A carte de visite portrait of John Bird Sumner (1780-1862), the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1848 to 1862.

 


Born at Kenilworth in Warwickshire and educated at Eton and Cambridge, Sumner became a master at Eton in 1802 and was ordained the following year. He was elected a fellow of Eton in 1817 and in 1818 the school presented him to the living of Maple Durham in Oxfordshire. After being a prebendary of the Durham diocese for some years, he was consecrated Bishop of Chester in 1828. During his episcopate many churches and schools were built in the diocese. In 1848 he was elected Archbishop of Canterbury and in this capacity he dealt impartially with the different church parties.

 


In the well-known Gorham Case he came into conflict with Bishop Henry Phillpotts of Exeter, who accused him of supporting heresy and refused to communicate with him. He supported the Divorce Bill in Parliament but opposed the Deceased Wife's Sister Bill and the bill for removing Jewish disabilities.

 


He was president of the Canterbury Association that founded the colony that eventually became the city of Christchurch in New Zealand.


 

Archbishop Sumner died on 6 September 1862.

 


Photographed by Mason and Co. of London.

 


Condition: please see scans. The print presents a few dark flecks in the area of the background but is otherwise in excellent condition, as is the mount.

 

 

Dimensions: the dimensions of a standard carte de visite are approximately 4.1" by 2.5" (10.5 cm by 6.3 cm).


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