KEN 
England, from Tome late Reproaches rudely and unjuftly call 
upon them,” 8vo. written in anfwer to “ An Appeal of the 
Clergy of the Church of England, to my Lords the Bilhops, 
See." the production of a violent and noify high-church 
clergyman, and afterwards a nonjuror. In the year 1710, 
he preached the Latin fermon at the opening of the con¬ 
vocation, which was immediately printed, as was foon af¬ 
terwards an Englilh tranflatio'n of it, with a poftfcript, in 
vindication of himfelf againlt feme reflections caft on him 
by the tory party. To the manoeuvres of that party he 
fteadily oppofed himfelf, when, in the fame year, they pro¬ 
cured an addrefs from the majority of the London clergy 
to the queen, upon the change of the miniftry, defpifing 
the threat that thole who Ihould refufe to fu’ofcribe it 
would be conliuered as enemies to the queen and her go¬ 
vernment. One opinion, favourable to the exteniion of 
priettly power, for which fome of the high-church clergy 
were at this time advocates, was the neceflity of private 
confeflion and facerdotal abfolution ; and a fermon in¬ 
tended to advance that notion was publilhed by a Dr. 
Brett, of which complaint was made in the houfe of con¬ 
vocation, though the motions for cenfuring it were fufFer- 
ed to drop, and the author was juftified and commended 
by his party. To counteract the tendency of fuch prin¬ 
ciples, the dean publilhed, in 1712, “A Letter to the Re¬ 
verend Thomas Brett, LL.D. &c. about a Motion in Con¬ 
vocation ;” and in the fame year he alfo publilhed, with 
the fame view, “ A Memorial for Proteltants on the Fifth 
of November, See. in a Letter to a Peer of Great-Brifain 
which was fucceeded, in the following year, by an impref- 
fion of a fermon of archbifliop Whitgift, preached before 
queen Elizabeth, with a preface of his own, relative to 
the points in debate between him and his antagonifts. 
The zeal which dean Kennett thus difplayed in oppo- 
fition to the claims of the high-church clergy, and the 
fentiments of moderation which he difeovered towards 
the diflenters, as well as his attachment to the proteftant 
fucceflion, and the interefts of civil liberty, had rendered 
him fo obnoxious to the violent tories, that very un¬ 
common methods were taken to expofe him; and an ex¬ 
traordinary one in particular, by Dr. Welton, reCtor of 
Whitechapel, who was afterwards deprived as a nonjuror. 
In a new altar-piece of that church, intended to reprefent 
Chrift and his twelve apoltles eating the laft flipper, Judas 
was drawn fitting in an elbow-chair, drelfed in a black 
garment between a gown and a cloak, with a black fcarf 
and a white band, a fliort wig, a mark on his forehead, 
refembling the black patch with which Dr. Kennett co¬ 
vered the place where he had formerly received his wound, 
and with to much of that gentleman’s countenance, that 
under it, in effeft, was written “ the dean the traitor.” 
Such an extraordinary painting drew crowds of people 
daily to view it : but it was efteemed fo infolentand pro¬ 
fane a proftitution of what was intended for the molt fa- 
cred ufe, that, upon the complaints of others, without any 
remonftrance from the dean, who neither faw it nor feem- 
ed to regard it, the bifliop of London compelled thofe who 
fet it up to take it down again. Such efforts of malignity 
to expofe the character of the dean, inftead of damping 
his ardour in the defence of that caufe which he had ef- 
poufed, ferved only to animate him to farther exertions : 
and, in the year laft mentioned, upon the appearance of 
Mr. Bedford’s “ Hereditary Right, &c.” he publiflied an 
anfwer to it in “ A Letter to the Lord Bifliop of Cariifle, 
concerning one of his Predeceffors, Bifliop Merks, on Oc- 
caflon of a new Volume for the Pretender, &c.” which 
was followed, at fubfequent periods, by two other letters 
from the dean to the fame prelate, in the fame controverfy. 
In the mean time, he employed his leifure hours in pro¬ 
moting the defigns of the Society for propagating the Gof- 
pel in foreign parts. With this view, having made a large 
collection of books, charts, maps, and papers, at his own 
expence, in fubferviency to a delign of writing “A full 
Hiltory of the Propagation of Chriffianity in the Englifh 
American Colonies,” he prefented them to the fociety, 
and publiflied a catalogue of them in quarto in the year 
NETT. 66? 
1713, entitled, “ Bibliotheca Americana Primordial or, atj 
Attempt towards laying the Foundation of an American 
Library, in fe.veral Books, Papers, and Writings, &c.” 
This catalogue was publiflied by him, to induce others to 
make donations to the fociety of fuch books as were not 
in it, and which might be ferviceable to the inftitution. 
About the fame time, he alfo founded an antiquarian and 
hiftorical library at Peterborough, confiding of about fif¬ 
teen hundred volumes and fniail frafts : among which are 
molt of the printed legends of faints, the oldeft rituals 
and liturgies, the firft-printed Itatutes and laws, the moft 
ancient homilies and fermons, the firft editions of the Eng- 
lilli fchoolmen, poftillers, expounders, &c. with numerous 
fragments of our ancient language, ufage, cuftoms, rights, 
tenures, and fuch other things as tend to illuftrate the hif- 
tory of Great Britain and Ireland, and the fucceflive ftate 
of civil government, religion, and learning, in thefe king¬ 
doms. 
After the acceflion of king George I. to the throne, 
when dean Kennett found that a rebellion was breaking 
out in Scotland, and that many in England were difpoled 
to countenance it, he preached with the utmoft boldnel'3 
in defence of the prelent fettlement of the government 
under the houfe of Hanover: and when threatened in pri¬ 
vate letters, that the time was coming when lie Ihould be 
punilhed for his treafon again!! the lawful king, and it 
was even hinted by fome friends of lefs fpirit than himfelf, 
that wifdom and prudence called for greater caution while 
the enemy had a fword in his hand ; he was ufed to fay, 
that he was prepared to live and die in the c^ufe againlt: 
popery and the pretender, and that he would go out to 
fight, when he could ftay no longer to preach againlt them. 
He was alfo zealous for the repeal of the afts againlt oc- 
cafional conformity, and the growth of fcliifm; and 
warmly oppofed the proceedings in the convocation againlt; 
Dr. Hoadly, then bifliop of Bangor, on whofe fide he was 
deeply engaged in what is called the Bangorian contro¬ 
verfy. The fpirit which in thefe inftances he difplayed in 
the iervice of civil and religious freedom, exafperated his 
enemies, who were fo artful as to excite prejudices againlt 
him in the minds of fome who were high in power at 
court; whence they were led to hope and confidently re¬ 
ported, that an effectual bar was oppoled to his farther ad¬ 
vancement in the church. In a fliort time, however, they 
had the mortification to fee him honoured with the mitre; 
for, upon the death of bilhop Cumberland in 1718, he was 
immediately promoted to the fee of Peterborough. The 
moft important of his publications after his elevation to 
this dignity, was “ A Regilter and Chronicle, Ecclefiaiti- 
cal and Civil, containing Matters of Faft, delivered in the 
Words of the moft authentic Books, Papers, and Records, 
digelted in exaft Order of Time ; with proper Notes apd 
References towards difeovering and connecting the true 
Hiltory of England, from the Reftoration of King Charles 
II.” in two vols. folio, 1728. He enjoyed his bilhoprie 
ten years ; and died at his houfe in Weltminlter, on the 
19th of December, 1728, in the fixty-ninth year of his 
age. 
Befides the articles already enumerated, bifliop Kennett 
publiflied numerous fermons, tracts, and editions, with 
improvements, of pieces by other authors. 
KEN'NF.TT (Balil), younger brother of the preced¬ 
ing, was bom in 1674. at his father’s vicarage of Poftling 
in Kent. He was brought up to the church, and admit¬ 
ted a fcholar of Corpus-Chriiti college, Oxford, in 1690, 
He took the degree of M. A. 1696, and in that year puh- 
lillied Roma Antiqua Notitia ; or, the Antiquities of Rome,. 
8vo. to which were prefixed two eflays on the Roman learn¬ 
ing and education. This work was. fo well received, that 
he followed it, in 1697, by The Lives and Characters of 
the Ancient Greek Poets, 8vo. . He was in the fame year 
elefted a fellow of his college, and about the fame time 
entered into orders. Turning his Itudies to divinity, he 
publilhed an Expofition of the Apoftles Creed, according 
to Bifliop Pearfcn, Svo. 1705 ; and ail Eflay towards a Pa- 
raphrafe on the Pfalms in- Verfe, with a Earaphrafe on 
the- 
