Ralph Taylor (1647 – 26 December 1722) was an English clergyman, nonjuror and sometime chaplain to the court of James II at

Saint-Germain-en-Laye Saint-Germain-en-Laye () is a Communes of France, commune in the Yvelines Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris, from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris. ...

Life

Son of Revd William Taylor and Judith Charlett of

South Littleton South Littleton is a village and civil parish located in the Wychavon district of Worcestershire, England. South Littleton is located midway between Evesham and Bidford on Avon. South Littleton is the largest of The Littletons, with North and ...

. Educated

Trinity College, Oxford Trinity College (full name: The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity in the University of Oxford, of the foundation of Sir Thomas Pope (Knight)) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in E ...

, matriculated 22 March 1666 – 1667; BA 1670; MA 1673; BD 1682; DD 1686. Installed as rector of

Grafton Flyford Grafton Flyford is a village about east of Worcester, in Worcestershire, England. It neighbours Stock Green, with the large farm house Hill Top Farm standing on the border. In 1377, or 1378, Henry de Ardern was granted the manor of Grafton F ...

1678, then in 1684 as rector of

Severn Stoke Severn Stoke is an English village and civil parish in the Malvern Hills District, in the south of the county of Worcestershire, alongside the A38 trunk road. It had a population of 611 in 2011. History In 1996 a hoard of 18 silver Saxon penni ...

. Some of the entries in the parish book of Severn Stoke written in Taylor's hand suggest that he had no great respect or honour for James II: Having previously sworn an oath of allegiance to

James II of England James II and VII (14 October 1633 – 16 September 1701) was King of England and Monarchy of Ireland, Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II of England, Charles II, on 6 February 1 ...

, he refused to take the oath of allegiance to

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

and was deprived of the living. Taylor remained in Worcestershire with some contact with George Hicks, nonjuring

Dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean * Dean Sw ...

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engl ...

. By 1699, Taylor was chaplain to the court of James II at

. Little is known of his time there beyond that he attended the funeral of

Denis Granville Denis Granville (name altered from Grenville) (13 February 1637 – 18 April 1703) was an English non-juring cleric, Dean of Durham and then Jacobite exile. Life The youngest son of Sir Bevil Grenville, he was born 13 February 1637 and bapt ...

, that he owned one or more telescopes, and that he was given two gold sleeve buttons by James II. During this time, he felt the need to deny that he had converted to Roman Catholicism. In December 1712, he petitioned Queen Anne to be allowed to return from France. On return to England, Taylor took the side of the non-usager faction in the split of about 1717. Taylor was consecrated bishop at

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

, 25 January 1721, by the nonjuring non-usager bishops, Samuel Hawes, Nathaniel Spinckes and Henry Gandy, in the presence of the

Earl of Winchilsea Earl of Winchilsea is a title in the Peerage of England. It has been held by the Finch-Hatton family of Kent, and united with the title of Earl of Nottingham under a single holder since 1729. The Finch family is believed to be descended from He ...

, Robert Cotton, Revd Thomas Bell and John Blackbourne. He consecrated Richard Welton as bishop. Then Taylor and Welton consecrated John Talbot but the consecration was not recognised by other nonjurors as Welton had been consecrated by Taylor alone. Taylor died 26 December 1722 at his brother's house in South Littleton and interred at the church in South Littleton. A 1722 portrait by

John Verelst John Verelst, born and known also as Johannes or Jan (29 October 1648 – 7 March 1734), was a Dutch Golden Age painter. He was the youngest of three sons of the painter Pieter Hermansz Verelst; all became known as painters. He is known for his ...

engraved by

George Vertue George Vertue (1684 – 24 July 1756) was an English engraver and antiquary, whose notebooks on British art of the first half of the 18th century are a valuable source for the period. Life Vertue was born in 1684 in St Martin-in-the-Fields ...

was published in 1723.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Ralp 1649 births 1722 deaths British nonjuror bishops