Downes Portrait-of-Rev-John-Fountayne-of-Melton-on-the-Hill-his-Wife-Ann-and-their-Son-Thomas-1-

John Fountayne (1714–1802) was a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

clergyman 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 ...

and the longest serving

Dean of York The Dean of York is the member of the clergy who is responsible for the running of the York Minster cathedral. As well as being the head of the cathedral church of the diocese and the metropolitical church of the province, the Dean of York holds ...

Life

Fountayne was the younger of two sons of John Fountayne. He was raised at Melton Hall, in High Melton, the

family seat A family seat, sometimes just called seat, is the principal residence of the landed gentry and aristocracy. The residence usually denotes the social, economic, political, or historic connection of the family within a given area. Some families t ...

which he inherited upon the death of his elder brother in 1739 and which he immediately set about substantially rebuilding. He graduated M.A. from

St Catharine's College, Cambridge St Catharine's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. Founded in 1473 as Katharine Hall, it adopted its current name in 1860. The college is nicknamed "Catz". The colle ...

in 1739 and was later awarded a Doctorship of Divinity from the same college in 1751. Having served as

prebendary A prebendary is a member of the Catholic Church, Catholic or Anglicanism , Anglican clergy, a form of canon (priest) , canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in part ...

Salisbury Cathedral Salisbury Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an Church of England, Anglican cathedral in the city of Salisbury, England. The cathedral is regarded as one of the leading examples of Early English architecture, ...

from his graduation, he was first appointed a

Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

St. George's Chapel, Windsor St George's Chapel, formally titled The King's Free Chapel of the College of St George, Windsor Castle, at Windsor Castle in England is a castle chapel built in the late-medieval Perpendicular Gothic style. It is a Royal Peculiar (a church und ...

in 1741, and was later preferred as

, a position which he held from 1747 to his death in February 1802. Noted as quite a politically astute Dean, he held on to office by moving with the political wind, as recounted by his friend, the

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

Laurence Sterne Laurence Sterne (24 November 1713 – 18 March 1768) was an Anglo-Irish novelist and Anglican cleric. He is best known for his comic novels ''The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman'' (1759–1767) and ''A Sentimental Journey Thro ...

Marriages

John Fountayne married three times, firstly to Ann Bromley, daughter of William Bromley, speaker of the House of Commons in 1744 and by whom he had no issue. Following Ann's death in 1746, he married Frances Maria Whichcote, of

Harpswell, Lincolnshire Harpswell is a village and civil parish in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated just west off the junction of the A631 and B1398, and north from the city and county town of Lincoln. According to the 2001 cens ...

, by whom he had one daughter, also named Frances Maria. Upon Frances' death in 1750, he thirdly married Ann Montagu, in 1754, the only daughter of Charles Montagu of

Papplewick Papplewick is a village and civil parish in Nottinghamshire, England, north of Nottingham and south of Mansfield. It had a population of 756 at the 2011 census (which included a rural unparished area south of and including Burntstump Hill), ...

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...

. This marriage produced two sons and three daughters, all of whom the except the middle daughter died unmarried. There are memorials to all these family members in Melton Church. The second daughter from this third marriage married Richard Wilson, second son of Dr. Christopher Wilson, sometime

Bishop of Bristol The Bishop of Bristol heads the Church of England Diocese of Bristol in the Province of Canterbury, in England. The present diocese covers parts of the counties of Somerset and Gloucestershire together with a small area of Wiltshire. The see ...

. As a result of this marriage, the family name was changed to Fountayne-Wilson and later reverted to Montagu, following an inheritance.

Burial

He is buried in St James' Church, High Melton, the

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

of his family estate in

South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the north, the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north-east, Lincolnshire ...

, a building in which he erected several substantial family

memorial A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects such as home ...

s and installed much of the church's

stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

. His own memorial stands to the south of the

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

, below which the Fountayne family vault is sealed. Fountayne's heir was his only surviving grandson, Richard Fountayne-Wilson, son of his daughter Elizabeth, who became Member of Parliament for

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

between 1826 and 1830 and

High Sheriff of Yorkshire The Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been transferred elsewhere o ...

1807–08.Omerod, W.M, 'The Lord Lieutenants & High Sheriffs of Yorkshire 1066-2000, (2000). Department of History of the University of York.

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Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fountayne, John 1714 births 1802 deaths Canons of Windsor Deans of York Alumni of St Catharine's College, Cambridge