Richard West (1670?–1716) was an English churchman and academic, and was

archdeacon of Berkshire The Archdeacon of Berkshire (also rendered Archdeacon of Berks) is a senior ecclesiastical officer in the Church of England Diocese of Oxford. The archdeacon is the head of the archdeaconry of Berkshire, a post historically found within the dioce ...

from 1710.

Life

He was born at Creaton,

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

, and educated at

Uppingham School Uppingham School is a public school (English fee-charging boarding and day school for pupils 13–18) in Uppingham, Rutland, England, founded in 1584 by Robert Johnson, the Archdeacon of Leicester, who also established Oakham School. ...

. He matriculated at

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College, formally the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge, is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch L ...

, in 1688; then moved to

Merton College, Oxford Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 126 ...

, in March 1689. He graduated B.A. in 1691, and M.A. in 1694; and was a Fellow of

Magdalen College Magdalen College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by Bishop of Winchester William of Waynflete. It is one of the wealthiest Oxford colleges, as of 2022, and one of the strongest academically, se ...

from 1697 to 1708. He received the

Lambeth degree A Lambeth degree is an academic degree conferred by the Archbishop of Canterbury under the authority of the Ecclesiastical Licences Act 1533 as successor of the papal legate in England. The degrees conferred most commonly are DD (Doctor of Div ...

of D.D. in 1708. West served as chaplain to

Gilbert Burnet Gilbert Burnet (18 September 1643 – 17 March 1715) was a Scottish people, Scottish philosopher and historian, and Bishop of Salisbury. He was fluent in Dutch language, Dutch, French language, French, Latin language, Latin, Greek language, Gree ...

. He was vicar of

Inglesham Inglesham is a small village and civil parish in the Borough of Swindon, Wiltshire, England, notable for the Grade-I listed St John the Baptist Church. The village is just off the A361 road about south-west of Lechlade in Gloucestershire. Mo ...

from 1702, and canon of

Winchester Cathedral The Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity,Historic England. "Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity (1095509)". ''National Heritage List for England''. Retrieved 8 September 2014. Saint Peter, Saint Paul and Saint Swithun, commonly known as Winches ...

from 1706. He became archdeacon of Berkshire in 1710, and was rector of

East Hendred East Hendred is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish about east of Wantage in the Vale of White Horse and a similar distance west of Didcot. The village is on East Hendred Brook, which flows from the Berkshire Downs to join th ...

, from 1713.

Works

West published editions of

Pindar Pindar (; ; ; ) was an Greek lyric, Ancient Greek lyric poet from Thebes, Greece, Thebes. Of the Western canon, canonical nine lyric poets of ancient Greece, his work is the best preserved. Quintilian wrote, "Of the nine lyric poets, Pindar i ...

(1697) (with Robert Welsted) and

Theocritus Theocritus (; , ''Theokritos''; ; born 300 BC, died after 260 BC) was a Greek poet from Sicily, Magna Graecia, and the creator of Ancient Greek pastoral poetry. Life Little is known of Theocritus beyond what can be inferred from his writings ...

(1699). A sermon of 1700 for the Sons of the Clergy was printed. The tract ''The True Character of a Churchman'' was printed under West's name in the Somers ''Tracts''; it was a product of the debate over "occasional conformity" of religious dissenters, and in it West argued for

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, ...

, in defence of Burnet. At the time of its appearance it was attributed by some to William Lloyd the

bishop of Worcester The Bishop of Worcester is the Ordinary (officer), head of the Church of England Anglican Diocese of Worcester, Diocese of Worcester in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title can be traced back to the foundation of the diocese in the ...

, who made political use of it in

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...

against the Tory

Sir John Pakington, 4th Baronet Sir John Pakington, 4th Baronet (1671–1727) of Westwood, near Droitwich, Worcestershire was an English Tory politician who sat in the English House of Commons, English and British House of Commons between 1690 and 1727. Pakington was the only ...

, in 1702. Lloyd denied the authorship, in the course of a parliamentary complaint brought by Pakington. West at this time crossed swords in pamphleteering with

Henry Sacheverell Henry Sacheverell (; 8 February 1674 – 5 June 1724) was an English high church Anglican clergyman who achieved nationwide fame in 1709 after preaching an incendiary 5 November sermon. He was subsequently impeached by the House of Commons and ...

, whose ''The character of a Low-Church-man'' was a reply to West, at the period when

High Church A ''high church'' is a Christian Church whose beliefs and practices of Christian ecclesiology, Christian liturgy, liturgy, and Christian theology, theology emphasize "ritual, priestly authority, ndsacraments," and a standard liturgy. Although ...

and

latitudinarian Latitudinarians, or latitude men, were initially a group of 17th-century English theologiansclerics and academicsfrom the University of Cambridge who were moderate Anglicans (members of the Church of England). In particular, they believed that a ...

(Latitude-men) were emerging concepts. Sacheverell wrote of latitude that it allowed interpretation of each of the '' 39 Articles'' in 39 ways. West came back implying that the Oxford High Church side objecting to that latitude were

Calvinists Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Christian, Presbyterian, ...

. In January 1710 the Winchester MPs

Lord William Powlett Lord William Powlett (baptized 18 August 1666 – 25 September 1729) was an English Member of Parliament. He was the younger son of Charles Paulet, 1st Duke of Bolton, and his second wife, Mary Scrope. Career Lord William held a number of ...

and

George Rodney Brydges George Rodney Brydges or Bridges (after 1649 – 1714), of Avington, Hampshire, was an English Whig politician who sat in the English and British House of Commons between 1690 and 1714. Brydges was the second surviving son of Sir Thomas Bridg ...

together organised support in Parliament, to thank West for a sermon in which he had stated that in the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

the faults were on both sides. It had proved controversial in its views (pan-Protestant, Whig, and in favour of continuing 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 required a vote in Parliament before it was printed. J. P. Kenyon writes that West's sermon was in fact moderate in its Whiggism, in comparison with that of William Stephens on the same occasion ten years before, but the vote on it, at 124 to 105, was close. Despite his reputation as an intemperate Whig who had defended the execution of Charles I, West continued to preach on public occasions.

Family

West married Maria, eldest daughter of

Sir Richard Temple, 3rd Baronet Sir Richard Temple, 3rd Baronet, Order of the Bath, KB (28 March 1634 – 8 May 1697) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons of England, House of Commons at various times between 1654 and 1697. Life Temple was the son of Si ...

Temple West Vice-Admiral Temple West (1713 – 9 August 1757) was a British naval officer, best known for his role as second-in-command to Admiral John Byng during the Battle of Minorca in 1756. Early career West was a younger son of Rev. Dr. Richard West ...

was their son, as was

Gilbert West Gilbert West (1703–1756) was a minor English poet, translator, and theologian in the early and middle eighteenth century. Samuel Johnson included him in his ''Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets''. Biography The son of Richard West, he was ...

(1703–1756), known as a translator. Their daughter Mary married

Alexander Hood, 1st Viscount Bridport Admiral Alexander Hood, 1st Viscount Bridport, KB (2 December 17262 May 1814) was a Royal Navy officer and politician who served in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Origins He was a younger son of the Rev. Samuel Hood (1691/2 � ...

.historyofparliamentonline.org, ''Hood, Sir Alexander (1726-1814), of Cricket St. Thomas, Som.''
/ref>

Notes

External links

WorldCat page
{{DEFAULTSORT:West, Richard 1670 births 1716 deaths Archdeacons of Berkshire 17th-century English clergy 18th-century English Anglican priests People educated at Uppingham School Fellows of Magdalen College, Oxford Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Alumni of Merton College, Oxford