George Spencer (bishop)

George John Trevor Spencer (11 December 1799 – 16 July 1866) was an Anglican bishop in the 19th century and a member of the Spencer family.

The Right Reverend George Spencer DD
Spencer from Frank Penny's Book 'The Church in Madras, Volume III, 1922
Bishop of Madras
In office 1837–1849
Preceded by	Daniel Corrie
Succeeded by	Thomas Dealtry
Personal details
Born	George John Trevor Spencer (1799-12-11)11 December 1799
Died	16 July 1866(1866-07-16) (aged 66)
Spouse	Harriet Theodora Hobhouse ​ ​ (m. 1823)​
Relations	Aubrey Spencer (brother)
Children	5
Parent(s)	William Robert Spencer Countess Susan Jenison-Walworth

Early life

Spencer was born on 11 December 1799. He was the son of William Robert Spencer and Countess Susan von Jenison-Walworth. Spencer's brother Aubrey Spencer, became first Bishop of Newfoundland in 1839, then Bishop of Jamaica.^[1]

His paternal grandparents were Lord Charles Spencer (a son of Charles Spencer, 3rd Duke of Marlborough) and the former Hon. Mary Beauclerk (a daughter of Adm. Vere Beauclerk, 1st Baron Vere and sister of Aubrey Beauclerk, 5th Duke of St Albans). His maternal grandparents were the former Charlotte Smith and Count Francis von Jenison-Walworth, Chamberlain to the Elector Palatine. His maternal uncle, Count Franz von Jenison-Walworth, married Mary Beauclerk, a daughter of Topham Beauclerk (a great-grandson of King Charles II) and the former Lady Diana Spencer (his maternal grandfather's sister, both children of the 3rd Duke of Marlborough), and served as Chamberlain to the King of Württemberg. Among his cousins were the Bavarian diplomat, Count Franz Oliver von Jenison-Walworth.^[2]

He was educated at University College, Oxford, receiving a B.A. in 1822 and an honorary D.D. in 1847.^[3]

Career

In 1823 Spencer was made deacon by the Bishop of Lincoln and ordained a priest by the Bishop of Salisbury in 1824. He became Perpetual curate of Buxton until 1829, when he became Rector of Leaden Roding until^[4] his appointment as the Bishop of Madras in 1837. The post came through the influence of John Hobhouse, 1st Baron Broughton, his brother-in-law.^[5]

Resigning his See in 1849, he was afterwards minister of the Marbœuf Chapel (English Protestant) in Paris; an assistant Bishop of Bath and Wells (4 October 1852 – 10 May 1853) and commissary during Bagot's illness;^[6] and then Chancellor of St Paul's Cathedral^[7] from 1860.^[4] His last post was as Rector of Walton on the Wolds, Leicestershire.^[8]

Personal life

In 1823, Spencer married Harriet Theodora Hobhouse (1798–1885), daughter of Sir Benjamin Hobhouse, 1st Baronet and, his second wife, the former Amelia Parry (a daughter of Rev. Joshua Parry). Among her siblings was Joanna Hobhouse who married Rev. Frederick Adrian Scrope Fane (a son of John Fane, MP) They had two sons and three daughters, including:^[5]

• Theodora Amelia Mary Spencer (1824–1848), who married Judge of the High Court, Madras, Hatley Frere, son of James Hatley Frere, in 1840.^[1]
• Susan Ann Sophia Churchill Spencer (1829–1866), who married Rev. Robert Kerr Hamilton in 1845.^[1]
• William Cavendish Spencer (1829–1860), who was in the Bengal Civil Service and married Patience Caroline Hannyngton, daughter of Col. John Caulfield Hannyngton, in 1858.^[1]
• Almeric John Spencer (1834–1864), a Reverend married his cousin, Isabella Elizabeth Fane, daughter Joanna (née Hobhouse) Fane, in 1857.^[1]
• Emily Joanna Elphinstone Spencer (1841–1927), who died unmarried.^[9]

Spencer died on 16 July 1866.^[10]

References

1. Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 106th edition, 2 volumes. Crans, Switzerland: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 1999, volume 2, pps. 1867-1868.
2. Hicks, Carola (19 August 2014). Improper Pursuits: The Scandalous Life of an Earlier Lady Diana Spencer. St. Martin's Publishing Group. ISBN 978-1-4668-7864-8. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
3. The Times, Thursday, 17 June 1847; page 6; Issue 19578; col F "University Intelligence. Oxford, 16 June"
4. Crockford's Clerical Directory appendix, 1861. (p. 38)
5. Brown, Clare. "Spencer, George Trevor". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/26126. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
6. "The late Bishop Spencer". Church Times. No. 182. 28 July 1866. p. 242. ISSN 0009-658X. Retrieved 16 March 2020 – via UK Press Online archives.
7. "The New Chancellor of St. Paul's Cathedral"; The Morning Post (London, England), Tuesday, 20 November 1860; p. 5; Issue 27122.
8. Derby Mercury (Derby, England), Wednesday, 26 June 1861; Issue 6744
9. Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire. Burke's Peerage Limited. 1898. p. 978. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
10. Penny, Frank (1922). The Church in Madras : being the History of the Ecclesiastical and Missionary Action of the East India Company in the Presidency of Madras From 1835 to 1861: Volume III. London: John Murray. p. 210. Retrieved 9 February 2015.

Church of England titles
Preceded by Daniel Corrie	Bishop of Madras 1837–1849	Succeeded by Thomas Dealtry