Sir Jonathan Trelawny, 3rd Baronet (24 March 1650 – 19 July 1721) was

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 ...

Bishop of Exeter The Bishop of Exeter is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Exeter in the Province of Canterbury. The current bishop is Mike Harrison (bishop), Mike Harrison, since 2024. From the first bishop until the sixteent ...

and

Bishop of Winchester The Bishop of Winchester is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Winchester in the Church of England. The bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire. The Bishop of Winchester has always held ''ex officio'' the offic ...

. Trelawny is best known for his role in the events leading up to the

Glorious Revolution The Glorious Revolution, also known as the Revolution of 1688, was the deposition of James II and VII, James II and VII in November 1688. He was replaced by his daughter Mary II, Mary II and her Dutch husband, William III of Orange ...

which are sometimes believed to be referenced in the Cornish anthem "

The Song of the Western Men "The Song of the Western Men", also known as "Trelawny", is a Cornish patriotic song, composed by Louisa T. Clare for lyrics by Robert Stephen Hawker. The poem was first published anonymously in ''The Royal Devonport Telegraph and Plymouth Ch ...

Life

He was born at Trelawne in the parish of

Pelynt Pelynt ( or ) is a civil parish and village in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is 20 miles (32 km) west of Plymouth and four miles (6.5 km) west-northwest of Looe. Pelynt had a population of around 1,124 at the 2001 census wh ...

, Cornwall, the eldest surviving son of

Sir Jonathan Trelawny, 2nd Baronet Sir Jonathan Trelawny, 2nd Baronet (ca. 1623 – 5 March 1681), of Trelawny in the parish of Pelynt in Cornwall, England, was a Cornish Member of Parliament. Origins He was the fourth child and eldest son and heir of Sir John Trelawny, 1st B ...

, and Mary Seymour, daughter of

Sir Edward Seymour, 2nd Baronet Sir Edward Seymour, 2nd Baronet (c. 1580 – 5 October 1659) was an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons of England, House of Commons between 1601 and 1625. He was an ambassador to Denmark. During the English Civ ...

. He was educated at

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

and then went to

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

at the start of the

Michaelmas term Michaelmas ( ) term is the first academic term of the academic year in a number of English-speaking universities and schools in the northern hemisphere, especially in the United Kingdom. Michaelmas term derives its name from the Feast of St M ...

of 1668 where he distinguished himself as a scholar. A staunch royalist, he was ordained in 1673 and became a beneficed clergyman. He was appointed rector of South Hill on 4 October and of St. Ives on 12 December 1677, becoming Bishop of Bristol in 1685. He was one of the

Seven Bishops The Seven Bishops were members of the Church of England tried and acquitted for seditious libel in the Court of Kings Bench in June 1688. The very unpopular prosecution of the bishops is viewed as a significant event contributing to the Novemb ...

tried for seditious libel under James II. Trelawny and the other bishops petitioned against James II's

Declaration of Indulgence Declaration of Indulgence may refer to: * Declaration of Indulgence (1672) by Charles II of England in favour of nonconformists and Catholics * Declaration of Indulgence (1687) by James II of England granting religious freedom See also *Indulgence ...

in 1687 and 1688, (granting

religious tolerance Religious tolerance or religious toleration may signify "no more than forbearance and the permission given by the adherents of a dominant religion for other religions to exist, even though the latter are looked on with disapproval as inferior, ...

to Catholics) and as a result, he was arrested and imprisoned in the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic citadel and castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamle ...

on charges of

seditious libel Seditious libel is a criminal offence under common law of printing written material with seditious purposethat is, the purpose of bringing contempt upon a political authority. It remains an offence in Canada but has been abolished in England and ...

. The bishops said that whilst they were loyal to King James II, their consciences would not agree to allowing

freedom of worship Freedom is the power or right to speak, act, and change as one wants without hindrance or restraint. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving oneself one's own laws". In one definition, something is "free" i ...

Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

even if it were to be within the privacy of their own homes as the Declaration proposed; thus they could not sign. Trelawny was held for three weeks before trial, then tried and acquitted; this led to great celebrations, with bells being rung in his home parish of Pelynt. Trelawny was rewarded in 1689 by being appointed Bishop of Exeter (whilst still, until 1694,

Archdeacon of Totnes The Archdeacon of Totnes or Totton is the senior ecclesiastical officer in charge of one of the oldest archdeaconries in England. It is an administrative division of the Church of England Diocese of Exeter and under the oversight of the Bishop su ...

) after the military defeat of James II and the accession of the Protestant William of Orange to the British throne. He was further rewarded by being appointed

in 1707, although his promotion was a matter of some controversy, as Queen Anne, who was determined to keep all important Church appointments within her own gift, overruled the advice of her ministers and of

Thomas Tenison Thomas Tenison (29 September 163614 December 1715) was an English church leader, Archbishop of Canterbury from 1694 until his death. During his primacy, he crowned two British monarchs. Life He was born at Cottenham, Cambridgeshire, the son a ...

, the

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...

in appointing him, thus provoking the so-called Bishoprics Crisis. He died in 1721, in Chelsea,

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

; his body was taken back to Pelynt for burial.

Family

He married Rebecca Hele, by whom he had twelve children: *Charlotte Trelawny (1687/8 – aft. 1745), unmarried *Letitia Trelawny (born 1689), married

Sir Harry Trelawny, 5th Baronet Sir Harry Trelawny, 5th Baronet (1687 – 7 April 1762), of Whitleigh, Devon, was a British Army officer and Tory politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1708 to 1710. Trelawny was baptised on 15 February 1687 at Egg Buckland, Devon, the ...

Sir John Trelawny, 4th Baronet Sir John Trelawny, 4th Baronet (26 July 1691 – 2 February 1756), of Trelawne in Cornwall, was a Cornish politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1713 to 1734. Trelawny was the eldest son of Sir Jonathan Trelawny, 3rd Baronet and his wife ...

(1691–1756) *Henry Trelawny (1692–1707), fought in the

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict fought between 1701 and 1714. The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish E ...

and died with Admiral Sir

Cloudesley Shovell Admiral of the Fleet Sir Cloudesley Shovell ( – 22/23 October 1707) was an Royal Navy officer and politician. As a junior officer he saw action at the Battle of Solebay and Battle of Texel during the Third Anglo-Dutch War. As a captain he fo ...

aboard HMS ''Association'' during the

Scilly naval disaster of 1707 The Scilly naval disaster of 1707 was the loss of four warships of a Royal Navy fleet off the Isles of Scilly in severe weather on 22 October 1707. Between 1,400 and 2,000 sailors lost their lives aboard the wrecked vessels, making the incident ...

.James Herbert Cooke, The Shipwreck of Sir Cloudesley Shovell on the Scilly Islands in 1707, From Original and Contemporary Documents Hitherto Unpublished, Read at a Meeting of the Society of Antiquaries, London, 1 Feb. 1883
/ref> *Charles Trelawny (1694 – 24 August 1721), without issue, prebendary of Westminster *Rebecca Trelawny (1696–1743), married John Francis Buller in 1716 *Elizabeth Trelawny (1697 – 25 January 1744), married Rev. George Allanson (died 1741),

Archdeacon of Cornwall The Archdeacon of Cornwall is a senior cleric in the Church of England Diocese of Truro and one of two archdeacons in the diocese. History and composition The archdeaconry of Cornwall was created in the Diocese of Exeter in the late 11th centu ...

* Edward Trelawny (1699–1754), became governor of Jamaica *Mary Trelawny (born 1700), died in infancy *Rev. Hele Trelawny (1703–1740), without issue *Jonathan Trelawny (born 1705), died in infancy *Anne Trelawny (1707–1745), unmarried

Reputation

It is sometimes suggested that Bishop Trelawny was immortalised in the Cornish Anthem, "

", better known simply as "Trelawny", written over a century later and composed by Parson

Robert Stephen Hawker Robert Stephen Hawker (1803–1875) was a British Anglican priest, poet, antiquarian and reputed eccentric, known to his parishioners as Parson Hawker. He is best known as the writer of " The Song of the Western Men" with its chorus line of ...

, vicar of

Morwenstow Morwenstow () is a civil parish in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The parish abuts the west coast, about six miles (10 km) north of Bude and within the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). Morwens ...

. :''And shall Trelawny live?'' :''Or shall Trelawny die!'' :''Here's twenty thousand Cornish men'' :''Will know the reason why!''

Notes

References

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External links

''Who was Trelawny?''
by Tom Prout, Editor of the ''Trelawny's Army Newsletter''. , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Trelawney, Jonathan, 3rd Baronet People from Pelynt 1650 births 1721 deaths People educated at Westminster School, London Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Christianity in Cornwall Archdeacons of Totnes Bishops of Bristol Bishops of Exeter Bishops of Winchester Baronets in the Baronetage of England 17th-century Church of England bishops 18th-century Church of England bishops category:Burials in Cornwall