(Redirected from George Pretyman)'Sir George Pretyman Tomline, 5th Baronet'
FRS (
9 October 1750 –
14 November 1827) was an
English clergyman,
theologian,
Bishop of Winchester, and confidant of
William Pitt the Younger. He was an opponent of
Catholic emancipation.
[1]
Early life
He was born 'George Pretyman' in
Bury St Edmunds,
Suffolk to a family claiming to have been influential in the region as far back as the
fourteenth century. His father, also George Pretyman (1722-1810) was a
landowner and
wool merchant. His mother, George's wife, was Susan ''née'' Hubbard (1720/1721 - 1807).
Pretyman attended
Bury St Edmunds Grammar School and then
Pembroke College, Cambridge,
graduating in
1772 as
senior wrangler and
Smith's prizewinner. He was elected a
fellow of Pembroke in
1773. He was
ordained deacon in
1774 and
priest in
1776.
Pitt was sent to Pembroke in
1773, at the age of fourteen, and Pretyman became his tutor and gradually his friend and confidant. When Pitt unsuccessfully stood for election as
Member of Parliament for
Cambridge University in the
British general election, 1780, Pretyman supported him.
Pitt became
Prime Minister of Great Britain in December
1783 when the
Fox-North Coalition fell but it remained for him to win the
British general election, 1784. On his 1784 victory, Pitt made Pretyman his private secretary, though the title was thought inappropriate for a clergyman. Pretyman's mathematical ability was soon called upon in advising Pitt on the
sinking fund and other technicalities of
fiscal policy.
In
1784, Pretyman married Elizabeth Maltby (died 1826),
cousin of
Edward Maltby, the future
Bishop of Chichester and himself eighth wrangler, and appointed William his
domestic chaplain.
[2] George and Elizabeth were well-matched and he constantly consulted her on church and political issues.
Bishop of Lincoln
In
1787, Pitt appointed Pretyman
Bishop of Lincoln, having to overcome the opposition of King
George III who objected to Pretyman's youth.
Pretyman maintained on close terms with Pitt, though Lincoln duties kept him from frequent visits to
London, and shared
Whig attitudes. In a
sermon to the
House of Lords on 30 Jamnuary
1789, Pretyman condemned King
Charles I, executed by
parliament in
1649, and praised his political opponents. Pretyman continued to advise Pitt on finance and on Pitt's
Ecclesiastical Plan. Pretyman was an opponent of
Catholic emancipation and was against Pitt's
1801 decision to resign when he failed to effect the changes promised to the
Irish Catholics in the compromises made over the passage of the
Act of Union 1800.
's regime was still less to Pretyman's taste and his anti-Catholic sentiments strengthened. However, he remained on good terms with Pitt and was ready to help him out of his debts.
Theological writings
Pitt's second ministry
Already wealthy, in
1803 he inherited extensive property from a distant relative, Marmaduke Tomline, and took the name 'Tomline'. Pitt returned to government in
1804 and, much to Tomline's satisfaction, promoted Tomline as
Archbishop of Canterbury, even though there was an earlier provisional agreement with the King that
Charles Manners-Sutton should be appointed. However, the King was not to be manouvred and exercised his
royal prerogative to appoint Manners-Sutton.
Tomline was offered the post of
Bishop of London in
1813 but declined because he thought the duties too onerous. He was translated to
Bishop of Winchester in
1820.
Family and death
Tomline had inherited further property before he died of
apoplexy at Kingston Hall, near
Wimborne,
Dorset and his
estate was worth £200,000. He was buried in
Winchester Cathedral.
Tomline and his wife had three sons but they relinquised their claim to the baronetcy:
★
William Edward Tomline (1787-1836),
[3] MP for, successively,
Christchurch,
Truro, and
Minehead.
★ George-Thomas Tomline, became
Chancellor of
Lincoln and
prebendary of
Winchester.
★ Richard Tomline, his third son, became precentor of Lincoln.
Personality
He was an able adminstrator to his
diocese, conducting eleven
visitations during his thirty three years tenure.
Though he appeared somewhat aloof in public, Tomline was a devoted family man and genial enough given the right company. From
1806, he was conservative as to his attitudes to church and state but was well respected by someone of as different an outlook as
Samuel Parr.
Offices and honours
★ Sinecure
rectory of
Corwen,
Merioneth, (1782);
★
Canon of
Westminster, (1784);
★
Doctor of Divinity, University of Cambridge, (1784);
★ Rector of
Sudbourn-cum-Offord, (1785);
★
Fellow of the Royal Society, (1785);
★
Dean of St Paul's, (1787-1820);
★ Charles I had originally conferred a
Nova Scotia baronetcy on Sir Thomas Pretyman but it had been dormant since
1749. In February
1823, Tomline's claim to the baronetcy was confirmed and he became 'Sir George Pretyman Tomline, 5th Baronet'.
References
1. Ditchfield (2004)
2. Varley, E. A. (2004) "Maltby, Edward (1770–1859)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, accessed 11 Aug 2007 (subscription required)
3. Gooding (2003)
Bibliography
★ Obituary:
★
★ ''
The Gentleman's Magazine'', 1st ser., 98/1 (1828), 201–4
----
★
★
★ Ditchfield, G. M. (2004) "
Tomline, Sir George Pretyman, fifth baronet (1750–1827)", ''
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', accessed 22 August 2007
★
★
★
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