Sir Lovelace Tomlinson Stamer, Bt Bishop of Shrewsbury

Sir Lovelace Tomlinson Stamer, 3rd Baronet, VD (18 October 182929 October 1908) was the first Anglican Bishop of Shrewsbury in the modern era.

Life

Lovelace Stamer was born into an Anglo-Irish noble family at

York York is a cathedral city with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many hist ...

. He succeeded to the family baronetcy, originally created in 1809 for his grandfather, twice

Lord Mayor of Dublin The Lord Mayor of Dublin ( ga, Ardmhéara Bhaile Átha Cliath) is the honorary title of the chairperson ( ga, Cathaoirleach, links=no ) of Dublin City Council which is the local government body for the city of Dublin, the capital of Ireland. The ...

, following the death of his father in 1860. He was educated at Rugby and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a 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 college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

, where he took part in his college's first rowing crew and graduated BA in 1835 and MA in 1856, and was awarded degree as DD in 1888.

Ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform var ...

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 deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

in 1855, he began his career with curacies at Clay Cross,

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the no ...

, in 1853-54 and Turvey in 1854. There then followed a short spell as Curate-in-charge at Long Melford,

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include L ...

before in 1858 he was appointed the

Rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of . In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 256,375. It is the largest settlement in Staffordshire and is surroun ...

, a position he held for 34 years. When he arrived at Stoke, there was one Anglican parish church (now known as Stoke Minster) in the growing Potteries town. He led an improvement in local ministry to the area, leaving it with four Anglican churches, and five school or mission churches. He was also keenly interested in education, helping found night schools for working men in 1863, and was Chairman of the Stoke Schools Board from its founding in 1871. He took part in local government by serving as Chief Bailiff of Stoke (equivalent to the later mayor of the borough) in 1867–68. He was from 1860 honorary chaplain to the area's volunteer infantry force, later the 1st Volunteer Battalion,

North Staffordshire Regiment The North Staffordshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, which was in existence between 1881 and 1959. The 64th (2nd Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot was created on 21 April 1758 from the 2nd Battali ...

, and was ultimately awarded the

Volunteer Decoration The Volunteer Officers' Decoration, post-nominal letters VD, was instituted in 1892 as an award for long and meritorious service by officers of the United Kingdom's Volunteer Force. Award of the decoration was discontinued in the United Kingdom ...

(VD). He was made a

prebendary A prebendary is a member of the Roman Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of t ...

Lichfield Cathedral Lichfield Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Lichfield, Staffordshire, England, one of only three cathedrals in the United Kingdom with three spires (together with Truro Cathedral and St Mary's Cathedral in Edinburgh), and the only medieva ...

in 1875 and served as Archdeacon of Stoke from 1877 until he left the parish for

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...

after being elevated to the

episcopate A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or offic ...

in 1888 as Suffragan Bishop of

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'S ...

. In

he was known for protesting over urban housing conditions and, as chaplain to its corporation, municipal corruption, for almost two decades until retiring due to illness in 1906, a period that coincided with also serving as Rector of St Chad's,

1892–96, and of Edgmond, Shropshire 1896–1905. In the latter parish, he built new schools for local children, founded a working men's club and reading rooms, and paid for a new water supply system He died at Penkridge, Staffordshire, on 29 October 1908 aged 79 and was buried in Stoke at Hartshill Cemetery. A hundred years on from his death, his contribution to the

area Area is the quantity that expresses the extent of a region on the plane or on a curved surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape or planar lamina, while ''surface area'' refers to the area of an open su ...

was honoured at a centenary service.100th anniversary tribute

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stamer, Lovelace Tomlinson 1829 births 1908 deaths People educated at Rugby School Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Anglican bishops of Shrewsbury Archdeacons of Stoke Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom