Edward Copleston (2 February 177614 October 1849) was an English churchman and academic, Provost of

Oriel College, Oxford Oriel College () is Colleges of the University of Oxford, a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title for ...

, from 1814 till 1828 and

Bishop of Llandaff The Bishop of Llandaff is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of Llandaff. Area of authority The diocese covers most of the County of Glamorgan. The bishop's cathedra, seat is in the Llandaff Cathedral, Cathedral Chu ...

from 1827.

Life

Born into an ancient West Country family, Copleston was born at Offwell in

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

, and educated at

Corpus Christi College, Oxford Corpus Christi College (formally, Corpus Christi College in the University of Oxford; informally abbreviated as Corpus or CCC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1517 by Richard Fo ...

, to which he gained a scholarship at the age of 15. He was elected to a tutorship at

, in 1797, and in 1800 was appointed to

St Mary Hall, Oxford St Mary Hall was a medieval academic halls of the University of Oxford, academic hall of the University of Oxford. It was associated with Oriel College, Oxford, Oriel College from 1326 to 1545, but functioned independently from 1545 until it ...

and also became

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 p ...

of the University Church of St Mary the Virgin, Oxford. As Oxford Professor of Poetry (1802–1812) he gained a reputation by his literary criticism and sound latinity. After holding the office of dean at Oriel for some years, he succeeded to the provostship in 1814, and owing largely to his influence the college reached a remarkable degree of prosperity during the first quarter of the 19th century. He was influential in the choice of Fellows who were in due course to become prominent during the

Oxford Movement The Oxford Movement was a theological 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 Un ...

, though he himself was of a more rationalist cast of mind and belonged to the group of so-called Oriel Noetics. In 1826 he was appointed Dean of Chester, and in the next year he was consecrated

. Here he gave his support to the new movement for church restoration in Wales, and during his occupation of the see more than twenty new churches were built in the diocese. The political problems of the time interested him greatly, and his writings include two letters to Sir

Robert Peel Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet (5 February 1788 – 2 July 1850), was a British Conservative statesman who twice was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1834–1835, 1841–1846), and simultaneously was Chancellor of the Exchequer (1834–183 ...

, one dealing with the 'Variable Standard of Value', the other with the 'Increase of Pauperism' (Oxford, 1819).

The palace ''The Palace'' is a British drama television series that aired on ITV (TV network), ITV in 2008. Produced by Company Pictures for the ITV network, it was created by Tom Grieves and follows a fictional British Royal Family in the aftermath of t ...

of the Bishops of Llandaff (at Mathern,

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South East Wales, south east of Wales. It borders Powys to the north; the English counties of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to the north and east; the Severn Estuary to the s ...

) had been sold so Copleston resided occasionally at Llandough Castle near Cowbridge and passed his later life between the Deanery of St.Paul's and Hardwick House in

Chepstow Chepstow () is a town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales, adjoining the border with Gloucestershire, England. It is located on the tidal River Wye, about above its confluence with the River Severn, and adjoining the western end of the ...

, where he died. His great-grandson, John Copleston, was also a clergyman.

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Copleston, Edward 1776 births 1849 deaths English theologians Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Oxford Provosts of Oriel College, Oxford Bishops of Llandaff People from East Devon District Deans of Chester Deans of St Paul's 19th-century Welsh Anglican bishops Oxford Professors of Poetry