Richard Bagot (bishop)


The Honourable Richard Bagot was an English bishop.

Early life

Bagot was born on 22 November 1782 at Staffordshire. He was a younger son of William Bagot, 1st Baron Bagot, of Blithfield Hall, by the Hon. Elizabeth Louisa St John. Among his siblings were William Bagot, 2nd Baron Bagot, and Sir Charles Bagot.
His father was the eldest son of Sir Walter Bagot, 5th Baronet, and Lady Barbara Legge. His paternal uncle was Bishop Lewis Bagot. His maternal grandparents were John St John, 2nd Viscount St John and Anne Furness.Peter W. Hammond, editor, The Complete Peerage or a History of the House of Lords and All its Members From the Earliest Times, Volume XIV: Addenda & Corrigenda, page 58
Bagot was educated at Rugby School and Christ Church, Oxford.

Career

In 1804, Bagot was elected to a fellowship at All Souls College, Oxford, which he resigned two years later upon his marriage.
He served as Rector of Leigh and Blithfield and Prebendary of Lichfield Cathedral. He was Canon of Windsor from 1822 to 1827, Dean of Canterbury from 1827 to 1845, Bishop of Oxford from 1829 to 1845 and Bishop of Bath and Wells from 1845 to 1854. He was the first Bishop of Oxford to be ex officio Chancellor of the Order of the Garter.
Holding the see of Oxford through the early years of the Tractarian movement, the Tory Bagot, hostile to Low Church attitudes, was initially and notably sympathetic to John Henry Newman and his associates. That did change by the first years of the 1840s, and Bagot did act in particular against the preaching of Edward Pusey.

Personal life

In 1806, Bagot married Lady Harriet Villiers, daughter of George Villiers, 4th Earl of Jersey. Together, they had eight sons, three of whom became clergy and three joined the armed services, and four daughters:
Bagot died at Staffordshire on 15 May 1854.