John Butler (1717–1802) was an English bishop and

controversialist Polemic ( , ) is contentious rhetoric intended to support a specific position by forthright claims and to undermine the opposing position. The practice of such argumentation is called polemics, which are seen in arguments on controversial to ...

Life

Butler was born at

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

. As a young man he was a tutor in the family of Mr Child, a banker. He was not a member of either

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

, but in later life he received the degree of LL.D. from Cambridge. He married first a lady who kept a school at

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

; his second wife was the sister and coheiress of Sir Charles Vernon, of

Farnham Farnham is a market town and civil parish in Surrey, England, around southwest of London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, close to the county border with Hampshire. The town is on the north branch of the River Wey, a tributary of the ...

, Surrey, and this marriage improved his social standing. Having taken orders, he became a popular preacher in London, and in 1754 he published a sermon, preached at

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...

before the

Sons of the Clergy Clergy Support Trust is a charity which provides support to Anglican clergy (serving and retired), ordinands, curates, and their families, in the UK, Ireland, Diocese in Europe and Diocese of Sodor and Man. In 2022, they supported over 2,300 cler ...

. In the title-page, he is described as chaplain to the Princess Dowager of Wales. In the same year, he also published a sermon preached before the trustees of the Public Infirmary. He was installed as a

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 ...

Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...

in 1760. In the title-page of a sermon preached before the House of Commons at St. Margaret's, Westminster, on the occasion of a general fast in 1758, he is described as minister of

Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth ( ), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside resort, seaside town which gives its name to the wider Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of Norwich. Its fishing industry, m ...

and chaplain to the Princess Dowager. Despite this relationship to the princess's household, in 1762 he issued a political pamphlet addressed to the 'Cocoa Tree' (the Cocoa-Tree Club was associated with the Tories) and signed 'A Whig.' In this pamphlet, which ran to three editions, he bitterly attacked

John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute (; 25 May 1713 – 10 March 1792), styled Lord Mount Stuart between 1713 and 1723, was a British Tory statesman who served as the Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1762 to 1763 under George III. He became the ...

and the conduct of his ministry since the accession of

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

. He was appointed chaplain to

Thomas Hayter Thomas Hayter (1702 – 9 January 1762) was an English whig divine, who served as a Church of England bishop for 13 years as Bishop of Norwich (1749–1761) then Bishop of London (1761–1762), and was a royal chaplain. As a party advocate of t ...

, received the living of

Everley Everleigh, pronounced and also sometimes spelled Everley, is a village and civil parish in east Wiltshire, England, about southeast of the town of Pewsey, towards the northeast of Salisbury Plain. The village is also known as East Everleigh, ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

, and on the recommendation of

Arthur Onslow Arthur Onslow (1 October 169117 February 1768) was an English politician. He set a record for length of service when repeatedly elected to serve as Speaker of the House of Commons, where he was known for his integrity. Early life and educat ...

was made one of the king's chaplains. In 1769 he was made

archdeacon of Surrey The Archdeaconry of Surrey is the ecclesiastical officer in charge of the archdeaconry of Surrey, a subdivision of the Church of England Diocese of Guildford in the Province of Canterbury. History The whole archdeaconry was historically in the ...

. During the

American War of Independence The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

he issued a number of political pamphlets, under the signature of 'Vindex,' in which he strongly supported the policy of

Lord North Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guilford (13 April 17325 August 1792), better known by his courtesy title Lord North, which he used from 1752 to 1790, was Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1770 to 1782. He led Great Britain through most of the ...

. In 1777, he was appointed

Bishop of Oxford The Bishop of Oxford is the diocesan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Oxford in the Province of Canterbury; his seat is at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford. The current bishop is Steven Croft (bishop), Steven Croft, following the Confirm ...

, being consecrated at Lambeth on 25 May. Butler had now adopted strong

Tory A Tory () is an individual who supports a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalist conservatism which upholds the established social order as it has evolved through the history of Great Britain. The To ...

principles, and on 30 January 1787 preached before the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

about the death of

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

. While bishop of Oxford he helped

Carl Gottfried Woide Carl Gottfried Woide (, ; 4 July 1725 – 9 May 1790), also known in England as Charles Godfrey Woide, was an Orientalist, a biblical scholar and a pastor. Career Woide began his career as a pastor at the Reformed church in Leszno, Poland. In 175 ...

to transcribe the

Codex Alexandrinus The Codex Alexandrinus (London, British Library, Royal MS 1. D. V-VIII) is a manuscript of the Greek Bible,The Greek Bible in this context refers to the Bible used by Greek-speaking Christians who lived in Egypt and elsewhere during the early ...

. In 1788, he was translated to the

bishopric of Hereford The Diocese of Hereford is a Church of England diocese based in Hereford, covering Herefordshire, southern Shropshire and a few parishes within Worcestershire in England, and a few parishes within Powys and Monmouthshire in Wales. The cathedral i ...

. In 1786, a great fire burnt down the medieval west end of the cathedral nave; Butler was responsible for a fore-shortened modern reconstruction. He also installed a private chapel for the bishop's entourage in the palace, which is adjoined by the cloisters to the cathedral. He died in 1802, in his eighty-fifth year, leaving no children.

Works

His published works are: *''An Answer to the Cocoa Tree, by a Whig'', 1762. *''A Consultation on the Subject of a Standing Army'', 1763. *''Serious Consideration on the Character of the Present Administration''. *''Account of the Character of the Rt. Hon. H. B. Legge.'' * Sermons and charges of various dates, republished in a collective edition, 1801.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, John 1717 births 1802 deaths Clergy from Hamburg Alumni of the University of Cambridge Bishops of Hereford Bishops of Oxford 18th-century Church of England bishops