Francis Fulford (3 June 1803 – 9 September 1868) was an

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

Origins

He was born at

Sidmouth Sidmouth () is a town on the English Channel in Devon, South West England, southeast of Exeter. With a population of 13,258 in 2021, it is a tourist resort and a gateway to the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site. A large part of the town has ...

in Devon on 3 June 1803, and was baptised at Dunsford, Devon, 14 October 1804. He was the second son of Col. Baldwin Fulford (1775–1847) of Great Fulford in the parish of Dunsford, Devonshire, lord of the manor of Dunsford and an officer in the Inniskillen Dragoons and Lieutenant-Colonel of the

Devon Militia The Devon Militia was a part-time military force in the maritime county of Devonshire in the West of England. From their formal organisation as Trained Bands in 1558 until their final service as a Special Reserve unit of the Devonshire Regiment i ...

, by his wife Anna Maria Adams, eldest daughter of William Adams (1752–1811), MP for

Totnes Totnes ( or ) is a market town and civil parish at the head of the estuary of the River Dart in Devon, England, within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is about west of Paignton, about west-southwest of Torquay and ab ...

, of Bowden House,

Ashprington Ashprington is a village and civil parish in the South Hams district of Devon, England. The village is not far from the River Dart, but high above it, and is about three miles south of Totnes. There is a local pub, hotel and phonebox. The c ...

, near Totnes. The Fulford family is one of the most ancient in Devonshire and in England, and has been resident at Great Fulford since the 12th century.

Early life

He was educated at

Blundell's School Blundell's School is an Private schools in the United Kingdom, independent co-educational boarding school, boarding and Day school, day school in the English Public School (United Kingdom), public school tradition, located in Tiverton, Devon, T ...

in Devon and matriculated at

Exeter College, Oxford Exeter College (in full: The Rector and Scholars of Exeter College in the University of Oxford) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, and the fourth-oldest college of the university. The college was founde ...

on 1 February 1821. He was elected a fellow of his college 30 June 1824, but vacated his fellowship 18 October 1830 following his marriage. Fulford proceeded B.A. in 1827, and M.A. 1838, and was created an honorary D.D. 6 July 1850. He was ordained a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

in 1826, and became

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' () of souls of a parish. In this sense, ''curate'' means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy who are as ...

of Holne, Devonshire, afterwards removing to the curacy of Fawley. The

Duke of Rutland Duke of Rutland is a title in the Peerage of England, named after Rutland, a county in the East Midlands of England. Earldoms named after Rutland have been created three times; the ninth earl of the third creation was made duke in 1703, in whos ...

instituted him to the rectory of

Trowbridge Trowbridge ( ) is the county town of Wiltshire, England; situated on the River Biss in the west of the county, close to the border with Somerset. The town lies south-east of Bath, Somerset, Bath, south-west of Swindon and south-east of Brist ...

, Wiltshire, in 1832, where he lived for ten years, and as a justice of the peace as well as a clergyman commanded respect and conciliated goodwill. In 1842 he accepted the rectory of

Croydon, Cambridgeshire Croydon is a small village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in South Cambridgeshire, South Cambridgeshire, England. It is south-west of Cambridge and immediately west of the A1198 road (the Roman Empire, Roman Ermine Street). The ...

, which he held until 1845, when he was nominated by

Earl Howe Earl Howe is a title that has been created twice in British history, for members of the Howe and Curzon-Howe family respectively. The first creation, in the Peerage of Great Britain, was in 1788 for Richard Howe, 4th Viscount Howe, but it ...

as minister of the Curzon Chapel in

Mayfair Mayfair is an area of Westminster, London, England, in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. It is between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane and one of the most expensive districts ...

, London.

Life as a missionary

On the projection of the ''Colonial Church Chronicle and Missionary Journal'' in 1848 he was chosen editor, and in this way acquired a knowledge of the condition of the colonial church. On 19 July 1850 he was gazetted the first bishop of the new Diocese of Montreal, Canada, and consecrated in

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

on 25 July. He landed at St. John's on 12 September and was enthroned in Christ Church Cathedral, Montreal, on 15 September. In the following month he was actively at work, and the church society of the Diocese of Montreal was organised. On 20 January 1852 the primary visitation was held, when he won great respect from all parties by his declaration that the church of England in Canada, politically considered, "exists but as one of many religious bodies." Montreal was next mapped out into ecclesiastical boundaries, and each district thus divided was set apart as the conventional parish of the neighbouring church. The bishop cheerfully co-operated with all the societies that were established for benevolent, scientific, and philanthropic purposes, and wrote papers for, and delivered lectures at, mechanics' institutes and working men's clubs. On 21 May 1857 he laid the foundation-stone of his new cathedral, where on

Advent Sunday Advent Sunday, also called the First Sunday of Advent or First Advent Sunday, is the first day of the liturgical year in the Western Christian Churches and the start of the Christian season of Advent; a time of preparation for the celebration of ...

, 1859, he preached the opening sermon. Unfortunately the great cost of this building involved the diocese in a heavy debt, the thought of which so preyed on the bishop's mind that he practised the utmost economy throughout the remaining years of his life in an endeavour to pay off the amount.

Final years and legacy

On 9 July 1860 the queen caused letters patent to be issued promoting Fulford to the office of metropolitan of Canada and elevating the see of Montreal to the dignity of a metropolitical see, with the city of Montreal as the seat of that see, and on 10 September in the following year the first provincial synod of the united church of England and Ireland in Canada was held at Montreal. It was chiefly on the representation of the synod of Canada that the Archbishop of Canterbury held the Pan-Anglican synod at Lambeth 24–27 Sep 1867, on which occasion the Bishop of Montreal visited England and took part in the proceedings. He, however, seems on this journey to have overtaxed his strength, and never afterwards had good health. In 1865, he preached at the

General Convention The General Convention is the primary governing and legislative body of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. With the exception of the Bible, the ''Book of Common Prayer'', and the Constitution and Canons, it is the ultimate autho ...

of the U.S. Episcopal Church in Philadelphia, and 1,500 copies of his address were printed.

Marriage and children

In 1830 he married Mary Drummond, eldest daughter of Andrew Berkeley Drummond of Cadlands, Hampshire (a grandson of

William Drummond, 4th Viscount Strathallan William Drummond, 4th Viscount Strathallan (1690 – 16 April 1746), was a Scottish peer and Jacobitism, Jacobite, who died at the Battle of Culloden. Pardoned for his part in the Jacobite_rising_of_1715, 1715 Rising, Lord Strathallan rais ...

(died 1746)) by his wife Mary Perceval a daughter of

John Perceval, 2nd Earl of Egmont John Perceval, 2nd Earl of Egmont (24 or 25 February 17114 December 1770) was a British politician, political pamphleteer, and genealogist who served as First Lord of the Admiralty. Of Anglo-Irish background, he sat in both the Irish and Briti ...

(1711–1770). By Mary Drummond he had children including his eldest son, Francis Drummond Fulford (1831–1907), who in 1871 on the death of his childless uncle Col. Baldwin Fulford (1801–1871), inherited Great Fulford and other estates in Devon, and was the great-grandfather of the present head of the family, Francis Fulford (born 1952), of Great Fulford. Charles Mosley, ed., ''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage'', 107th edition, volume 3 (2003), p. 3,110

Death and burial

He died in the see-house, Montreal, 9 September 1868, and was buried on 12 September, when the universal respect which his moderation had won for him was shown by the bell of the Roman Catholic Church being tolled as the funeral procession passed. His inscribed stone memorial tablet exists on the north wall of the chancel of Dunsford Church in Devon.

Publications

# ‘A Sermon at the Visitation of Venerable L. Clarke, Archdeacon of Sarum,’ 1833. # ‘A Course of Plain Sermons on the Ministry, Doctrine, and Services of the Church of England,’ 2 vols. 1837–40. # ‘The Interpretation of Law and the Rule of Faith,’ an assize sermon, 1838. # ‘The Progress of the Reformation in England,’ 1841. # ‘A Pastoral Letter to the Clergy of the Diocese,’ 1851. # ‘An Address delivered in the Chapel of the General Theological Seminary of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States,’ 1852. # ‘A Charge delivered to the Clergy of the Diocese of Montreal,’ 1852. # ‘The Sermon at the Consecration of H. Potter to the Episcopate,’ 1854. # ‘Five Occasional Lectures delivered in Montreal,’ 1859. # ‘Sermons, Addresses, and Statistics of the Diocese of Montreal,’ 1865. Fulford's latest publication was ‘A Pan-Anglican Synod: a Sermon,’ 1867.

References

External links

*
Published works by Fulford
at

Project Canterbury Project Canterbury (sometimes abbreviated as PC) is an online archive of material related to the history of Anglicanism. It was founded by Richard Mammana, Jr. in 1999 with a grant from Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold, and is ...

Fulford's 'Speculum Gregis' for the Parish of Croydon Cambridgeshire'
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fulford, Francis (Bishop) 1803 births 1868 deaths 19th-century Anglican Church of Canada bishops Anglican bishops of Montreal Anglo-Catholic bishops Anglophone Quebec people Canadian Anglo-Catholics English Anglo-Catholics Fulford family Metropolitans of Canada People educated at Blundell's School People from Sidmouth