Sir Jonathan Trelawny | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of Winchester | |
Portrait byGodfrey Kneller, 1720 | |
| Church | Church of England |
| Diocese | Winchester |
| In office | 1707–1721 |
| Predecessor | Peter Mews |
| Successor | Charles Trimnell |
| Previous posts | Bishop of Bristol(1685–1689) Bishop of Exeter(1689–1707) |
| Orders | |
| Consecration | 8 November 1685 by William Sancroft |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1650-03-24)24 March 1650 |
| Died | 19 July 1721(1721-07-19) (aged 71) |
| Nationality | British |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| Education | Westminster School |
| Alma mater | Christ Church, Oxford |

Sir Jonathan Trelawny, 3rd Baronet (24 March 1650 – 19 July 1721) wasBishop of Bristol,Bishop of Exeter andBishop of Winchester. Trelawny is best known for his role in the events leading up to theGlorious Revolution which are sometimes believed to be referenced in the Cornish anthem "The Song of the Western Men".
He was born at Trelawne in the parish ofPelynt, Cornwall, the eldest surviving son ofSir Jonathan Trelawny, 2nd Baronet, and Mary Seymour, daughter ofSir Edward Seymour, 2nd Baronet. He was educated atWestminster School and then went toChrist Church, Oxford at the start of theMichaelmas term of 1668 where he distinguished himself as a scholar.
A staunch royalist, he was ordained in 1673 and became a beneficed clergyman. He was appointed rector ofSouth Hill on 4 October and ofSt. Ives on 12 December 1677, becoming Bishop of Bristol in 1685. He was one of theSeven Bishops tried for seditious libel underJames II. Trelawny and the other bishops petitioned against James II'sDeclaration of Indulgence in 1687 and 1688, (grantingreligious tolerance to Catholics) and as a result, he was arrested and imprisoned in theTower of London on charges ofseditious libel. The bishops said that whilst they were loyal to King James II, their consciences would not agree to allowingfreedom of worship toCatholics even if it were to be within the privacy of their own homes as the Declaration proposed; thus they could not sign. Trelawny was held for three weeks before trial, then tried and acquitted; this led to great celebrations, with bells being rung in his home parish of Pelynt.[1]
Trelawny was rewarded in 1689 by being appointed Bishop of Exeter (whilst still, until 1694,Archdeacon of Totnes) after the military defeat of James II and the accession of the ProtestantWilliam of Orange to the British throne. He was further rewarded by being appointedBishop of Winchester in 1707, although his promotion was a matter of some controversy, asQueen Anne, who was determined to keep all important Church appointments within her own gift, overruled the advice of her ministers and ofThomas Tenison, theArchbishop of Canterbury in appointing him, thus provoking the so-called Bishoprics Crisis. He died in 1721, inChelsea,Middlesex; his body was taken back to Pelynt for burial.
He married Rebecca Hele, by whom he had twelve children:[2][3][4]

It is sometimes suggested that Bishop Trelawny was immortalised in the Cornish Anthem, "The Song of the Western Men", better known simply as "Trelawny", written over a century later and composed by ParsonRobert Stephen Hawker, vicar ofMorwenstow.
| Church of England titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Bishop of Bristol 1685–1689 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Bishop of Exeter 1689–1707 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Bishop of Winchester 1707–1721 | Succeeded by |
| Honorary titles | ||
| Preceded by | Vice-Admiral of South Cornwall 1682–1693 | Succeeded by |
| Baronetage of England | ||
| Preceded by | Baronet (of Trelawney) 1681–1721 | Succeeded by |