Edward Maltby

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For the acting Governor of Madras, see Edward Maltby (British civil servant).

The Right Reverend

Edward Maltby

Bishop of Durham
DioceseDiocese of Durham
In officeMarch 1836 (translated)–1856 (retired)
PredecessorWilliam Van Mildert
SuccessorCharles Longley
Other post(s)a senator, London University (1826–?)
Bishop of Chichester (28 September 1831 {conf.}[1]–1836)
Personal details
Born(1770-04-06)6 April 1770
Norwich, Norfolk, Great Britain
Died3 July 1859(1859-07-03) (aged 89)
Marylebone, Middlesex, United Kingdom
Buried11 July 1859, Kensal Green Cemetery
NationalityBritish
DenominationAnglican
Residence1 Upper Portland Place (at death)
ParentsGeorge & Mary née Fearman
Spouse1. Mary Harvey, 1794 (m.)–1825 (her d.)
2. Margaret Green, 1826 (m.)–1859 (his d.)
Children4 sons (with Harvey), incl. Fred. W. & Hen. J.[2]
EducationNorwich Grammar School; Winchester College
Alma materPembroke College, Cambridge
Ordination history of
Edward Maltby
History
Diaconal ordination
Ordained byGeorge Pretyman (Lincoln)
Date26 May 1793
PlaceBuckden Towers
Priestly ordination
Ordained byPretyman (Lincoln)
Date6 April 1794
PlaceSt Paul's Cathedral
Episcopal consecration
Consecrated byWilliam Howley (Canterbury)
Date2 October 1831
Source(s):[3][4][5]
Centre: arms of Edward Maltby as Bishop of Durham: See of Durham impaling Maltby (Argent, on a bend gules between a lion rampant (azure) and a cross pattée of the second three garbs or);[6] Church of St Mary the Virgin, Holy Island, (Lindisfarne), Northumberland

Edward Maltby (6 April 1770 – 3 July 1859) was an English clergyman of the Church of England. He became Bishop of Durham, controversial for his liberal politics, for his ecumenism, and for the great personal wealth that he amassed.

Early life[edit]

Maltby was born in Norwich. He was the fourth son of George (died 1794), a weaver and deacon at the Presbyterian Octagon Chapel, and Mary (died 1804), his wife. William Maltby was a cousin. Though presbyterian by persuasion, the family were not hostile to the Anglican Church. Maltby attended Norwich Grammar School, where he became close to headteacher Samuel Parr but when Parr retired in 1785, he transferred to Winchester College under Joseph Warton. William Enfield also reputedly played a part in his education.[7]

In 1784, Maltby's cousin Elizabeth had married George Pretyman and Pretyman sponsored Maltby's entry into Pembroke College, Cambridge in 1789.[7][8] Maltby was a distinguished scholar and, finding his nonconformist inclinations no barrier, he graduated as eighth wrangler in 1792, receiving his DD in 1806. In 1794, Maltby had become domestic chaplain to Pretyman. Maltby consequently received a Lincoln prebend and two vicarages: Buckden, Huntingdonshire and Holbeach, Lincolnshire. On 10 July he married Mary Harvey. The couple were to go on to have four sons. With Pretyman's patronage and a well-received book of apologetics,[9] Maltby was strongly favoured for eventual elevation to a bishop.[7]

Wilderness years[edit]

However, Maltby meddled in politics prematurely. His involvement in the 1807 general election in Huntingdonshire and an 1809 pamphlet criticising what he saw as the nepotism of prime minister William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland saw to it that he found no favour with the Tory establishment who were to hold power until 1830. However, Parr interceded with George Canning and Maltby became preacher at Gray's Inn in 1817 and Lincoln's Inn between 1824 and 1835. Maltby took the opportunity of light clerical duties to tutor private pupils, including:

He also found time to write[12] including publication of a collection of hymns (1815) and a projected, but uncompleted, edition of the New Testament.[7]

Mary died in 1825 and he married Margaret Green in 1826. Maltby was active in the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge and he was a senator of the newly formed London University (now University College London), blessing the foundation stone of the Main Building in 1827.[7]

Bishop[edit]

When the Whigs returned to power in 1830, prime minister Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey lacked a comfortable majority in the House of Lords and saw Maltby as a probable supporter if he could be appointed to the Lords Spiritual. Conveniently for Grey, Folliott Cornewall, Bishop of Worcester, died in September 1831. Grey transferred Robert Carr, then Bishop of Chichester, to Worcester and then appointed Maltby to Chichester. Grey made the appointment with such undue haste that Maltby's congé d'élire arrived in Chichester before Cornewall's funeral and the public was scandalised. However, Grey was satisfied when Maltby was able to vote in favour of the Reform Bill.[7]

In 1837, Maltby became Bishop of Durham, the first after the abolition of the office of Prince-Bishop.[7] In 1847, John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, a close personal friend, canvassed him as Archbishop of York but Maltby felt the role too much for his years.[7]

Doctrinal controversy[edit]

On his appointment, Maltby was the sole Whig among the Lords Spiritual, save for 87-year-old Henry Bathurst, Bishop of Norwich, and he attracted much personal hostility and criticism. However, Maltby was driven by his conscience and an over-riding ecumenism and even-handedness in his associations and criticism. His public controversies and scandals included:

Durham University[edit]

Maltby had strong connections to the University of Durham, making generous financial provision. He also assisted in the negotiations of its royal charter, persuading the government to honour its undertaking to his predecessor, William Van Mildert, that all students must subscribe to the Thirty-Nine Articles before graduation.[7] Van Mildert had arranged for the bishop's residence to be moved to Auckland Castle in 1832 in order for the University to occupy Durham Castle as University College, Durham in 1837; by that time, Maltby had arranged to make the necessary renovations. [15][16]

Wealth and personal life[edit]

Memorial to Bishop Edward Maltby, Durham Cathedral

The Established Church Act 1836 set the maximum annual income for a bishop at £8,000 (£525,000 at 2003 prices[17]) but it was revealed in 1847 that Maltby was earning around £12,000 (£787,000[17]), having exceeded £21,000 (£1.4 million[17]) in 1841. In response to the widespread public criticism, he established the Maltby Fund for building work in the Durham diocese.[7]

He caused further scandal in 1855 when, elderly and almost blind, Maltby made an unprecedented request that he be allowed to retire and suggested an annual pension of £4,500 (£307,000[17]). Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone was appalled, denouncing the request as simony, but he eventually conceded, allowing Blomfield, now Bishop of London, to retire at the same time.[7][18]

Maltby died at his London residence and is buried in Kensal Green Cemetery in London, sharing a family vault with his eldest brother.[7] A tablet to his memory was erected in Durham Cathedral.

Honours[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Maltby, Edward (at Chichester) (CCEd Appointment ID 303851)". The Clergy of the Church of England Database 1540–1835. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
  2. ^ "Maltby, Edward (1793–1831) (CCEd Person ID 70037)". The Clergy of the Church of England Database 1540–1835. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
  3. ^ "Maltby, Edward (CCEd Ordination ID 15642)". The Clergy of the Church of England Database 1540–1835. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
  4. ^ "Maltby, Edward (CCEd Ordination ID 15725)". The Clergy of the Church of England Database 1540–1835. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
  5. ^ "Maltby, Edward (at Chichester) (CCEd Appointment ID 303853)". The Clergy of the Church of England Database 1540–1835. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
  6. ^ Burke's General Armory, 1884
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Varley (2004)
  8. ^ "Maltby, Edward (MLTY787E)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge. – gives 1787 as the year of Maltby's admission to Pembroke
  9. ^ Maltby (1802)
  10. ^ Hedley, S. (2004) "Alderson, Sir Edward Hall (bap. 1787, d. 1857)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press. Retrieved 22 July 2007 (subscription or UK public library membership required)
  11. ^ Burns, S. (2004) "Blomfield, Charles James (1786–1857)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, online edn, Jan 2007. Retrieved 12 August 2007 (subscription or UK public library membership required)
  12. ^ Maltby (1803)
  13. ^ Benson, A. C. et al. (1907) Letters of Queen Victoria, 1st ser., 1.155
  14. ^ "Remarkable Letter of Lord John Russell". TROVE. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  15. ^ "Durham Castle". Britain Express. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
  16. ^ "Van Mildert and the Foundation of Durham University". Durham University. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
  17. ^ a b c d O'Donoghue, J.; et al. (2004). "Consumer Price Inflation since 1750". Economic Trends. 604: 38–46, March.
  18. ^ Welch (1964)

Bibliography[edit]

  • Obituaries:
    • The Times, 7 July 1859
    • Durham Chronicle, 8 July 1859
Church of England titles
Preceded by Bishop of Chichester
1831–1836 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Bishop of Durham
1836–1856 		Succeeded by
Professional and academic associations
Preceded by President of the Surtees Society
1837–40 		Succeeded by
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