William Cleaver
William Cleaver (1742–1815) was an English churchman and academic, Principal of Brasenose College, Oxford, and bishop of three sees.
Life
He was the eldest son of the Rev. William Cleaver, who was the headmaster of a private school at Twyford in Buckinghamshire, and his wife Martha Lettice Lushden. He was the elder brother of Euseby Cleaver, Archbishop of Dublin from 1809 to 1819. He was at Magdalen College, Oxford, and after taking his B.A. degree, in 1761, was a fellow of Brasenose College; he became M.A. on 2 May 1764.
In 1768 he was a candidate for the Bodleian librarianship. The votes between him and his competitor John Price were equal, and the latter was appointed on account of being a few months the senior. Cleaver became tutor to George Nugent-Temple-Grenville. He was successively made vicar of Northop in Flintshire, prebendary of Westminster (1784), Principal of Brasenose College (1785), bishop of Chester (1787), bishop of Bangor (1800), and bishop of St Asaph (1806). He retained the headship of Brasenose until 1809, and almost constantly lived there.
At Bangor in 1802, he cautioned an old servant who let apartments against a stray lodger who the bishop thought might be no better than a swindler. This suspicious personage was Thomas De Quincey, who mentioned the incident in his English Opium-eater. Cleaver died on 15 May 1815 in Bruton Street, London. He was interested in the higher education of women.
Works
Among his writings were De Rhythmo Graecorum, 1775, and Directions to the Clergy of the Diocese of Chester on the Choice of Books, 1789. He also edited the edition of Homer printed at Oxford by the Grenville family.
References
- ^ "The Armorial Bearings of the Bishops of Chester". Cheshire Heraldry Society. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: "Cleaver, William". Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
Academic offices | ||
---|---|---|
Preceded by Thomas Barker | Principal of Brasenose College, Oxford 1785–1809 | Succeeded by |
Church of England titles | ||
Preceded by | Bishop of Chester 1787–1800 | Succeeded by |
Preceded by John Warren | Bishop of Bangor 1800–1806 | Succeeded by John Randolph |
Preceded by | Bishop of St Asaph 1806–1815 | Succeeded by |
- v
- t
- e
- Matthew Smyth
- John Hawarden
- Thomas Blanchard
- Richard Harris
- Alexander Nowell
- Thomas Singleton
- Samuel Radcliffe
- Daniel Greenwood
- Thomas Yate
- John Meare
- Robert Shippen
- Francis Yarborough
- William Gwyn
- Ralph Cawley
- Thomas Barker
- William Cleaver
- Frodsham Hodson
- Ashurst Gilbert
- Richard Harington
- Edward Hartopp Cradock
- Albert Watson
- Charles Buller Heberden
- Charles Henry Sampson
- William Stallybrass
- Hugh Last
- Maurice Platnauer
- Noel Frederick Hall
- Herbert Hart
- Barry Nicholas
- David Hennessy, 3rd Baron Windlesham
- Roger Cashmore
- Alan Bowman
- John Bowers