John Sharp (2 April 1723 – 28 April 1792) was aChurch of England clergyman who served asArchdeacon of Northumberland for thirty years, and a charity administrator.
Sharp was the son ofThomas Sharp, Archdeacon of Northumberland (son ofJohn Sharp, Archbishop of York) and Judith (daughter ofSir George Wheler). His brothers included the surgeonWilliam Sharp and the anti-slavery campaignerGranville Sharp.
He was educated atDurham School andTrinity College, Cambridge, where he matriculated in 1740, graduatingB.A. in 1744,M.A. in 1747,D.D. in 1759. He became a Fellow of Trinity College in 1746.[1]
He was ordained deacon in 1748, and priest in 1749.[2] In the church, he held the following livings:[1]
Lord Crewe's Charity is a charity founded under the terms of the will ofNathaniel, Lord Crew (died 1721), Bishop of Durham, and endowed with his estates ofBlanchland andBamburgh.[5]
John Sharp became a trustee of Lord Crewe's Charity in 1758, andperpetual curate of Bamburgh in 1773. Under his stewardship, the charity restored the keep ofBamburgh Castle, and also established schools for boys and girls; a windmill within Bamburgh Castle and a shop selling corn at a subsidised rate; a hospital with an infirmary and a dispensary; temporary accommodation for shipwrecked sailors, and a lifeboat built byLionel Lukin.[6][7]
On his death in 1792, Sharp gifted his personal library to Lord Crewe's Charity.[6]
On 4 December 1752, Sharp married Mary Dering, daughter ofHeneage Dering, Dean of Ripon.[1][6]