The Right Reverend and Right Honourable John Robinson |
|
---|---|
Bishop of London | |
Church | Church of England |
Diocese | Diocese of London |
Elected | c. 1714 |
Term ended | 1723 (death) |
Predecessor | Henry Compton |
Successor | Edmund Gibson |
Other posts |
Bishop of Bristol 1710–1714 |
Orders | |
Consecration | c. 1714 |
Personal details | |
Born |
Cleasby, North Yorkshire |
7 November 1650
Died | 11 April 1723 Hampstead, London |
(aged 72)
Buried | All Saints Church, Fulham |
Nationality | English |
Denomination | Anglican |
Parents | John Robinson (d. 1651) |
Occupation | Diplomat |
Alma mater | Brasenose College, Oxford |
John Robinson (7 November 1650 – 11 April 1723) was an English diplomat and prelate.
Robinson was born at Cleasby, North Yorkshire, near Darlington, a son of John Robinson (died 1651). Educated at Brasenose College, Oxford, he became a fellow of Oriel College, and in about 1680 he became chaplain to the British embassy to . He remained in Sweden for nearly thirty years. During the absence of the minister, Philip Warwick, Robinson acted as resident and as envoy extraordinary, and he was thus in Sweden during a very interesting and important period, and was performing diplomatic duties at a time when the affairs of northern Europe were attracting an unusual amount of attention.
Among his adventures not the least noteworthy was his journey to Narva with Charles XII in 1700.
In 1709 Robinson returned to England, and was appointed Dean of Windsor and of Wolverhampton; in 1710 he was elected bishop of Bristol, and among other ecclesiastical positions he held that of Dean of the Chapel Royal. In August 1711 he became Lord Privy Seal, this being, says Lord Stanhope, "the last time that a bishop has been called upon to fill a political office." Echoing his Scandinavian connections, the motto on his coat of arms is written in runic characters.
In 1712 the bishop represented Great Britain at the important congress of Utrecht, and as first plenipotentiary he signed the treaty of Utrecht in April 1713 that ended the War of the Spanish Succession. Just after his return to England he was chosen Bishop of London in succession to Henry Compton.