GEMMS IDGEMMS-PERSON-000282
NameThomas Tenison
TitleArchbishop
Gendermale
DenominationChurch of England
Livedb. 1636-09-29 - d. 1715-12-14 (old)
Linked Manuscriptsmanuscript owner? - Commonplace book of William Rawley: MS 2086manuscript owner - Miscellaneous Gibson Papers: MS 930
Linked SermonsSermon 2 on unidentified text -- preacher (autograph: no)Sermon 3 on unidentified text -- preacher (autograph: no)Sermon 4 on unidentified text -- preacher (autograph: no)Sermon 6 on unidentified text -- preacher (autograph: no)Sermon 7 on unidentified text -- preacher (autograph: no)Sermon 8 on unidentified text -- preacher (autograph: no)Sermon 9 on unidentified text -- preacher (autograph: no)Sermon on 1 Corinthians 15:34 -- preacher (autograph: no)Sermon on Isaiah 57:21 -- preacher (autograph: no)Sermon on Psalms 53:4 -- preacher (autograph: no)Sermon on Romans 1:20 -- preacher (autograph: no)Sermon on Romans 13:7 -- preacher (autograph: no)Sermon on Romans 4:2 -- preacher (autograph: no)
Linked ReportsLetters of Thomas Tenison -- author of letterLetters of Thomas Tenison -- recipient of letter
Associated PlacesCanterbury -- BishopricLincoln -- BishopricBracon Ash -- ParishHolywell with Needingworth -- ParishSt Andrew the Great -- ParishSt James Piccadilly -- ParishSt Martin in the Fields -- ParishCorpus Christi College -- Place of StudyLondon -- PostSt Peter Mancroft -- Post
Source of DataJennifer Farooq; David Robinson; Hannah Wood
Biographical Sources ConsultedODNB (Article: 27130); ACAD (Venn) (ID: TNY653T)
Other NoteThomas Tenison was born at Cottenham, Cambs. on 29 September 1636 to John Tenison, curate, and his wife Mercy. Tenison was educated at Norwich School before entering Corpus Christi College, Cambridge in 1653 as a Parker scholar. He graduated B.A. in 1657 and briefly studied physick, as Anglican ordinations were still forbidden; however, in 1659 he was secretly ordained by the bishop of Salisbury. He proceeded M.A. in 1660, became a fellow of Corpus in 1662, proceeded B.D. in 1667, and was created D.D. in 1680. He served as rector of Bracon Ash, Norfolk from 1661-2 and as vicar of St Andrew the Great, Cambridge from 1662-7. In 1667 he married Anne Love and became rector of Holywell with Needingworth, Hunts., and soon after was made chaplain to the king. In 1673 he became upper minister at St Peter Mancroft, Norwich, a position he held for 18 months. He was promoted to the living of St Martin-in-the-Fields, London in 1680, where he joined a circle of eminent London churchmen. When the parish was divided in the 1680s, he maintained St Martin’s and also held St. James-in-the-Fields (St James, Piccadilly). In 1684 he built the first public library in London, and founded several charity schools over his lifetime. He was appointed archdeacon of London in 1689, and was consecrated as bishop of Lincoln in 1692. In 1694, Tenison was appointed archbishop of Canterbury. He revived the archbishop’s court in 1695 and was a campaigner for moral reform. A fervent pamphleteer for the Anglican cause who spoke out against Catholics and Jesuits, Tenison enjoyed the support of William and Mary, and lost a degree of political influence after their deaths. He encouraged Thomas Bray in the founding of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts (1701), which aimed to win American dissenting colonists back to the Church and also to convert indigenous peoples. Tenison died on 14 December 1715 and was buried in the chancel of Lambeth parish church; he was predeceased by his wife, and a had no surviving children.
GEMMS record createdMarch 08, 2016
GEMMS record last editedAugust 11, 2021