Robert Edward Trefusis (24 January 18439 July 1930) was the first suffragan

Bishop of Crediton The Bishop of Crediton is an episcopal title which takes its name from the town of Crediton in Devon, England. The title was originally used by the Anglo-Saxons in the 10th and 11th centuries for a diocese covering Devon and Cornwall. It is no ...

from 1897 to 1930.

Origins

Trefusis was born in

Bideford Bideford ( ) is a historic port town on the estuary of the River Torridge in north Devon, South West England. It is the main town of the Torridge District, Torridge Districts of England, local government district. Toponymy In ancient records Bi ...

in 1843, the second son of George Trefusis (1793–1849), a younger son of Robert Trefusis, 17th Baron Clinton (1764–1797).

Career

Trefusis was educated at

Cheltenham College Cheltenham College is a public school ( fee-charging boarding and day school for pupils aged 13–18) in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. The school opened in 1841 as a Church of England foundation and is known for its outstanding linguis ...

and

Exeter College, Oxford Exeter College (in full: The Rector and Scholars of Exeter College in the University of Oxford) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, and the fourth-oldest college of the university. The college was founde ...

Ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

in 1866, he began his ordained ministry as a

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' () of souls of a parish. In this sense, ''curate'' means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy who are as ...

Buckingham Buckingham ( ) is a market town in north Buckinghamshire, England, close to the borders of Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire, which had a population of 12,890 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census. The town lies approximately west of ...

. He was then appointed by his cousin

Mark Rolle Hon. Mark George Kerr Rolle (13 November 1835 – 27 April 1907; Mark George Kerr Trefusis), of Stevenstone, St Giles in the Wood, Devon, was High Sheriff of Devon in 1864, a Deputy Lieutenant, DL of Devon and High Steward of Barnstaple. D ...

Lord of the Manor Lord of the manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England and Norman England, referred to the landholder of a historical rural estate. The titles date to the English Feudalism, feudal (specifically English feudal barony, baronial) system. The ...

and patron of the living, as

Vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...

Chittlehampton Chittlehampton is a village and civil parish in the North Devon district of Devon, England, about south-west of Barnstaple. At the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 820. The parish originally had two exclaves; Chittlehamholt to th ...

. The parish church of Chittlehampton was dedicated to the little-known St Urith, believed to have been a local Saxon maiden born and martyred within the parish, and Trefusis named one of his daughters Hyeritha Trefusis in her honour. She became known to local parishioners as "Miss Urith". He subsequently served for 33 years as Bishop suffragan of Crediton; he was also additionally

Archdeacon of Barnstaple The Archdeaconry of Barnstaple or Barum is one of the oldest archdeaconries in England. It is an administrative division of the Diocese of Exeter in the Church of England. History The Diocese of Exeter was divided into four archdeaconries in No ...

from 1909. He was consecrated a bishop on St Matthias' Day (24 February 1897), by

Frederick Temple Frederick Temple (30 November 1821 – 23 December 1902) was an English academic, teacher and Clergy, churchman, who served as Bishop of Exeter (1869–1885), Bishop of London (1885–1896) and Archbishop of Canterbury (1896–1902). Early ...

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 ...

, at

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...

. He died on 9 July 1930."Obituary – Bishop Trefusis A Long Ministry In Devon". ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' Thursday, Jul 10, 1930; pg. 16; Issue 45561; col A He celebrated the dedication of the

Exeter War Memorial Exeter War Memorial, also known as The Northernhay War Memorial is a war memorial in Northernhay Gardens in the city of Exeter, Devon. Designed by John Angel (sculptor), John Angel, it was erected by public subscription in 1923 and cost over £ ...

References

1843 births People educated at Cheltenham College Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford People from Bideford Bishops of Crediton 19th-century Church of England bishops 20th-century Church of England bishops Archdeacons of Barnstaple 1930 deaths {{authority control