Thomas Tanner was an English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 antiquary

Antiquarian

An antiquarian or antiquary is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient objects of art or science, archaeological and historic sites, or historic archives and manuscripts...

 and prelate

Prelate

A prelate is a high-ranking member of the clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin prælatus, the past participle of præferre, which means "carry before", "be set above or over" or "prefer"; hence, a prelate is one set over others.-Related...

.

Life

He was born at Market Lavington in Wiltshire

Wiltshire

Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...

, and was educated at Queen's College, Oxford, taking holy orders in 1694. The following year, he became chaplain and then fellow of All Souls'

All Souls College, Oxford

The Warden and the College of the Souls of all Faithful People deceased in the University of Oxford or All Souls College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England....

, and a few years later private chaplain to John Moore

John Moore (Bishop of Ely)

John Moore was an English cleric, scholar, and book collector. He was bishop of Norwich and bishop of Ely ....

, bishop of Norwich

Bishop of Norwich

The Bishop of Norwich is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Norwich in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers most of the County of Norfolk and part of Suffolk. The see is in the City of Norwich where the seat is located at the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided...

, and afterwards bishop of Ely

Bishop of Ely

The Bishop of Ely is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Ely in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese roughly covers the county of Cambridgeshire , together with a section of north-west Norfolk and has its see in the City of Ely, Cambridgeshire, where the seat is located at the...

, who appointed him chancellor of the diocese of Norwich

Norwich

Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...

. He lived in Norfolk from 1701 until 1731. In 1706 he became rector of Thorpe, near Norwich, and in 1713 a canon

Canon (priest)

A canon is a priest or minister who is a member of certain bodies of the Christian clergy subject to an ecclesiastical rule ....

 of Ely Cathedral, in 1724 a canon of Christ Church, Oxford

Christ Church, Oxford

Christ Church or house of Christ, and thus sometimes known as The House), is one of the largest constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England...

. On 23 January 1732 he was appointed Bishop of St Asaph and thereafter divided his time between London, Oxford and North Wales. He died in Oxford.

Works

Tanner's chief work published during his lifetime is the Notitia Monastica, a short account of all the religious houses in England and Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

. This was published at Oxford in 1695; it was reprinted with additions by the author's brother, John Tanner, in 1744; and was reprinted again with further additions by James Nasmith

James Nasmith

James Nasmith was an English clergyman, academic and antiquary.-Life:The son of a carrier who came from Scotland, and plied between Norwich and London, he was born at Norwich late in 1740. He was sent by his father to Amsterdam for a year to complete his school education, and entered in 1760...

 in 1787. He also wrote Bibliotheca Britannico-Hibernica, a dictionary of all the authors who flourished in England, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 and Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 before the opening of the 17th century, at which he laboured for forty years. This was eventually completed by David Wilkins and published in 1748, thirteen years after the author's death. Tanner also collected materials for a history of Wiltshire and worked for some time on a new edition of the works of John Leland. His valuable collection of books and manuscripts is in the Bodleian Library

Bodleian Library

The Bodleian Library , the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in Britain is second in size only to the British Library...

at Oxford.