476 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



[2»* S. V. 128., June 12. '58. 



Bbbtt), who gives "London, 1713,'' as the date 

 of publication. Tliis, however, is a digression 

 from the orijiinal subject of my Query. " Roger 

 Laurence, Esq., created M.A. July 1,6, 1713," 

 occurs in the Catalogue of Graduates of the 

 University of Oxford (edit. 1851, Oxford, p. 398.) ; 

 and from the coincidence of time and name it was 

 most probably Mr. Roger Laurence, of whom I 

 am writing. Roger Laurence was consecrafed, in 

 the year 1733, as a bishop of a new and separate 

 line of Nonjuring prelates, which was not recog- 

 nised by the original body of nonjurors, by reason 

 of the consecration having been performed by a 

 single bishop, who was on this occasion Bishop 

 Archibald Campbell (a Scotisli prelate, and scion 

 of the noble house of Argyle; who was incor- 

 porated M.A. of University Coll. Oxon., from 

 Edinburgh, Oct, 10, 1693 ; had been long in 

 priest's orders ; was for some years chaplain at 

 Surinam in South America, and was consecrated 

 as one of the " college bishops " of the Episcopal 

 Church in Scotland, at Dundee, Aug. 28, 1711 ; 

 elected Bishop of Aberdeen May 10, 1721, but 

 resigned that see April 3, 1725, in London, where 

 he almost entirely resided for many years ; and in 

 which city he died, June 16, 1714, at an advanced 

 age). This new line of bishops is stated by Mr. 

 Perceval, in his valuable work on Apostolical Suc- 

 cession (2nd edit., 1841, Appendix, p. 249.), to have 

 commenced in the consecration of Roger Laurence, 

 " who appears to have taken the opposite extreme 

 to Bishop Blackburn" (on the much agitated (ques- 

 tions of the Rites, &c.), "and to have insisted 

 upon the cup being mixed openly" in the sacra- 

 ment of the Eucharist ; a compromise having been 

 arranged shortly before, one of the conditions 

 of which was that the water should be mixed 

 privately; and it is mentioned that in 1733 all 

 the Ntmjuring bishops were jn communion at 

 that time, with the exception of Bishop Black- 

 burn, who stood alone, and refused the mixed cup 

 altogether. B'shops Campbell and Laurence kept 

 up the separation, by consecrating, shortly after- 

 wards. Dr. Thomas Deacon, of whom there are 

 several interesting particulars in "N. & Q." (1'* 

 S. xji. 85.). Bishop Deacon died Feb. 16, 1753, 

 an. aetat, 56. et epis. 20. (?), at Manchester, and 

 was interred in St. Anne's churchyard there. As 

 be is styled a D.D., it should be stated, if known, 

 from what University he obtained his degree in 

 divinity* — his name is not in the Cat. of Oxford 

 Graduates, and my edition of Graduati Cantabri- 

 giensis by Romilly (edit. 1846) only extends back 

 to the year 1760. This succession was perpetu- 

 ated by Deacon, who, alone, consecrated (when?) 

 P. J. iSrown, " whose real name is supposed to 

 have been Johnstone, a brother of the Earl of 



£* As Deacon was a pupil of the celebrated Dr. Mead, 

 physician to George II., it is probable he only took the 

 degree of M.D.] 



Annandale" (Perceval): and, in 1780, it is stated, 

 that the two last bishops of this separate line of 

 Nonjurors, Kenrick Price and William Cart- 

 wright, were consecrated by Deacon, but this 

 must be incorrect, at least if the consecration took 

 place in 1780* ; for, as already mentioned, Deacon 

 had died twenty-seven years previously to that 

 date, so that it must surely have been Bishop 

 Brown (or Johnstone) who officiated as conse- 

 crating prelate on the occasion. The subject, 

 however, is very obscure, and beset with chrono- 

 logical and other difficulties, upon which Mr. 

 Lathbury throws no light whatever in his History 

 of the Nonjurors, as might have been expected 

 from the character of his work. Perhaps there 

 still exist MS. authorities, which might assist re? 

 searches in these points, and I rely on some 

 contributor to " N. & Q." for additional infor- 

 mation regarding the consecrations of the eminent 

 and learned men who composed the Nonjuring 

 hierarchy during the last century ; their history i? 

 still a desideratum in our literature. The Raw- 

 linson MSB., referred to in " N. & Q." (2'^ S. v. 

 141.), appear to be a mine of curious historical 

 and biographical information, hitherto but little 

 explored ; but of course they can only extend to 

 the year 1755 ; later collections must be searched 

 for the subs.equent history of the Nonjuring body.f 

 My Query has resulted in a Note, and too long 

 a one, I fear, for the plethoric columns of " N. ^ 

 Q. ;" however, I must, in conclusion, again solicit 

 information about Bishop Roger Laurence, who 

 was certainly one of the " giants of those dayg.** 

 All the information I have been able to collect is 

 given above ; and I ought not to omit mentioning 

 that the chief particulars (meagre though they be) 

 are extracted from that storehouse ior literary 

 inquirers, Nichols's Literary Anecdotes and llluS' 

 trations of the Eighteenth Century, which I am 



[* Kenrick Price was consecrated March 8, 1751-2, as 

 we learn from tjie following epitaph, printed in the Gent. 

 Mag. for Sept. 1792, p. 808. ; the name of the church in 

 which it was found is not state4: "On the north side 

 of this churchj'ard rests the body of Kenrick Price, who 

 for more than thirty-seven years, witliout the leaat 

 worldly profit, presided over the orthodox remnant of 

 the ancient j^ritish Church in Manchester, with truly 

 priniitive Catholic piety, fervent devotion, integrity, and 

 simplicity of manners, and every trait of character which 

 could adorn the lifie of an unbeneficed priniitive bishop. 

 He died September 15, 1790, in the sixty-ninth year of 

 his age, and thirty-ninth of his episcopate. May be find 

 piercy of the Lord in that day! He was consecrated 

 March 8, 1751-2." In our 2°'^ S. i. 175. we find we were 

 misled by Perceval in the date of the consecration of Cart- 

 wright and Price, which we must request our readers to 

 correct with a pen.] 



[t Documents relating to the later Nonjurors are only 

 to be found in private libraries. (See " N. & Q." 2°* S. 

 iii. 245, 246.) The Rev. Nicholas Brett, of Spring Grove, 

 son of the eminent Dr. Brett, left by his will all his pam- 

 phlets and papers to John Bowdler, Esq. See Memoir of 

 the Life of John Bowdler, Esq., 8vo., 1824, p. 24.] 



