English churchman
William Lort Mansel (2 April 1753 – 27 June 1820) was an English churchman and Cambridge fellow. He was Master of Trinity College, Cambridge from 1798 to his death in 1820, and also Bishop of Bristol from 1808 to 1820.
Life
He was born in Pembroke, the son of William Wogan Mansel and his wife Anne (née Lort), sister of Michael Lort, Regius Professor of Greek at Cambridge. He was educated at the King's School, Gloucester under Edward Sparkes, and at Trinity College, Cambridge (matriculated 1770, scholarship 1771, graduated B.A. 1774, M.A. 1777, D.D. 1798).[1]
Elected a fellow of Trinity in 1775, Mansel was ordained deacon in 1780 and priest in 1783. He became Vicar of Bottisham 1783–1790, Vicar of Chesterton in 1788 and Rector of Fowlmere in 1789.[1]
Mansel was known as a wit, writer of epigrams,[1] and satirist of academic rivalries. His popularity led to his election as Public Orator of Cambridge, 1788–1798.[2] Appointed Master of Trinity in 1798, Mansel served as University Vice-Chancellor 1799–1800.[1] Appointed Bishop of Bristol in 1808 on the recommendation of his former pupil Spencer Perceval, the then Chancellor of the Exchequer,[2] he combined the bishopric with his mastership until his death in 1820.
Lord Byron, who was a student at Trinity from 1805 to 1808,[3] described Mansel ("Magnus", for his corpulence) presiding in college:
High in the midst, surrounded by his peers,
Magnus his ample front sublime uprears:
Plac'd on his chair of state, he seems a God,
While Sophs and Freshmen tremble at his nod;
As all around sit wrapt in speechless gloom,
His voice, in thunder, shakes the sounding dome;
Denouncing dire reproach to luckless fools,
Unskill'd to plod in mathematic rules.
—
Lord Byron, Thoughts Suggested by a College Examination[4]
Mansel died in the Master's Lodge at Trinity College, Cambridge, and is interred in the College Chapel.[2]
Family
Mansel married in 1779 Isabella Haggerston(e), daughter of John Haggerston, a Cambridge attorney.[5][6] They had 13 children:[7]
- Isabella Mansel (1789–1866), married the Rev. Lort Mansel, a cousin.[8]
- William Lort Mansel (1790–1810), lieutenant in the Navy, died at sea.
- Anne Mansel (1792–1832), married in 1819 Edward Peacock, Fellow of Trinity and cleric.[9][10]
- Elizabeth Mansel (1793–1880), married in 1823 James Devereux Hustler, Fellow of Trinity and cleric.[11]
- Frederick Mansel (1794)
- Edward Mansel (1794) – Frederick and Edward, twins, both died in infancy.
- William Frederick Mansel (1795–1839), godson of Prince William Frederick, priest.[12]
- Spencer Perceval Mansel (1797–1862), godson of Spencer Perceval, priest.[13]
- Fanny Mansel (1798–1878), married in 1821 the Rev. Thomas Tayler of Whitlings.[14]
- Emily Mansel (1800–1874), married in 1823 the Rev. Edward Miller.[15]
- Sophia Matilda Caroline Mansel (1801–1873), married in 1823 the Rev. John Horsley Dakins.[16]
- Catherine Mansel (1803)
- Mary Mansel (1803) – Catherine and Mary, twins, both died in infancy.
On Mansel's death, his executors were Edward Daniel Clarke and James Devereux Hustler; his estate was left in will to his five unmarried daughters.[17]
References
- ^ a b c d "Mansel, William Lort (MNSL770WL)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
- ^ a b c "William Lort Mansel". Trinity College Chapel. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
- ^ "Byron [post Noel], George (Gordon), Baron Byron (BRN805G)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
- ^ Coleridge, E. H.; Prothero, R. E. (eds.). The Works of Lord Byron . Vol. 1. p. 28 – via Wikisource.
- ^ Skedd, S. J. "Mansel, William Lort". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/17990. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- ^ Maunsell, Charles Albert; Stratham, Edward Phillips (1917). History of the family of Maunsell (Mansell, Mansel). Vol. I. London: Kegan Paul. p. 252.
- ^ Phillips, Edward Statham (1920). History of the Family of Maunsell (Mansell, Mansel) (PDF). Vol. 2. p. 68. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
- ^ Foster, Joseph (1888–1892). "Mansel, Lort" . Alumni Oxonienses: the Members of the University of Oxford, 1715–1886. Oxford: Parker and Co – via Wikisource.
- ^ "Peacock, Edward (PCK803E)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
- ^ Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry. H. Colburn. 1847. p. 1013.
- ^ "Hustler, James Devereux (HSTR801JD)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
- ^ "Mansel, William Frederick (MNSL814WF)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
- ^ "Mansel, Spencer Perceval (MNSL814SP)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
- ^ "Tayler, Thomas (TLR816T)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
- ^ "Miller, Edward (MLR816E)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
- ^ "Dakins [post Dakyns], John Horsley (DKNS818JH)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
- ^ The London Magazine. Baldwin, Cradock, and Joy. 1820. p. 350.
External links
