Horatio Powys

Horatio Powys
Bishop of Sodor and Man
Installed1805
Term ended1877 (death)
PredecessorRobert Eden
SuccessorRowley Hill
Personal details
Born(1805-11-05)5 November 1805
Died31 May 1877(1877-05-31) (aged 71)
Bournemouth, Dorset, England
BuriedWarrington, Cheshire, England
Spouse
Percy Gore
(m. 1833)
Children8
Alma mater
Styles of
Horatio Powys
Reference styleThe Right Reverend
Spoken styleMy Lord
Religious styleBishop

Horatio Powys (20 November 1805–31 May 1877) was a priest in the Church of England and Bishop of Sodor and Man.

Powys, born on 20 November 1805, was third son of Thomas Powys, 2nd Baron Lilford (1775–1825), by Henrietta Maria, eldest daughter of Robert Vernon Atherton of Atherton Hall, Lancashire. He was educated at Harrow and at St. John's College, Cambridge, where he graduated M.A. in 1826, and was later created D.D. in 1854.[1] In 1831 he became the rector of the parish of Warrington, Lancashire and he was for some time rural dean of Cheshire.[2] Strongly impressed with the necessity for improved education, he succeeded in establishing the training college at Chester and the institution for the education of the daughters of the clergy at Warrington, both of which proved permanently successful. On 5 July 1854 he was nominated to the bishopric of Sodor and Man. He made successful endeavours to uphold the rights of the see, and involved himself in much litigation, including a lengthy dispute with the Rev. William Drury, the Vicar of Kirk Braddan, over the patronage of St Thomas' Church, Douglas, which was closed for over a year as a consequence.[3] Powys was unpopular among most of the Manx clergy due to his High Church views, and contentious nature. After his health began to decline in 1873, he spent much time in England, and his episcopal duties were undertaken by other bishops on Powys' commission. He printed two charges, A Pastoral Letter to the Congregation at Warrington, 1848, and two sermons.

  1. ^ "Powys, the Hon. Horatio (PWS823H)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  2. ^ The parish of Warrington
  3. ^ John Gelling, 'A History of the Manx Church 1698–1911' pages 109–115