Thomas Sherlock
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Thomas Sherlock (1678 - July, 1761) was an English divine who served as a Church of England Bishop for 33 years.
Sherlock was the son of William Sherlock and was born in London. He was educated at Eton and at St Catharine's College, Cambridge, and in 1704 succeeded his father as master of the Temple, where he was very popular. In 1714 he became master of his old college at Cambridge and vice-chancellor of the university, whose privileges he defended against Richard Bentley. In 1715 he was appointed dean of Chichester.
He took a prominent part in the Bangorian controversy against Benjamin Hoadly, whom he succeeded as bishop of Bangor in 1728; he was afterwards translated to Salisbury in 734, and to London in 1748. Sherlock was a capable administrator, and cultivated friendly relations with dissenters. In parliament he was of good service to his old schoolfellow Robert Walpole.
He published against Anthony Collins's deistic Grounds of the Christian Religion a volume of sermons entitled The Use and Interest of Prophecy in the Several Ages of the World (1725); and in reply to Thomas Woolston's Discourses on the Miracles he wrote a volume entitled The Tryal of the Witnesses of the Resurrection of Jesus (1729), which soon ran through fourteen editions. His Pastoral Letter (1750) on the late earthquakes had a circulation of many thousands, and four or five volumes of Sermons which he published in his later years (1754-1758) were also at one time highly esteemed.
A collected edition of his works, with a memoir, in 5 vols. 8vo, by JS Hughes, appeared in 1830.
[edit] Reference
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
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| Religious Posts | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by William Baker |
Bishop of Bangor 1728–1734 |
Succeeded by Charles Cecil |
| Preceded by Benjamin Hoadley |
Bishop of Salisbury 1734–1748 |
Succeeded by John Gilbert |
| Preceded by Edmund Gibson |
Bishop of London 1748–1761 |
Succeeded by Thomas Hayter |
