Thomas Tenison

Thomas Tenison (29 September 1636 – 14 December 1715) was an English church leader. He served as the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1694 until he passed away.

As the highest leader in the Church of England, he had an important role in religious and public life during his time. One of his notable duties was crowning two British monarchs. This showed his significant influence in national events. His work helped shape the church and its relationship with the government in the late 17th and early 18th centuries.

Life

Thomas Tenison was born in Cottenham, Cambridgeshire, into a family of Anglican clergymen. He studied at Norwich School and later at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, where he graduated in 1657. He worked as a curate and was known for his care during a difficult time.

Tenison became a doctor of divinity and held important church positions. He supported the Glorious Revolution and was made Archbishop of Canterbury in 1694. He was respected for his open religious views and worked to support schools and libraries.

Archbishop of Canterbury

Thomas Tenison served as the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1694 until he passed away in 1715. In this important role, he crowned two British monarchs. He also attended Queen Mary during her final days and preached her funeral sermon in Westminster Abbey. In 1695, he helped govern when King William was away, as one of the seven lords justices. Tenison was appointed to the Privy Council of England and given the title "The Right Honourable" for life.

Under Queen Anne

Thomas Tenison worked with Gilbert Burnet and was there when King William was near the end of his life. He crowned Queen Anne, but she did not support him much. The Queen wanted church services to be more formal and did not agree with Tenison about who should choose bishops. She did not listen to his ideas and chose Sir Jonathan Trelawny, 3rd Baronet to be the Bishop of Winchester. Later, John Sharp, the Archbishop of York, became the Queen’s favorite.

Tenison helped plan to unite with Scotland in 1706 but was not a big political figure later in Queen Anne’s rule. He supported the idea that George I should be the next king after Anne. When Anne passed away, Tenison helped choose a leader until George I arrived, and he crowned George I on 20 October 1714. This was the last time the Archbishop asked the people if they accepted their new King. Tenison passed away a year later in London.

Other works

Thomas Tenison wrote several books. These included The Creed of Mr Hobbes Examined in 1670 and Baconia, or Certain Genuine Remains of Lord Bacon in 1679. He also helped start the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. This group supported Christian missions.

Family

Thomas Tenison married Anne, the daughter of Richard Love. They did not have any children. One of his cousins, Edward Tenison (1673–1735), became the Bishop of Ossory in Ireland from 1730 to 1735. Another relative, Richard Tennison (1642–1705), served as the Bishop of Meath. Thomas helped Richard’s career and left money to Richard’s five sons in his will.

Thomas was strong when he was young, but later he had gout. He was also related to Julian Tenison-Woods.

Armorials

Archbishop Tenison's coat of arms mixed the official arms of the see of Canterbury with the Tenison family arms. The Canterbury arms are on the right, with a blue background, a silver cross, and four small crosses. The Tenison family arms are on the left, with a red background, a silver diagonal band, and three gold lion faces.

These arms came from old designs used by families in England. They show Tenison's link to important history. A famous poet, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, also used a similar design, but he was not related to Archbishop Tenison.

Suspected discovery of his coffin

In 2016, workers found 30 lead coffins while updating the Garden Museum. The museum is in an old church named St Mary-at-Lambeth. One coffin had a special hat, called an archbishop's mitre, on top. They recognized two archbishops by nameplates on their coffins. Church records suggested that three more archbishops, including Thomas Tenison, were also buried there.