James Cornwallis, 4th Earl Cornwallis (25 February 1743 – 20 January 1824) was a British

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

man, and peer.

Life

He was the third son of

Charles Cornwallis, 1st Earl Cornwallis Charles Cornwallis, 1st Earl Cornwallis (29 March 170023 June 1762), styled The Honourable Charles Cornwallis until 1722 and known as The Lord Cornwallis between 1722 and 1753, was a British peer. Background Cornwallis was the son of Charles ...

and his wife, Elizabeth, daughter of the 2nd Viscount Townshend, and niece of

Sir Robert Walpole Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford, (26 August 1676 – 18 March 1745; known between 1725 and 1742 as Sir Robert Walpole) was a British statesman and Whig politician who, as First Lord of the Treasury, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Leade ...

. His uncle,

Frederick Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Nobility Anhalt-Harzgerode *Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) Austria * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria from 1195 to 1198 * Frederick ...

, was Archbishop of Canterbury. Frederick's twin brother, Edward, was a military officer, colonial governor, and founder of

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, 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 ...

. James's brother

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

was an Admiral in the Royal Navy. His other brother,

Charles Cornwallis Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis, (31 December 1738 – 5 October 1805), styled Viscount Brome between 1753 and 1762 and known as the Earl Cornwallis between 1762 and 1792, was a British Army general and official. In the United S ...

, was the general of the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

. Cornwallis was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...

, proceeding in 1760 to Christ Church, Oxford. He was subsequently a Fellow of Merton College, Oxford. He was

Rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of Ickham from 1769 to 1773, of Addisham-with-Staple from 1770 to 1781, of Newington in 1770,

Prebendary A prebendary is a member of the Roman Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of th ...

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the Unite ...

from 1770 to 1785,

Vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

Wrotham Wrotham ( ) is a village on the Pilgrims' Way in Kent, England, at the foot of the North Downs. It is north of Borough Green and approximately east of Sevenoaks. It is between the M20 and M26 motorways. History The name first occurs as ''U ...

from 1771 to 1785, Rector of Boughton Malherbe from 1773 to 1785 and

Dean of Canterbury The Dean of Canterbury is the head of the Chapter of the Cathedral of Christ Church, Canterbury, England. The current office of Dean originated after the English Reformation, although Deans had also existed before this time; its immediate precur ...

from 1775 to 1781. In 1774-75 he served as

Master's Mate Master's mate is an obsolete rating which was used by the Royal Navy, United States Navy and merchant services in both countries for a senior petty officer who assisted the master. Master's mates evolved into the modern rank of Sub-Lieutenant in t ...

aboard , which was under the command of his brother William and stationed off the west African coast. In 1781 Cornwallis was appointed

Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry The Bishop of Lichfield is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Lichfield in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers 4,516 km2 (1,744 sq. mi.) of the counties of Powys, Staffordshire, Shropshire, Warwickshire and West M ...

and was

Dean of Windsor The Dean of Windsor is the spiritual head of the canons of St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle, England. The dean chairs meetings of the Chapter of Canons as ''primus inter pares''. The post of Dean of Wolverhampton was assimilated to the dea ...

from 1791 to 1794 and

Dean of Durham The Dean of Durham is the "head" (''primus inter pares'' – first among equals) and chair of the Chapter, the ruling body of Durham Cathedral. The dean and chapter are based at the ''Cathedral Church of Christ, Blessed Mary the Virgin and St Cu ...

from 1794 before dying in office in 1824.

Family

On 30 April 1771 Cornwallis married Catherine Mann, a sister of

Sir Horatio Mann, 2nd Baronet Sir Horatio (Horace) Mann, 2nd Baronet (2 February 1744 – 2 April 1814) was a British politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1774 and 1807. He is remembered as a member of the Hambledon Club in Hampshire and a patron of Kent cricket ...

, and they had one child,

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguati ...

. In 1814, he inherited Sir Horatio's estate at

Linton Park Linton Park, formerly Linton Place or Linton Hall, is a large 18th-century country house in Linton, Kent, England. Built by Robert Mann in 1730 to replace a much earlier building called 'Capell's Court' The estate passed through the ownership of ...

. In 1823 he inherited the earldom of Cornwallis from his nephew,

Charles Cornwallis, 2nd Marquess Cornwallis Charles Cornwallis, 2nd Marquess Cornwallis (19 October 1774 – 9 August 1823), styled Viscount Brome until 1805, was a British Tory politician. He served as Master of the Buckhounds between 1807 and 1823. Background Cornwallis was the only s ...

but held the title for less than a year, when it passed to his son.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cornwallis, James Cornwallis, 4th Earl Bishops of Lichfield Deans of Canterbury Deans of Windsor Deans of Durham Earls in the Peerage of Great Britain Ordained peers 1743 births 1824 deaths People educated at Eton College Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Canons of Westminster

Barons Cornwallis