John Hartstonge orHartstongue (1 December 1654 – 30 January 1717) was an English-born prelate of theChurch of Ireland who becameBishop of Ossory and thenBishop of Derry.
He was born atOld Catton,Norfolk, on 1 December 1654, third son ofSir Standish Hartstonge, 1st Baronet and his first wife Elizabeth Jermyn, daughter of Francis Jermyn (or Jermy) ofGunton Hall. His father, who inherited substantial lands inCounty Limerick andCounty Clare, moved to Ireland in 1659, built up a successful legal practice, and became a Baron of the IrishCourt of Exchequer.[1]
John went to school atCharleville, and then attendedKilkenny College and enteredTrinity College Dublin in 1672: he took his bachelor's degree in 1677. He then enteredGonville and Caius College,University of Cambridge, and took his master's degree in 1680.[2] He spent a year at theUniversity of Glasgow, then travelled abroad for a time before becoming a fellow of Gonville and Caius College.[3]
He had a family connection withJohn Bramhall,Archbishop of Armagh, whose daughter was his stepmother;[4] but of more benefit to his career was his friendship with theDukes of Ormonde.[3] He was familychaplain toJames Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde, and after the first Duke's death was reappointed to the same position by thesecond Duke, whom he even accompanied on military campaigns. He becameArchdeacon of Limerick in 1684.
He was sufficiently prominent to beattainted fortreason by theDublin Parliament held in Dublin in 1689 byJames II.[3] After the victory ofWilliam III he was made, through Ormonde's influence,Bishop of Ossory in 1693.[3] In 1704 he inherited the estate of his unmarried brotherStandish, MP forKilkenny at Talbot's Inch, and arranged his burial inSt. Canice's Cathedral. In 1714 he becameBishop of Derry. His reaction to the downfall of his great patron Ormonde, who was accused of involvement in aJacobite conspiracy and fled to France in 1715, is unknown.
He died inDublin on 30 January 1717 and was buried in St. Andrew's Church, Dublin.
By his wife, Isabella (Belle) Danvers (or D'Anvers), daughter of Samuel Danvers and Beata Brydges and aLady of the Bedchamber toQueen Anne, he had one daughter, Ann.
Belle Danvers was a bitter personal enemy ofSarah, Duchess of Marlborough, who described her as "not looking human".
Another enemy of Belle,Mary Cowper, portrayed her marriage caustically:"She (Belle) married an Irish bishop who hoped to be made an English Bishop by marrying one of the Queen's dressers, but, I don't know how it happened, he missed his aim, and got only one of the frightfullest, disagreeablest wives in the Kingdom".[5]
In fact, the marriage had social advantages for the bishop, since Belle was the first cousin toJames Brydges, 1st Duke of Chandos on her mother's side.[6] Family letters show that the Hartstonges were on friendly terms with the Duke and Duchess of Chandos.[7]
Belle Danvers is a minor character in the novelShores of Darkness byDiana Norman.
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