Hugh Boulter | |
|---|---|
| Archbishop of Armagh Primate of All Ireland | |
 | |
| Appointed | 31 August 1724 |
| In office | 1724–1742 |
| Predecessor | Thomas Lindsay |
| Successor | John Hoadly |
| Previous post | Bishop of Bristol(1719–1724) |
| Orders | |
| Consecration | 15 November 1719 by William Wake |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1672-01-04)4 January 1672 London, England |
| Died | 27 September 1742(1742-09-27) (aged 70) London, England[1] |
| Buried | Westminster Abbey[1] |
| Nationality | English |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| Spouse | Elizabeth Savage |
| Education | Merchant Taylors' School |
| Alma mater | Christ Church, Oxford Magdalen College, Oxford |
Hugh Boulter (4 January 1672 – 27 September 1742) was theChurch of IrelandArchbishop of Armagh, the Primate of All Ireland, from 1724 until his death. He also served as the chaplain toGeorge I from 1719.
Boulter was born inLondon, son of John Boulter, described as a man of "good reputation and estate", and was educated atMerchant Taylors' School before attendingChrist Church, Oxford. However, after only a year at Christ Church, he transferred toMagdalen College.[2]
After leaving the university in 1700 Boulter served as achaplain to several prominent individuals, including SirCharles Hedges, theSecretary of State for the North, andThomas Tenison, theArchbishop of Canterbury, before being awarded hisD.D. in 1708.
After spending seven years working as arector, Boulter was appointed as thearchdeacon of Surrey in 1715. In 1719 Boulter was announced as the successor toGeorge Smalridge as both theDean of Christ Church and as theBishop of Bristol. Boulter was controversially offered the primacy of the Church of Ireland in 1724,William King, who asArchbishop of Dublin was the natural successor to the title, being passed over due to his opposition to theToleration Act, although the official reason was his age. King showed his bitter disappointment at being passed over by refusing to stand in Boulter's presence. As Archbishop of Armagh Boulter was a keen supporter of the so-called English interest, and supported the policy of filling all top judicial, political, and ecclesiastical posts inIreland with Englishmen in order to maintain English power in the country, a position that made him unpopular in Ireland. As Archbishop of Armagh, Boulter served asone of the Lord Justices eight times between 1726 and 1742.[3]
He did not always get his own way on judicial appointments: the Dublin-bornJohn Rogerson (1676-1741) was madeLord Chief Justice of Ireland in 1727, over strong objections from Boulter, who apart from the question of nationality, disliked him personally. His failure to veto the appointment has been explained by the fact that no English judge was willing to take the position (in addition Richardson was a very rich man, and no doubt supplied financial inducements).
His policy was to leave the Roman Catholics in Ireland subjected to penal legislation. By a statute enacted through Boulter's influence, Catholics were excluded from the legal profession and disqualified from holding offices connected with the administration of law. Under another act passed through Boulter's exertions, they were deprived of the right of voting at elections for members of parliament or magistrates—the sole constitutional right which they had been allowed to exercise.[1] His actions were often viewed with suspicion by the people of Ireland, includingJonathan Swift.
When the harvest failed in 1729 inUlster he bought food and supplied it to the region.[citation needed] He did much good work in trying to alleviate the GreatIrish Famine (1740-1741).
In 1731 he submitted the findings of theInquiry into Illegal Popish Schools by the House of Lords, which was set up "to prevent the growth of Popery, and to secure this Kingdom from any dangers from the great Number of Papists in this Nation".[4] He supported the setting up of thecharter school system, "to teach the children of the papists the English tongue, and the principles of the Christian religion", as long as they converted to Protestantism. In 1731 George II was petitioned for a charter to set up these schools, which was granted in 1733.[5] Boulter contributed £400 towards the construction of a charter school for girls atSantry, Dublin.[6]
He was responsible for forcing through a bill that revalued the price of gold in 1738, to the benefit of the poor.
| Academic offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Dean of Christ Church, Oxford 1719–1724 | Succeeded by |
| Church of England titles | ||
| Preceded by | Bishop of Bristol 1719–1724 | Succeeded by |
| Church of Ireland titles | ||
| Preceded by | Archbishop of Armagh 1724–1742 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
