Joseph Allen (1770–20 March 1845) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

clergyman. He was the son of William Allen and his wife Nelly Livesey. William Allen (d. 1792) was a partner in Manchester's first Bank,

Byrom, Allen, Sedgwick and Place Byrom, Allen, Sedgwick and Place, also known as the Manchester Bank, was the first bank to be established in Manchester, England. It was founded on 2 December 1771 in Bank Street. The founders were Edward Byrom, William Allen, Roger Sedgwi ...

(founded 1771) but was made bankrupt in 1788 on the failure of the Bank. This was despite inheriting £20,000 from his father, John Allen, of Davyhulme Hall, Eccles.The Gentleman's Magazine, Vol 21, p.668William EA Axon (Ed) ''The annals of Manchester: a chronological record from the earliest times to the end of 1885'' Allen was educated at the Free Grammar School, Manchester and at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

(admitted 1788, scholar and prizeman, graduated

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

(7th wrangler) 1792, M.A. 1795, D.D. 1829), where he gained a fellowship in 1793. He was ordained

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 1799 and

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

in 1800. He was private secretary to the 2nd Earl Spencer and tutor to his son, the 3rd Earl Spencer, when Viscount Althorp. He was appointed a prebendary of Westminster Abbey on 4 October 1806 which appointment he held until 1836, vicar of Battersea in 1808 (Battersea was in the gift of Lord Spencer) and vicar of

St Bride's, Fleet Street St Bride's Church is a Church of England church in Fleet Street in the City of London. Likely dedicated to Bridget of Kildare, Saint Bridget perhaps as early as the 6th century, the building's most recent incarnation was designed by Sir Christo ...

in 1829. The fact that Allen held more than one living at the same time was not uncommon in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. He 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 ...

from 1834 to 1836, when he was translated to become

Bishop of Ely The Bishop of Ely is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Ely in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese roughly covers the county of Cambridgeshire (with the exception of the Soke of Peterborough), together with ...

. He died in that office in 1845. There is a memorial to him in the South Choir Aisle of

Ely Cathedral Ely Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Ely, is an Church of England, Anglican cathedral in the city of Ely, Cambridgeshire, England. The cathedral can trace its origin to the abbey founded in Ely in 67 ...

. It was during Allen's episcopate (in 1837) that the Counties of Huntingdon and Bedford, and the Archdeaconry of Sudbury were added to the Diocese. By his wife Margaret Ashley (whom he married on 19 May 1807 at Frodsham, Cheshire), Allen had three sons and a daughter: * George John Allen (1810–1883), of

, barrister and Master of

Dulwich College Dulwich College is a 2-18 private, day and boarding school for boys in Dulwich, London, England. As a public school, it began as the College of God's Gift, founded in 1619 by Elizabethan actor Edward Alleyn, with the original purpose of ...

* William Joseph Allen (1812–1888), Bengal Civil Service (1829–1865) * Robert Allen (1816–1846), of

Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Corpus Christi College (full name: "The College of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary", often shortened to "Corpus") is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. From the late 14th c ...

, died in

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it the ...

on 11 March 1846 * Ellen Allen (died 1860), died in

Bayswater Bayswater is an area in the City of Westminster in West London. It is a built-up district with a population density of 17,500 per square kilometre, and is located between Kensington Gardens to the south, Paddington to the north-east, and ...

on 15 December 1860 Memorial to Bishop Joseph Allen in Ely Cathedral

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Joseph Bishops of Bristol Bishops of Ely 19th-century Church of England bishops Canons of Westminster 1770 births 1845 deaths People educated at Manchester Grammar School Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge