 1806 and 1808 were published in 1809 as Paganism and Christianity Compared, with a second edition in 1825; his later lectures to the school were not published. On political and religious topics, his works included Vindicae regiae, or, A Defence of the Kingly Office (1797); Letters of Fabius (1801), opposing repeal 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...
in relation to Irish Roman Catholics; and The Claims of the Establishment (1807), a sermon on the levels of tolerance and civil rights to be afforded to those who departed from traditional Anglican doctrines. In 1801, he published anonymously Nuptiae sacrae, or, An Enquiry into the Scriptural Doctrine of Marriage and Divorce, at a time when William Eden, 1st Baron Auckland, was proposing to make it illegal for those who were divorced on the grounds of adultery from marrying their partner in adultery. Ireland proved in the Quarterly Review
Quarterly Review
The Quarterly Review was a literary and political periodical founded in March 1809 by the well known London publishing house John Murray. It ceased publication in 1967.-Early years:...
in 1823 that an 1821 pamphlet was a plagiarised version of his earlier work, which was re-issued in 1830. After two lectures on plagues, addressed to the Royal College of Physicians
Royal College of Physicians
The Royal College of Physicians of London was founded in 1518 as the College of Physicians by royal charter of King Henry VIII in 1518 - the first medical institution in England to receive a royal charter...
and published in 1832 and 1834, Ireland did not publish further.
Reputation
One historian of the abbey has said that Ireland was "essentially an eighteenth-century clergyman who lived long enough to feel the winds of change blowing around him". He has been criticised for failing to act to protect the position of Westminster School (which was in decline in this period) by increasing its funding from the abbey, although this would have meant reduced incomes for the abbey clergy and may not have been agreed. He had a conservative attitude to political and religious affairs, shown in his writings. He was a friend from schooldays of William GiffordWilliam Gifford
William Gifford was an English critic, editor and poet, famous as a satirist and controversialist.-Life:Gifford was born in Ashburton, Devonshire to Edward Gifford and Elizabeth Cain. His father, a glazier and house painter, had run away as a youth with vagabond Bampfylde Moore Carew, and he...
, the satirist and first editor of the Quarterly Review; both assisted the other with their writings. Gifford described Ireland as "my delight in youth, my pride and consolation in age", and tried to persuade George Canning
George Canning
George Canning PC, FRS was a British statesman and politician who served as Foreign Secretary and briefly Prime Minister.-Early life: 1770–1793:...
(Foreign Secretary, and founder of the Review) to appoint Ireland as a bishop.
Illness and death
Ireland died in the Deanery at Westminster on 2 September 1842, shortly before his 81st birthday, having been in poor health since 1838. He was buried in Westminster Abbey on 8 September, alongside William Gifford, whose burial Ireland had arranged as executor of his will. A bust by the English sculptor John TernouthJohn Ternouth
John Ternouth was an English sculptor of the early 19th century. His most notable work is one of the four panels at the base of Nelson's Column in London's Trafalgar Square, depicting the Battle of Copenhagen.-Life:...
was later erected. Ireland outlived his wife Susannah, who had died in 1826 at the rectory in Islip when she was 71 years old; there were no children of the marriage.