Jump to content

Peter Birch (priest): Difference between revisions

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
add {{authority control}}
No edit summary
Line 1: Line 1:
'''Peter Birch''' ({{circa|1652}} – 2 July 1710) was an English clergyman who served as [[Chaplain to the Speaker of the House of Commons]] and [[Archdeacon of Westminster]].
'''Peter Birch''' ({{circa|1652}} – 2 July 1710) was an English clergyman who served as [[Chaplain to the Speaker of the House of Commons]] and [[Archdeacon of Westminster]].


Birch was the son of [[Thomas Birch (English Parliamentarian)|Thomas Birch]] {{post-nominals|country=GBR|MP}} of Birch Hall, [[Manchester]], and his wife Alice {{nee|Brooke}}.<ref name="WA"/> He was raised a [[presbyterianism|presbyterian]], and studied at [[University of Oxford|Oxford]] then [[University of Cambridge|Cambridge]] as an external student. He returned to Oxford and, having declared his conformity to the established church, was admitted to [[Christ Church, Oxford]] by [[John Fell (bishop)|John Fell]], [[Dean of Christ Church]], matriculating on 12 May 1673, aged 21. He graduated [[Bachelor of Arts|B.A.]] March 1674, [[Master of Arts (Oxford, Cambridge, and Dublin)|M.A.]] June 1674, [[Bachelor of Divinity|B.D.]] 1684, [[Doctor of Divinity|D.D.]] 1688,<ref name="Foster">{{cite book|last=Foster|first=Joseph|authorlink=Joseph Foster (genealogist)|title=Alumni Oxonienses 1500–1714: Birch, Peter|page=315|url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/alumni-oxon/1500-1714/pp106-141|access-date=23 May 2020|year=1891}}</ref> and was made a chaplain of Christ Church by Dr. Fell.
Birch was the son of [[Thomas Birch (English Parliamentarian)|Thomas Birch]] {{post-nominals|country=GBR|MP}} of Birch Hall, [[Manchester]], and his wife Alice {{nee|Brooke}}.<ref name="WA"/> He was raised a [[presbyterianism|presbyterian]], and studied at [[University of Oxford|Oxford]] as an external student, then moved to Cambridge, being admitted to [[Emmanuel College, Cambridge]] in 1667.<ref>{{acad|id=BRC667P|name=Birch, Peter}}</ref> He returned to Oxford and, having declared his conformity to the established church, was admitted to [[Christ Church, Oxford]] by [[John Fell (bishop)|John Fell]], [[Dean of Christ Church]], matriculating on 12 May 1673, aged 21. He graduated [[Bachelor of Arts|B.A.]] March 1674, [[Master of Arts (Oxford, Cambridge, and Dublin)|M.A.]] June 1674, [[Bachelor of Divinity|B.D.]] 1684, [[Doctor of Divinity|D.D.]] 1688,<ref name="Foster">{{cite book|last=Foster|first=Joseph|authorlink=Joseph Foster (genealogist)|title=Alumni Oxonienses 1500–1714: Birch, Peter|page=315|url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/alumni-oxon/1500-1714/pp106-141|access-date=23 May 2020|year=1891}}</ref> and was made a chaplain of Christ Church by Dr. Fell.


For a time he was curate of [[St Thomas the Martyr's Church, Oxford|St. Thomas's parish, Oxford]], then rector of [[St Ebbe's Church, Oxford|St. Ebbe's Church]] and lecturer at [[Carfax, Oxford|Carfax]], and subsequently chaplain to [[James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde|James, Duke of Ormonde]]. He became [[Chaplain to the Speaker of the House of Commons|Chaplain to the House of Commons]] and a prebendary of [[Westminster Abbey]] in 1689. He later became Sub-Dean and [[Archdeacon of Westminster]].<ref name="Chester">{{cite book|last=Chester|first=Joseph Lemuel|year=1876|title=The Marriage, Baptismal, and Burial Registers of the Collegiate Church or Abbey of St. Peter, Westminster|volume=10|page=268|url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=0RAwAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA268&dq=Sub-Dean+Archdeacon|access-date=23 May 2020}}</ref>
For a time he was curate of [[St Thomas the Martyr's Church, Oxford|St. Thomas's parish, Oxford]], then rector of [[St Ebbe's Church, Oxford|St. Ebbe's Church]] and lecturer at [[Carfax, Oxford|Carfax]], and subsequently chaplain to [[James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde|James, Duke of Ormonde]]. He became [[Chaplain to the Speaker of the House of Commons|Chaplain to the House of Commons]] and a prebendary of [[Westminster Abbey]] in 1689. He later became Sub-Dean and [[Archdeacon of Westminster]].<ref name="Chester">{{cite book|last=Chester|first=Joseph Lemuel|year=1876|title=The Marriage, Baptismal, and Burial Registers of the Collegiate Church or Abbey of St. Peter, Westminster|volume=10|page=268|url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=0RAwAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA268&dq=Sub-Dean+Archdeacon|access-date=23 May 2020}}</ref>
Line 21: Line 21:
[[Category:1650s births]]
[[Category:1650s births]]
[[Category:1710 deaths]]
[[Category:1710 deaths]]
[[Category:Alumni of Emmanuel College, Cambridge]]
[[Category:Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford]]
[[Category:Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford]]
[[Category:Chaplains of the House of Commons (UK)]]
[[Category:Chaplains of the House of Commons (UK)]]

Revision as of 21:36, 23 May 2020

Peter Birch (c. 1652 – 2 July 1710) was an English clergyman who served as Chaplain to the Speaker of the House of Commons and Archdeacon of Westminster.

Birch was the son of Thomas Birch MP of Birch Hall, Manchester, and his wife Alice née Brooke.[1] He was raised a presbyterian, and studied at Oxford as an external student, then moved to Cambridge, being admitted to Emmanuel College, Cambridge in 1667.[2] He returned to Oxford and, having declared his conformity to the established church, was admitted to Christ Church, Oxford by John Fell, Dean of Christ Church, matriculating on 12 May 1673, aged 21. He graduated B.A. March 1674, M.A. June 1674, B.D. 1684, D.D. 1688,[3] and was made a chaplain of Christ Church by Dr. Fell.

For a time he was curate of St. Thomas's parish, Oxford, then rector of St. Ebbe's Church and lecturer at Carfax, and subsequently chaplain to James, Duke of Ormonde. He became Chaplain to the House of Commons and a prebendary of Westminster Abbey in 1689. He later became Sub-Dean and Archdeacon of Westminster.[4]

When Thomas Tenison, rector of St. James's, Westminster was appointed Bishop of Lincoln, the Bishop of London claimed the right to appoint to St. James's, appointing Birch on 11 July 1692. Queen Mary II, being satisfied that St. James's was a crown appointment, appointed William Wake. These conflicting claims led to litigation between Birch and Wake in the court of king's bench, and eventually the House of Lords decided the case on appeal, on 12 January 1695, in Wake's favour. According to Abel Boyer, Birch, a "great stickler for the high-church party", was probably ousted from St. James's after offending the court by preaching an unsuitable sermon on King William III's birthday.[5] Shortly afterwards, on 19 March 1695, Birch was presented by the dean and chapter of Westminster to the vicarage of St Bride's Church, Fleet Street.

Birch was married three times: firstly in 1686 to Mary (died 1688), daughter of the poet Edmund Waller; secondly in 1697 to Martha (died 1703), daughter of Samuel Vyner and widow of Francis Millington; thirdly to Sybil (died 1708), daughter of Humphrey Wyrley.[1][4] With his third wife he had two sons, Humphrey Birch and John Wyrley Birch.

He died on 2 July 1710, and was buried in Westminster Abbey.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Peter Birch". Westminster Abbey. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
  2. ^ "Birch, Peter (BRC667P)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  3. ^ Foster, Joseph (1891). Alumni Oxonienses 1500–1714: Birch, Peter. p. 315. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
  4. ^ a b Chester, Joseph Lemuel (1876). The Marriage, Baptismal, and Burial Registers of the Collegiate Church or Abbey of St. Peter, Westminster. Vol. 10. p. 268. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
  5. ^ Boyer, Abel (1722). The History of the Life & Reign of Queen Anne. p. 54. Retrieved 23 May 2020.

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Cooper, Thompson (1886). "Birch, Peter". In Stephen, Leslie (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 5. London: Smith, Elder & Co.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Peter_Birch_(priest)&oldid=958449977"