The Most Reverend andRight Honourable John Bird Sumner[1]
Archbishop of Canterbury
Portrait byMargaret Sarah Carpenter
Church	Church of England
Diocese	Canterbury
In office	1848–1862
Predecessor	William Howley
Successor	Charles Longley
Other post	Bishop of Chester (1828–1848)
Orders
Ordination	1803
Consecration	1828
Personal details
Born	(1780-02-25)25 February 1780 Kenilworth,Warwickshire, England
Died	6 September 1862(1862-09-06) (aged 82) Addington,Surrey, England
Buried	St Mary's Church, Addington
Spouse	Marianne Robertson
Children	at least 9
Education	Eton College
Alma mater	King's College, Cambridge
Signature

John Bird Sumner (25 February 1780 – 6 September 1862) was a bishop in theChurch of England andArchbishop of Canterbury.

John Bird Sumner was born inKenilworth,Warwickshire, on 25 February 1780. He was the eldest son of the Rev. Robert Sumner, Vicar of Kenilworth, and his wife Hannah Bird, a first cousin ofWilliam Wilberforce.^[3] His brotherCharles Richard Sumner wasBishop of Winchester.

Sumner was educated atEton College andKing's College, Cambridge.^[4]

In 1802, Sumner became an assistant master at his alma mater, Eton College, where he was nicknamed "Crumpety Sumner" by the boys.^[5] He was ordained in 1803. He was elected a Fellow of Eton in 1817 and in 1818 the school presented him to the living ofMapledurham,Oxfordshire.

In 1819, he was chosen as aprebendary of the Durham diocese where he served until 1828, when he was consecrated to the episcopate as theBishop of Chester. He was consecrated on 14 September 1828, byEdward Venables-Vernon-Harcourt,Archbishop of York, atYork Minster.^[6] During his episcopacy many churches and schools were built in the diocese.

In 1848 he was elevated toArchbishop of Canterbury (under which title he signed documents as "J B Cantuar") with an annual income of £15,000.^[7]

Shortly after taking his seat in theHouse of Lords he voted forCatholic emancipation, which brought him into conflict with many of the clergy in his diocese.

In 1851, Sumner led the religious service at the formal opening of the Great Exhibition in "The Crystal Palace" in Hyde Park.^{[citation needed]}

Sumner's numerous writings were much esteemed, especially by theevangelical party to which he belonged. His best known writings are hisTreatise on the Records of Creation and the Moral Attributes of the Creator (London, 1816) andThe Evidence of Christianity derived from its Nature and Reception (London, 1821).^[8]

In theGorham Case, Sumner came into conflict withHenry Phillpotts,Bishop of Exeter (1778–1869), who accused him of supporting heresy and refused to communicate with him. He supported the Divorce Bill in parliament but opposed theDeceased Wife's Sister Bill and the bill for removing Jewish disabilities.^[8] His obituary in theNorfolk News of 13 September 1862^[9] commented that "he strongly opposed the admission of Jews into parliament ... and was among the foremost to denounce thePuseyite school of theology".

Sumner was president of theCanterbury Association, which foundedChristchurch, New Zealand.^[10] In 1848 he was elected aFellow of the Royal Society.^[11]Archbishop Sumner Church of England Primary School inLambeth is named in his memory.

On 31 March 1803, Sumner married Marianne Robertson (1779-1829) in the parochial chapel of St Mary Walcot,Bath, Somerset. She was the daughter of George Robertson of Edinburgh (1742-1791), a captain in theRoyal Navy, and Ann (née Lewis) Robertson (1748-1802). His wife's maternal grandparents wereFrancis Lewis, aNew York signatory of theDeclaration of Independence, and Elizabeth (née Anessley) Lewis. Sumner and wife had at least nine children:

• Anne Sumner (1805–1833), who married John Adair Griffith Colpoys, son of Vice AdmiralEdward Griffith Colpoys.^[12]
• Louisa Elizabeth Sumner (1806-)
• Eliza Maria Sumner (1808–1836), mother of the cricketerJohn Sumner Gibson.
• Caroline Sumner (1811–1811), who died in infancy.
• Georgina Sumner (1814–1881), who married Wilson Dobie Wilson.
• Caroline Sumner (1816–1841), a twin.
• Maria Sumner (1816–1861), a twin.
• The Rev. John Henry Robertson Sumner (1821–1910), father of the footballerJohn Robert Edwards Sumner.
• Robert George Moncrieff Sumner (1824–1885).

Marianne Sumner died at the Manor House, Wandsworth, on 22 March 1829. Sumner died on 6 September 1862 atAddington Palace, aged 82, and was buried on 12 September in the graveyard ofSt Mary's Church, Addington.^[13] Two daughters and other relatives are interred at the north-east corner of the churchyard.^[14]

Sumner's great grand-nephew was Australian actorPeter Sumner, who appeared inStar Wars.^[15]

A painting of Sumner hangs in the hall ofUniversity College, Durham; another, in his convocation robes, by Eddis, is atLambeth Palace; a replica of this is in the hall atKing's College, Cambridge. A portrait by Margaret Carpenter was engraved by Samuel Cousins in 1839. A later portrait by the same artist was engraved by T. Richardson Jackson. Francis Holl executed an engraving of another portrait of him by George Richmond. A public subscription was raised after his death for a recumbent effigy in the nave of Canterbury Cathedral, created by Canterbury-bornHenry Weekes.^[16]

• Material relating to John Bird Sumner at Lambeth Palace Library

• 1780 births
• 1862 deaths
• People from Kenilworth
• People educated at Eton College
• Alumni of King's College, Cambridge
• Archbishops of Canterbury
• Bishops of Chester
• 19th-century Anglican archbishops
• Fellows of the Royal Society
• Members of the Canterbury Association
• Burials at St Mary's Church, Addington
• Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
• 19th-century Church of England bishops
• Chetham Society
• 18th-century Anglican theologians
• 19th-century Anglican theologians
• Teachers at Eton College

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