Thomas Lamplugh (1615 – 5 May 1691) was an English churchman who became

Archbishop of York The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers the ...

Life

He was the son of Christopher Lamplugh of Thwing, Yorkshire, and his wife Anne, daughter and coheir of Thomas Roper of Octon in the East Riding of Yorkshire whom he married on 23 November 1607 at Ruston Parva, East Riding of Yorkshire. Many sources incorrectly cite his father as Thomas, an MP for

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...

, whose family had been seated at Dovenby in that county for a number of generations. There is an interpolation in the parish register of Lamplugh, Cumbria which has his baptism taking place on 13 June 1615. Lamplugh was educated at

St Bees School St Bees School is a co-educational fee-charging school, located in the West Cumbrian village of St Bees, England. In 1583, it was founded by Edmund Grindal, the Archbishop of Canterbury, as a free grammar school for boys. The school remain ...

and

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. He was Dean of Rochester from 1673, and, from 1676,

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. While in Exeter, he retained the Rochester deanery ''in commendam'' until his translation to York in 1688. On receiving the news of the arrival of William of Orange at

Brixham Brixham is a coastal town and civil parish in the borough of Torbay in the county of Devon, in the south-west of England. As of the 2021 census, Brixham had a population of 16,825. It is one of the main three centres of the borough, along with ...

in Torbay, Bishop Lamplugh delivered a public address, in which he exhorted the people of his diocese to remain faithful to King James II. He fled to London, together with Dr. Annesley, the Dean. As a reward for Lamplugh's loyalty, James procured him the

Archbishopric of York The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers the ...

, which had been kept vacant for two years. He was confirmed in his new see before William's arrival in London, but his

Jacobitism Jacobitism was a political ideology advocating the restoration of the senior line of the House of Stuart to the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British throne. When James II of England chose exile after the November 1688 Glorious Revolution, ...

was of no very profound character and did not prevent him from assisting at William's coronation. He died at Bishopthorpe on 5 May 1691, and was buried in

York Minster York Minster, formally the Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York, is an Anglicanism, Anglican cathedral in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. The minster is the seat of the archbishop of York, the second-highest of ...

on 8 May 1691.

John Bowes Morrell John Bowes Morrell (1873–1963) was an England, English historian and writer. He was twice Lord Mayor of York, a leading figure in the local movement to establish a university in York, and founder of the York Conservation Trust. The University ...

(''York Monuments'' p. 38) states that Lamplugh's monument in York Minster shows him "standing, appropriately grasping the pastoral staff that he finally secured by making his views agree with those in power as each change took place – he was a veritable Vicar of Bray.

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quotes the French proverb: "To lie like an epitaph", and it might well be applied to the one on this monument, which reads: "''At length, though he had solicitously declined that dignity, he was promoted to this metropolitan see ... ''"

Family

Lamplugh married Katherine Davenant on 25 November 1663 in Gillingham, Dorset and had five children. His surviving son was Thomas Davenant Lamplugh, D.D.

Gallery

File:Memorial to Archbishop Thomas Lamplugh in York Minster.jpg, The memorial to Lamplugh in the south choir aisle at

File:Catherine Davenant.jpg, Katherine Lamplugh née Davenant

Notes

References

* * A R Jabez-Smith,
An Interpolation in a Lamplugh Parish Register
, ''Transactions of the Cumberland & Westmorland Antiquarian & Archaeological Society'', Volume LXI, 1961 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lamplugh, Thomas 1615 births 1691 deaths Archbishops of York Archdeacons of Oxford Archdeacons of London Bishops of Exeter Deans of Rochester Doctors of Divinity People educated at St Bees School 17th-century Anglican archbishops People from Thwing and Octon Principals of St Alban Hall, Oxford 17th-century Church of England bishops