John Dolben | |
|---|---|
| Archbishop of York | |
 | |
| Archdiocese | York |
| Installed | 1683 |
| Term ended | 1686 |
| Predecessor | Richard Sterne |
| Successor | Thomas Lamplugh |
| Other posts | Dean of Westminster,Bishop of Rochester |
| Orders | |
| Consecration | 25 November 1666 by Gilbert Sheldon |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1625 (1625) |
| Died | 1686 (aged 60–61) |
John Dolben (1625-1686) was an English priest andChurch of England bishop andarchbishop.
He was the son ofWilliam Dolben (died 1631), prebendary of Lincoln and bishop-designate ofGloucester, and Elizabeth Williams, niece ofJohn Williams, Archbishop of York.[1] The leading judge SirWilliam Dolben was his brother.
He was educated atWestminster School underRichard Busby and atChrist Church, Oxford.[2] He fought on theRoyalist side at theBattle of Marston Moor, in 1644, and in the defence of York, and was wounded twice.[3] By 1646, like most of the Royalists, he had abandoned all hope of victory and resumed his studies.[4] In 1648 he was removed from the Christ Church by theParliamentary Visitations.[5]
Subsequently, he took orders and maintained in private the proscribedAnglican service;[6] during these years he lived at St Aldates, Oxford, home of his wife's father Ralph (or Richard)[5] Sheldon, brother of the future Archbishop Sheldon.[4]
At theRestoration, he becamecanon of Christ Church (1660) and prebendary ofSt Paul's, London (1661), no doubt partly due to the influence of Sheldon, nowBishop of London. As Dean ofWestminster (1662-1683), he opposed an attempt to bring the abbey under diocesan rule. His charm, eloquence, generosity and frankness gained him enormous popularity. In 1664 he was appointedClerk of the Closet (until 1668) and in 1666 was madeBishop of Rochester. The fall of his friendEdward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon the next year is said to have caused him to be in temporary disgrace, but he was quickly restored to favour. In 1675 he was appointedLord High Almoner and in 1683 he was madeArchbishop of York; he distinguished himself by reforming the discipline of the cathedrals in these dioceses.[6] He was the first president of theCorporation of the Sons of the Clergy when it received itsRoyal Charter in 1678.
At Easter 1686, returning to York from London, he came into contact with asmallpox victim, caught the infection and died a few days later.[7] His last months are said to have been greatly troubled by KingJames II's attempts to re-establish theRoman Catholic faith.[7]
He married Catherine Sheldon, a niece ofGilbert Sheldon,Archbishop of Canterbury; her father was Ralph Sheldon ofStanton, Staffordshire. He had two sons,Gilbert, judge of theCourt of Common Pleas (Ireland) and first of theDolben baronets,[8] andJohn Dolben, a well-known politician. A daughter named Catherine died in infancy. From a letter Gilbert wrote in 1691 it seems that the Archbishop was much troubled in his last years by John's profligate behaviour: he was a confirmed gambler who went through all his money, and then lost the fortune he had gained by marriage to the heiress Elizabeth Mulso. His uncle the judge disinherited him, and by 1691 his wife and children were living on the charity of friends. According to Gilbert, his father's enemies happily seized on this family tragedy as evidence that the Archbishop was a bad or neglectful parent.[citation needed]
The Archbishop Dolben cup presented at theYork International 9srugby league festival is named after John Dolben.[9][10]
John Dryden, in his poemAbsalom and Achitophel, mentions Dolben, describing him as:[11][12]
"Him of the Western dome, whose weighty sense
Flows in fit words and heavenly eloquence."
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Dolben, John".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 8 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 386.| Church of England titles | ||
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| Preceded by | Dean of Westminster 1662–1683 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Bishop of Rochester 1666–1683 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Archbishop of York 1683–1686 | Vacant Title next held by Thomas Lamplugh |
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