Richard Robinson, 1st Baron Rokeby
Richard Robinson, 1st Baron Rokeby (1708–died 1794) was an Irish ecclesiastic.
Robinson came to Ireland as chaplain to the Duke of Dorset in 1751. He was translated from the See of Kildare to the Archbishopric of Armagh in 1765.
In 1777 he was created Baron Rokeby, of Armagh in the Peerage of Ireland,[1] with special remainder to Matthew Robinson (1694–1778) of West Layton, in the North Riding of the county of Yorkshire, his second cousin, twice removed.
In 1774 he founded the County Infirmary. In 1780 he donated land for the erection of a new prison and in 1771 he founded the Armagh Public Library. In 1790 he founded the Armagh Observatory as part of his plan for a university in Armagh. He died on 10 October 1794. His cousin Matthew Robinson, a noted eccentric, inherited his titles.
Robert Walpole called Robinson 'a proud but superficial man'. John Wesley accused him of being more interested in buildings than in the care of souls.
Richard Cumberland described him as : splendid, liberal, lofty ... publicly ambitious of great deeds, and privately capable of good ones, ... he made no court to popularity by his manners but he benefited a whole nation by his public works.[2]
The Canterbury Gate at Christ Church, Oxford, is one monument to his munificence. The gate is inscribed: MUNIFICENTIA ALUMNORUM PRAECIPUE RICARDI ROBINSON ARCHICEP. ARMAGH.
He died at Clifton, Bristol and was buried in Armagh Cathedral.
External links
References
- ↑ The London Gazette: no. 11742. p. 1. 4 February 1777.
- ↑ Memoirs, volume 2, pps. 353-54, quoted from The Complete Peerage.
| Church of Ireland titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Mordecai Cary |
Bishop of Killala and Achonry 1752–1759 |
Succeeded by Samuel Hutchinson |
| Preceded by Thomas Salmon |
Bishop of Ferns and Leighlin 1759–1761 |
Succeeded by Charles Jackson |
| Preceded by Thomas Fletcher |
Bishop of Kildare 1761–1765 |
Succeeded by Charles Jackson |
| Preceded by George Stone |
Archbishop of Armagh 1765–1794 |
Succeeded by William Newcome |
| Baronetage of England | ||
| Preceded by William Robinson |
Robinson baronets (of Rokeby Park) 1777–1794 |
Succeeded by Matthew Robinson |
| Peerage of Ireland | ||
| New creation | Baron Rokeby 1777–1794 |
Succeeded by Matthew Robinson |
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