Frederick Cornwallis (5 March 1713 – 19 March 1783) served as

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Just ...

, after an illustrious career in the Anglican Church. He was born the seventh son of an aristocratic family. His twin brother

Edward Cornwallis Edward Cornwallis ( – 14 January 1776) was a British career military officer and was a member of the aristocratic Cornwallis family, who reached the rank of Lieutenant General. After Cornwallis fought in Scotland, putting down the Jacob ...

had a military career, becoming a general in the British Army, who twice served as a military governor of colonies. He founded

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. Th ...

in 1749.

Early life and education

Cornwallis was born in London, England, the seventh son of Charles Cornwallis, 4th Baron Cornwallis. His twin brother

was born sixth. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI of England, Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. i ...

and graduated from

Christ's College, Cambridge Christ's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college includes the Master, the Fellows of the College, and about 450 undergraduate and 170 graduate students. The college was founded by William Byngham in 1437 as ...

. He was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...

a priest in 1742, and became a

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity. In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ran ...

in 1748.

Career

Cornwallis was able to ascend quickly in the Church thanks to his aristocratic connections. In 1746 he was made chaplain to King George II and a canon of Windsor. In 1750 he became a canon at

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglicanism, Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London ...

, and later that same year became Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry, thanks to the patronage of the

Duke of Newcastle Duke of Newcastle upon Tyne was a title that was created three times, once in the Peerage of England and twice in the Peerage of Great Britain. The first grant of the title was made in 1665 to William Cavendish, 1st Marquess of Newcastle ...

, then Secretary of State. He was also Dean of Windsor (1765–1768) and

Dean of St Paul's The dean of St Paul's is a member of, and chair of the Chapter of St Paul's Cathedral in London in the Church of England. The dean of St Paul's is also ''ex officio'' dean of the Order of the British Empire. The current dean is Andrew Tremlet ...

(1766–1768). On the death of Thomas Secker in 1768, Cornwallis's friendship with the prime minister, the Duke of Grafton, resulted in his translation to

. As archbishop, his sociability and geniality made him popular. He was a consistent supporter of the administration of Lord North, and led efforts in support of Anglican clergy who were dispossessed of their livings in the American colonies during the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

. He was buried at St. Mary's Church, Lambeth. On the whole, Cornwallis has generally been judged as a competent administrator, but an uninspiring leader of the eighteenth-century church. He is considered a typical product of eighteenth-century latitudinarianism, and their lack of zeal paved the way for the differing responses of both the

Evangelicals Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual expe ...

and the

Oxford Movement The Oxford Movement was a movement of high church members of the Church of England which began in the 1830s and eventually developed into Anglo-Catholicism. The movement, whose original devotees were mostly associated with the University of ...

in the early 19th century.

Personal life

His nephew was Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis, a British general during the American Revolution, who surrendered his forces at Yorktown, Virginia. Later he was appointed as

Governor-General of India The Governor-General of India (1773–1950, from 1858 to 1947 the Viceroy and Governor-General of India, commonly shortened to Viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom and after Indian independence in 1 ...

Discovery of likely coffin

In 2016, during the refurbishment of the

Garden Museum The Garden Museum (formerly known as the Museum of Garden History) in London is Britain's only museum of the art, history and design of gardens. The museum re-opened in 2017 after an 18-month redevelopment project. The building is largely th ...

, which is housed at the medieval church of St Mary-at-Lambeth, 30 lead coffins were found under the church floor. One had an archbishop's red and gold

mitre The mitre (Commonwealth English) (; Greek: μίτρα, "headband" or "turban") or miter (American English; see spelling differences), is a type of headgear now known as the traditional, ceremonial headdress of bishops and certain abbots in ...

on top of it. Two archbishops were identified from nameplates on their coffins. Church records document that three additional archbishops, including Cornwallis, are likely to be buried in the vault.https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-39613462 News, BBC

Early life and education

Career

Personal life

Discovery of likely coffin

References

Further reading