John Merewether

John Merewether
John Merewether, 1848 engraving by Charles Baugniet.
Born	1797 Marshfield, Gloucestershire
Died	4 April 1850(1850-04-04) Madeley, Shropshire vicarage
Nationality	British
Alma mater	The Queen's College, Oxford
Occupation	Dean of Hereford
Known for	antiquary

John Merewether (1797 – 4 April, 1850) was an English churchman, Dean of Hereford from 1832, known also as an antiquary.

The son of John Merewether of Blackland, Wiltshire, he was born at Marshfield, Gloucestershire, in 1797. He matriculated from The Queen's College, Oxford, on 18 October 1814, graduated B.A. in 1818, and B.D. and D.D. in 1832. He was ordained priest in 1820 by the Bishop of Salisbury, and served curacies at Gillingham, Dorset, and Hampton, Middlesex.

While at Hampton Merewether was instrumental in building a chapel of ease at Hampton Wick, and attracted the notice of the Duke of Clarence, from 1830 King William IV, who was then residing at Bushey. He was chaplain to the Duchess of Clarence, the future Queen Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen, in 1824. In 1828, he was presented by the Lord Chancellor to the living of New Radnor, and in 1832, on the promotion of the Hon. Edward Grey as bishop, Merewether succeeded him as Dean of Hereford. The Hereford chapter needed much reform; but with a personality described as "arrogant and ambitious", Merewether became embroiled in conflict.

On 13 January 1833, William IV appointed Merewether one of the deputy clerks of the closet, and asked Lord Melbourne to have a care for his advancement. In 1836, he was instituted to the vicarage of Madeley, Shropshire, but was then passed over as vacancies.Robert Peel as Prime Minister disregarded, when reminded of it, William IV's dying wish that Merewether should become a bishop.

In 1847, Merewether was a strenuous opponent of the election of Renn Dickson Hampden as Bishop of Hereford. After a fruitless memorial to the queen, he announced to Lord John Russell as Prime Minister, in a long letter (22 December), his intention of voting against Hampden's election in the chapter meeting; and received in reply the laconic note: "Sir, I had the honour to receive your letter of the 22nd inst. in which you intimate to me your intention of violating the law." Merewether finally refused to affix the seal of the dean and chapter to the document recording the bishop's formal election.