What the eccentric Earl-Bishop did for Derry

An article from the Derry Journal regarding a peculiar incident that took place in the current UK City of Culture some years ago.

It's doubtful that the mindless morons who burned a portrait of 18th century Earl Bishop of Derry, Frederick Hervey, knew anything of his radical support for Catholic rights in a time of persecution.

An ardent supporter of Catholic emancipation - a stance which invoked the ire of many of his contemporaries - Dr Hervey was honoured after his death by the people of his diocese, including a Dissenting minister and a Catholic Bishop.

At his family home in Ickworth in Surrey an obelisk was inscribed with a tribute which includes the following excerpt: "Sacred to the memory of Frederick, Earl of Bristol, Bishop of Derry, who during 35 years that he presided over that See, eandeared himself to all denominations of Christians resident in his extensive diocese. He was a friend and protector of them all."

According to various sources, the man whose family is well known for many reasons - including the famous sherry, Harvey's Bristol Cream - was extremely popular in Derry and is said to have brought the age of enlightenment to the city with his liberalism and tolerance.

In his book, 'Irish Eccentrics' Peter Somerville-Large says of Bishop Hervey: "He underwent that fierce metamorphosis that turns some English men into Irish patriots. In a time savage religious discrimination he openly supported the cause of Catholic emancipation."

He was well travelled, cultured, an art connoisseur, multi-lingual and an enthusiastic amateur geologist.

But Dr Hervey, was also bit of an oddball, packed full with peculiarities. He was widely regarded as an eccentric character and a host of bizarre tales infuse his lifestory.

On one occasion, according to Somerville-Large, the Earl-Bishop was enjoying a meal in Siena while on his travels and, as a procession of the Host passed under the window of his hotel, "he leaned out and threw a tureen of spaghetti at it".

On hearing of his appointment to the See of Derry, according to tradition, Dr Hervey was playing leapfrog with clergymen in the grounds of his palace at Cloyne. He's reported to have said: "Gentlemen, I will jump no more. I have surpassed you all! I have jumped from Cloyne to Derry."

The philosopher and utilitarian thinker Jeremy Bentham was impressed with Dr Hervey but also noted his failings.. "He is a most excellent companion, pleaseant, intelligent, well read, well bred and liberal minded to the last degree. He has been everywhere and knows everybody." However, Bentham also described the Earl Bishop as being "touched" and having a tendency to exaggerate.

The Bishop also had a habit dressing like Catholic Bishop, something which irritated the Vatican authorities on his frequent visits to Rome - a home from home for much of his life.

One aspect of his behaviour is described by Somerville-Large as "inexcusable". He spent nearly half of his 36 year tenure as Bishop of Derry out of the country. For the last 13 years he did not set foot in his diocese.

But his tenure, from 1768-1803, was notable for the way he used church collections to transform the Derry diocese, earning him the nickname 'The Edifying Bishop'.

Originally from Ickworth in Surrey, Hervey was appointed Bishop of Derry - regarded as the richest episcopal prize in the coutry - at the age of 39 through the favour of his brother George, Lord Bristol and a former Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.

During his term in the diocese, he mined stone, built roads and developed ecclesiastical buildings but "perhaps the Bishop's greatest contribution to his adopted city", according to Brian Lacey in 'Siege City', was Dr Hervey's plans for the first bridge across the River Foyle.

He oversaw the plans and donated 1,000 to the initial project in 1769, although the wooden bridge did not come to fruition until 1790.

The Bishop even promoted new farming methods, introducing a "very neat kind of gate, the bars of which are oak rounded", according to one contemporary. He also built great mansions at Downhill and nearby Ballyscullion. The Downhill houses contained, among many other artefacts, galleries with paintings attributed to famous artists such as Rubens, Raphael, Murillo, Correggio, Tintoretto, Perugino, Van Dyke and Durer.

He enjoyed entertaining guests at Downhill, "rich and poor, Catholics and dissenters were all welcome", says Somerville- Large.

Dr Hervey also built Mussenden Temple on the cliffs above Magilligan Strand - which he dedicated to 22 year-old Mrs Frideswide Mussenden, whose beauty he "admired". The temple included an underground room intended for priests to say Mass, safe from religious persecution.

In 1778, Dr Hervey inherited an Earldom with the death of his brother Augustus and he became the first Earl-Bishop since Odo, Bishop of Bayeux and Earl of Kent, seven hundred years earlier.

Having, thrown himself into the radical political agitation of the period, Dr Hervey also had military aspirations. He was appointed Colonel of the Londonderry Corps of the Volunteers and made his military debut at the Volunteer meeting at Dungannon in September 8, 1783 which demanded a Grand General Convention of the Volunteers to lobby for greater legislative freedom for the Dublin Parliament.

At the convention in Dublin 1783, Dr Hervey mounted a leadership challenge against his long-term enemy James Caulfield, Earl of Charlemont - the commander of the movement. However, when his challenge failed Hervey was unable to influence any reform. One contemporary wrote: "The volunteer of Derry is of no consequence."

Nonetheless, liberals and Catholics were grateful. Somerville-Large quotes one tribute: "We trust that heavens' providence points you to us as one enobled instrument to raise our injured kingdom from infamy to glory, from misery to felicity."

But Dr Hervey's political enthusiasm waned as did his liberal views and by the time he died in July, 1803 - five years after the United Irishmen's failed rebellion - he had become "utterly reactionary".

In 1798 he was imprisoned by the Napoleon's force at Milan as a suspected spy, remaining in custody for 18 months. He died outdoors at Albano from "gout of the stomach", according to one contemporary and was buried in Ickworth Church.

However, despite all his oddities, he was remembered by Catholics, dissenters and his Anglican flock in Derry as a great patron, liberal agitator "friend and protector".

Those who saw fit to burn his portrait in a bonfire placed on a main city artery would do well to take note.

William Alexander 1824-1911 Bishop of Derry and Raphoe 1867-1896

William Alexander was born in Londonderry on the 13th April 1824. He was the son of Robert Alexander, Rector of Aghadowey and Dorothea, daughter of Henry McClintock of Ballyarton, Co. Donegal. Educated at Tonbridge School, Kent, Alexander won an exhibition to Exeter College, Oxford, but later migrated to Brasenose, where he graduated B.A. 1847. At college he seems to have been somewhat a spendthrift and consequently fell heavily into debt. Fortuitously, he was bailed out by his parents, but promised nevertheless to repay them when he received an income (the loan was repaid shortly before he became Bishop). During his time at college it was the profound influence of the "Oxford Movement" and in particular John Henry Newman's sermons which affected young Alexander deeply. After Newman's conversion to Rome, the young student himself contemplated following his example. He took his name of the college books, wrote to his mother stating his intention of converting and then left Oxford. But questions began to arise on his journey home. Along the way Alexander seems to have been touched by the calming influence of a Quakeress. This combined with a torturous night of soul searching in a cheap hotel in Birmingham, appears to have finally resolved the doubts that were present in the mind of the future Bishop of Derry and Raphoe. Many years later he would reflect on this spiritual evolution.

"At first I was carried away by the sheer aesthetic pleasure; later, at a great crisis, I was shown by those (Newman's) sermons the hidden things of my own soul; but later again, when the ignorant undergraduate had learned to read and think, he found many drawbacks in his paragon of other years. I owe him, no less, a deep debt of gratitude for an awakening of the soul, although I came to see that he had no profound exegesis, for he was not a profound scholar"

Will be updated at a later date. +Frederick, Derry. 

William Higgin 1793-1867 Bishop of Derry and Raphoe 1853-1867

William Higgin was born at Lancaster on the 27th September 1793. He was educated at Lancaster and Manchester Grammar Schools and Trinity College, Cambridge graduating B.A 1817, M.A. 1823, D.D. 1849. He became Curate of Clifton, near Bristol until 1820 when he moved to Ireland to act as tutor to the sons of Henry Goulburn, chief secretary of Ireland. Shortly afterwards he was appointed Chaplain of Richmond Penitentiary, Dublin. In 1823 Higgin became Rector of Roscrea, in the Diocese of Killaloe, and subsequently became Vicar-General of the Diocese. He was appointed Dean of Limerick in 1845. In this position Higgin appears to have been active in trying to relieve distress caused by the Great Famine. The local community's appreciation for his actions led the Corporation of Limerick to lobby for his promotion to the bishopric of Limerick. Four years later he was translated to the See of Derry.

The death of Richard Ponsonby in October 1853 led to speculation that William Higgin, then Bishop of Limerick, would be his successor. The news was greeted with apprehension by the local newspapers of the day. The Londonderry Sentinel, in particular, expressed its position in no uncertain terms:

"There are various cogent reasons why the appointment of Dr Higgin would be objected to in this diocese"

The paper opposed Higgin on two counts. Firstly, it was the fact that he was an Englishman. The appointment of Englishmen to lucrative Irish benefices when Irish born clerics were ignored was a sore point and indeed an old grievance. The paper argued that there were few enough opportunities for native clergy to advance without the added competition of their English counterparts. Furthermore  English clergymen were regarded by the paper as "ignorant of the habits and feelings of the population" and would thus be ill-prepared to serve their needs. The second issue which the paper drew attention to was Higgin's "Ultra Views" concerning the National System Education. As a recently appointed  Commissioner of National Education, Higgin would be at odds, the paper argued, with most of the clergy in the diocese who favoured "scriptural education" (those who supported the Church Education Society) . Despite this local opposition, however, William Higgin was indeed translated to the Diocese of Derry and Raphoe.

The appointment signalled a distinct change in the administration of the United Diocese in more ways than one. In contrast to Ponsonby, Bishop Higgin proved to be an energetic reformer. His aim was to raise the standard of ministry in the diocese and provide for the growing  spiritual needs of those of under his care. In his visitation of 1863, Higgin looked back on his arrival in the diocese ten years earlier when he had found "many of the churches without baptismal fonts, and in some instances, without becoming means for the decorus celebration of the Lord's Supper". Moreover, he found Holy Communion administered infrequently in many of the churches. Ten years later, however, Higgin was pleased to relate that every church now had a font and that the celebration of the Holy Communion was administered more often, to greater numbers and "with becoming reverence". There was also a discernible rise in the provision of evening services with increased attendance recorded. The 1859 religious revival, which the Bishop supported  also contributed  to increased church commitment.

This new spiritual energy could also be seen in the building of seventeen new churches and the enlarging of twenty-seven during Higgin's episcopate. The restoration of St. Columb's Cathedral was a case in point when, again on his arrival in the diocese, he had expressed sadness at the poor condition of the building and it's unfitness for the proper conduct of worship. In November 1858 the Bishop addressed the Vestry on plans for it's restoration which were eventually carried out in the period 1861-62 at the cost of approx £4000. The scheme saw the removal of the south and north galleries, the introduction of gas lighting and the erection of riga oak pews, the bishop's throne, western screens and stained glass windows.

During his episcopate, Bishop Higgin also sought to defend the church from attacks in parliament and the newspapers calling for its disestablishment. These attacks became more intense and more frequent as the 1860's progressed. To Higgin, therefore, it was all the more important that a high standard of clerical conduct was observed as a way to defend its establishment against such criticism. He consistently emphasized the duties which were expected of his clergy. Not only were they to ensure that church property was to be kept in good order, but by actions they were to set a good example to their congregation and acquaint themselves with the condition of their spiritual beliefs.

One case which proved to be indicative of Bishop Higgin's more vigorous administration was his suit against the Revd Moore O'Connor, the "soi distant" rector of Culdaff, in the consistorial court of Armagh in 1857. O'Connor, with no offcial clerical training, had successfully conned his way into serving the Anglican Church. After holding various curacies in England and Ireland, it appears in 1851 that he obtained the rectory of Culdaff through an act of simony. After Higgin's translation to Derry, however, O'Connor's colourful past eventually came under episcopal scrutiny, forcing the Bishop to act against him. In this curious case, which cost Higgin a small fortune (£1000), Moore O'Connor was finally deprived of his living. On this occasion Higgin's strict enforcement of clerical discipline won particular praise from the clergy of the diocese.

In other areas of his administration, however, the Bishop provoked "feelings of extreme dissatisfaction". On the question of clerical appointments, charges of nepotism and favoritism were made by the local press concerning the advancement of the bishop's sons-in-law and "palace favorites". Their quick rise in promotion to financially lucrative benefices at the expense of longer serving clerics in the diocese led to sustained protests in the early months of 1864 when a number of pamphlets were published by those defending and attacking the bishop's use of patronage.

William Higgin also attracted ill-feeling when, in 1860, he interfered with the celebrations marking the anniversary of the Relief of Derry.

It was customary on these occasions for Derry's crimson flag to be flown above the cathedral's east window and for the cathedral bells to be rung. During this particular year, however, The Party Emblems Bill (a measure designated to reduce breeches of public order) was making its way through parliament. Higgin as a member of the House of Lords which passed the bill on its first reading, and in the absence of the Dean, reused to allow this display to take place. The Apprentice Boys of Derry, however, defied Higgin's command and raised the flag. Attempts made by Higgin to stop these proceedings proved unsuccessful and led to the Apprentice Boy's occupation of the belfry over a period of two days during which the flag was flown and the bells rung. The local newspapers launched scathing criticism on the Bishop's conduct, "The Lord Bishop of Derry has done a grievous wrong. He has committed an outrage upon the Protestant Community".

Bishop Higgin died on the 12th of July 1867, even his fiercest critics acknowledged he had a genuine faith-

"He had his faults, for he was a man, but none was more ready to acknowledge them... He may have been sometimes too impulsive, but he was a thoroughly honest man, and sound judgement soon re-asserted its ascendancy."

   

William Knox 1762-1831 : Bishop of Derry 1803-1831

William Knox was born in Dublin on the 14th June 1762 and was the fourth son of Thomas, Ist Viscount Northland (later Earl of Ranfurly). Educated at Trinity College, Dublin, Knox graduated B.A. in 1781 and began his ecclesiastical career as a Curate in Limerick city. Shortly afterwards he was appointed Chaplain to the Irish House of Commons. His subsequent preferments included Rector of Kilmore (Diocese of Meath), 1784-6; Rector of Pomeroy (Diocese of Armagh), 1786-94; Rector of Callan (Diocese of Ossory), 1787-94. He distinguished himself in the last appointment by building a poor school in the parish. On the 21st September 1794 Knox became Bishop of Killaloe and Kilfenora. There he continued to pursue an interest in education and social welfare. In particular he was an active member of a society formed "for promoting the comforts of the poor" and published a paper on "the utility and management of Dispensaries, Poor Schools, and Schools of industry". His support for the government in voting for the Act of Union of 1800 earned Knox the promise of promotion to a more lucrative See. In September 1803 the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, The Earl of Hardwicke, honoured the promise by translating William Knox to the See of Derry.

Philip Yorke, 3rd Earl of Hardwicke KG, PC, FRS 

"As a bishop,he was very much beloved by his clergy, for though he never compromised the duties of his high office, he yet governed with a mild and paternal hand. He encouraged zeal- fostered piety- rewarded talent"

Although William Knox resided only four months of the year in Londonderry, while spending the rest mostly in London, his episcopate was far removed from the scandalous excesses of his predecessor. Knox had no wish to emulate the travelling habits of the Earl-Bishop, still less his eccentric behaviour. Instead, he adopted a much more consistent and conscientious approach to fulfilling his episcopal duties. Such a direction can in part be ascribed to the increasing influence of the evangelical movement which took root in the late eighteenth century, but which rose to prominence during the nineteenth. It's influence led to exactly the sort of activities which characterizes Knox's episcopate. The growing concern for higher standards of clerical conduct, the building of churches and glebe houses, the importance of education provision, and the support of various charitable causes were all exhibited in Knox's time in Derry.  

Among charities Knox was influential in the foundation of the Mendicity Association, and the establishment of a Charitable Loan which lent small sums of money to the city's poor enabling them to buy fuel during winter. Further afield, famine conditions in the south and west of Ireland in 1822 led the bishop to advocate at a town meeting that clothes made from linen "the staple manufacture of the north" be sent to relieve the destitute of those regions. Knox stated that clothes would help preserve them form infection while giving employment to the weaver and seamstress at home. The bishop contributed £500 as well as providing two hundred shirts and two hundred shifts.

Knox's interest in education provision could also be clearly seen. He liberally donated £100 to the building of Foyle College and a further £100 per annum for its endowment. Similarly, £400 was given to the building of a poor school with an endowment of £20 per annum. In these endeavours the bishop was merely continuing the work already begun in previous appointments only now they were on a greater scale.

Within the church, Knox sought to ensure that his clergy faithfully carried out their ministry. In his visitation of 1824, for example, the bishop told his clergy that he intended to enforce recent legislation attacking the problem of non-residency in the church.Rising criticism against the church's established position during the 1820s also led Knox to demand higher pastoral requirements. As a response to these attacks, he appealed to his clergy "to endeavour, by attention to the duties of their scared office, and by strict and exemplary lives, to refute the calumnies of their enemies". Raising the standard of pastoral service in parishes, however, was only part of the drive for greater ecclesiastical efficiency. The building of churches and glebe houses remained equally important. Helped financially by recent legislation, Knox was able to increase the number of ecclesiastical buildings in the diocese. In fact, he personally contributed not only to to the building of churches of his own denomination such as Christ Church, Londonderry, but also the erection of a number of Roman Catholic churches. However, it was his contribution to improving St. Columb's Cathedral which was most significant. On his arrival to the diocese the shock he expressed by it's state of disrepair had led him to immediately contribute £1000 towards its restitution. Yet further repair work to the building in the early 1820s caused heated controversy and ironically led to fierce criticism of the bishop.

In March 1822 an inspection of St. Columb's Cathedral reported that the roof timber was in so ruinous a state as to be totally incapable of repair. Against the opinion of Bishop Knox, a contract was issued by the parishioners to a local firm for it's repair, which according to Knox entailed much greater expense than was necessary. In 1823 the lead roof was replaced with a slate on, but the slating was found to be defective. It was therefore stripped again with the result that for some time the cathedral lay roofless before it was eventually re-slated. In the process, the interior of the building suffered considerable damage. During this period worship continued in the nearby Presbyterian church.

The dilapidated appearance of the cathedral and the time taken to restore it naturally gave rise to criticism of those who were responsible for its repairs. Traditionally repairs to the cathedral were financed out of an economy fund. In Derry's case, however, there did not appear to be any such fund as all previous repairs seemed to have been carried out by parochial assessment. As the sum needed to "repair" the cathedral on this occasion was more than the parishioners themselves could afford (approx. £4000), parliament was approached in May 1824 to help in financing the immediate work and establishing an economy fund for future repairs. The parliamentary bill to enable such a scheme was defeated, however, as it was alleged that such a fund already existed . Parliamentary scrutiny therefore turned the spotlight on Bishop Knox, criticizing him for allowing the cathedral to fall into such a state of  disrepair and accusing him of failing to expend money on its upkeep. Knox also came under attack from radicals in the press. The Dublin Evening Post of 1 May 1824, in particular, launched a stinging attack on the bishop under the title "The Rich Church and the Ruined Cathedral". However, the offending article, denigrating the bishop's character, produced an impressive and heartfelt display of local support for Knox. An address presented to the bishop, and later published, was signed by a cross-section of the community, that included the Roman Catholic bishop of Derry and the local Presbyterian minister. The address provided evidence of the bishop's financial contributions to numerous beneficial causes in the community.

Bishop Knox clearly felt that a section of opinion had been misinformed concerning his responsibilities over the cathedral's repairs. He was therefore forced to publish a pamphlet entitled "A statement and Refutation of the Charge against the Bishop of Derry" (1824). The bishop's defence rested on a point of principle by denying himself of his successors legally responsible for the cathedral's repairs. In no instance argued Knox had the law required that cathedrals should be repaired from the private purses of bishops, deans or chapters. the pamphlet aimed to show that the bishop had not been at fault concerning the repairs to the cathedral roof. At the same time time, his argument did not preclude him from contributing to improvements on the building. The cathedral reopened in January 1826.

Bishop Knox died in London on the 10th July 1831.  

St Columb's Cathedral Memorials.

Derry Cathedral contains over eighty monuments, memorials and brass plaques, more than any other Church in Ulster. Quite a few are very fine pieces of classical sculpture. No attempt is made here to describe them all. They are catalogued in a volume which can be seen at the Cathedral Office.

They commemorate Derry's association with the London Guilds and the Irish Society, as well as former bishops, deans, dignitaries, benefactors and famous citizens.

In the porch there are memorials to, amongst others, Thomas Gough, son of Dean Gough who was killed at Sevastopol during the Crimean War in 1855, and to Bishop William Higgin who died in 1867.

In the north aisle, there is the monument to John Elvin, Mayor of Derry, who died in 1676 aged 102 years.

There is the memorial to the Great War, and a monument commemorating the men of the 9th Londonderry Heavy Anti Aircraft Regiment who served in the Second World War.

Another classical monument commemorated Hugo Edwards who died in 1667.

St Columb's Cathedral, Stained Glass.