Thomas Gwatkin
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Thomas Gwatkin (1741–1800) was an English cleric and academic. He is known as a Tory and loyalist figure at the
College of William & Mary The College of William & Mary (abbreviated as W&M) is a public university, public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1693 under a royal charter issued by King William III of England, William III and Queen ...
in colonial
Williamsburg, Virginia Williamsburg is an Independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It had a population of 15,425 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located on the Virginia Peninsula, Williamsburg is in the northern par ...
.


Life

He was the son of Thomas Gwatkin of Hackney, Middlesex. He matriculated in 1763, at
Jesus College, Oxford Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship ...
, but left university without taking a degree. s:Alumni Oxonienses: the Members of the University of Oxford, 1715-1886/Gwatkin, Thomas As a student Gwatkin was an opponent of views of
Thomas Secker Thomas Secker (21 September 16933 August 1768) was an Archbishop of Canterbury in the Church of England. Early life and studies Secker was born in Sibthorpe, Nottinghamshire. In 1699, he went to Richard Brown's free school in Chesterfield, ...
. In 1766 he was a nonconformist minister at
Blackley Blackley is a suburban area of Manchester, in the county of Greater Manchester, England. Historically in Lancashire, it is approximately north of Manchester city centre, on the River Irk. History The hamlet of Blackley was mentioned in the Do ...
, but then changed his views. In 1767 he was ordained priest in the
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
by
Richard Terrick Richard Terrick (baptised 20 July 1710 – 31 March 1777) was a Church of England clergyman who served as Bishop of Peterborough 1757–1764 and Bishop of London 1764–1777. Life Terrick was born in York, the eldest son of Samuel Terrick, rec ...
,
Bishop of London The bishop of London is the Ordinary (church officer), ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury. By custom the Bishop is also Dean of the Chapel Royal since 1723. The diocese covers of 17 boroughs o ...
, and became a curate at
Stebbing Stebbing is a small village in the Uttlesford district of northern Essex, England. The village is situated north of the ancient Roman roads in Britain, Roman road Stane Street (Colchester), Stane Street. It is from the nearest railway station ...
. At this period he was a friend and correspondent of
Jeremy Bentham Jeremy Bentham (; 4 February Dual dating, 1747/8 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.
5 February 1748 Old Style and New Style dates, N.S. 5 (five) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number. Humans, and many other animals, have 5 digits on their limbs. Mathematics 5 is a Fermat pri ...
– 6 June 1832) was an English philosopher, jurist, and social reformer regarded as the founder of mo ...
. In 1769 Terrick as chancellor of the College of William & Mary appointed Gwatkin a professor there. At William and Mary, Gwatkin was in a group of clerics, including his associate
Samuel Henley Samuel Henley D.D. (1740 – 1815) was an English clergyman, school teacher and college principal, antiquarian, and man of letters. Life Born in England, he began his career when he was recruited as a professor of moral philosophy for the Colle ...
, who opposed the project to create Anglican bishops for American dioceses. The
Virginia House of Burgesses The House of Burgesses () was the lower house of the Virginia General Assembly from 1619 to 1776. It existed during the colonial history of the United States in the Colony of Virginia in what was then British America. From 1642 to 1776, the Hou ...
supported their stand. A controversy followed that drew in William Willie and Thomas Bradbury Chandler, and others. Defending Henley against the burgess Robert Carter Nicholas, Gwatkin used the provocative pseudonym "Hoadleianus", alluding to
Benjamin Hoadley Benjamin Hoadly (14 November 167617 April 1761) was an England, English clergyman, who was successively Bishop of Bangor, Bishop of Hereford, of Hereford, Bishop of Salisbury, of Salisbury, and finally Bishop of Winchester, of Winchester. He i ...
whose opposition to the
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 ...
clergy caused the Bangorian Controversy. Gwatkin became professor of mathematics and natural philosophy at William and Mary in 1770. In 1773, he was master of the grammar school. The College of William and Mary was a centre of loyalism in the years preceding the
American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...
of 1776, and Gwatkin and Henley remained in post as hardcore Tories, while American patriots attempted to undermine loyalists there. The politics made for unpleasant friction. The
battles of Lexington and Concord The Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775 were the first major military actions of the American Revolutionary War between the Kingdom of Great Britain and Patriot (American Revolution), Patriot militias from America's Thirteen Co ...
in 1775 brought matters to a head, and Gwatkin refused to preach for the disbanded burgesses on 1 June. He also refused, according to his own account, from
Richard Henry Lee Richard Henry Lee (January 20, 1732June 19, 1794) was an American statesman and Founding Father from Virginia, best known for the June 1776 Lee Resolution, the motion in the Second Continental Congress calling for the colonies' independence fr ...
and
Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...
, to draw up "memorials in the defense of congress." Gwatkin and Henley shortly then departed for England, as
Lord Dunmore Earl of Dunmore is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. The title Earl of Dunmore was created in 1686 for Lord Charles Murray, son of John Murray, 1st Marquess of Atholl. The title passed down through generations, with various earls serving ...
, the last colonial governor of Virginia, was forced out. It followed a menacing incident in which armed men hammered on Gwatkin's door at night. Gwatkin acted as chaplain to Lady Dunmore, and sailed with her and her son on HMS ''Magdalen'', on 29 June 1775. Gwatkin was awarded a B.A. degree at Oxford by Convocation on 21 May 1778. Admitted to
Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...
, he graduated M.A. on 23 March 1781. He was appointed vicar of
Cholsey Cholsey is a village and civil parish immediately south of Wallingford in South Oxfordshire. Its population in 2011 was 3,457. 2011 Census. Its parish boundary, some long, reaches from the edge of Wallingford into the Berkshire Downs. The v ...
in August 1781, a position he held to 1800. He was also curate at
Clehonger Clehonger () is a village and civil parish in Herefordshire, England, and south-west of Hereford. Clehonger is from the old English 'Clayey wooded slope.' The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 1,382. Community Apart fro ...
, where his uncle Richard Gwatkin was rector of
Allensmore Allensmore is a village in Herefordshire, England. It is located on the A465 road about south-west of Hereford. The church is dedicated to Saint Andrew. History The name 'Allensmore' derives from 'Alan's Moor'. It has been suggested that All ...
-cum-Clehonger. He resided in
Hereford Hereford ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of the ceremonial county of Herefordshire, England. It is on the banks of the River Wye and lies east of the border with Wales, north-west of Gloucester and south-west of Worcester. With ...
, and died on 4 October 1800. He was buried in Clehonger.


Family

Gwatkin married Jane Powle, daughter of John Powle. Richard Gwatkin (1791–1879) the geologist was his son, and father of
Henry Melvill Gwatkin Henry Melvill Gwatkin (30 July 1844 – 14 November 1916) was an English theologian and church historian. Gwatkin was born at Barrow-on-Soar, Leicestershire, the youngest son of the Rev. Richard Gwatkin,"Gwatkin, Henry Melvill" in ''Alumni ...
.


Works

*''Remarks upon the first of Three letters against the confessional'' (1768), by "a Country Clergyman" *''Remarks Upon the Second and Third of Three Letters Against the Confessional'' (1768), by "a Country Clergyman" *'' A Letter to the Clergy of New York and New Jersey'' (1772). Gwatkin opposed James Horrocks, over the proposal to create an Anglican bishop in America.


Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gwatkin, Thomas 1741 births 1800 deaths 18th-century English Anglican priests College of William & Mary faculty Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford