Michael Lort

Michael Lort (1725–1790) was a Welsh clergyman, academic and antiquary.

The descendant of a Pembrokeshire family living at Prickeston, he was eldest son of Roger Lort, major of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers, who married Anne, only child of Edward Jenkins, vicar of Fareham, Hampshire. His father died at Cambrai, 11 May 1745, aged 51, from wounds received at the battle of Fontenoy; his mother died in 1767, aged 69, and in 1778 he erected a monument to their memory, now on the east wall of the chapel of St. Ann in Tenby Church.

He entered Trinity College, Cambridge, on 13 June 1743, when he was described as aged 18 and as coming from Tenby school. William Cole adds that he was at Westminster School. His degrees at Cambridge were, B.A. 1746, M.A. 1750, B.D. 1761, and D.D. 1780. He was incorporated at Oxford 7 July 1759. His college offices were: scholar 20 April 1744, sub-fellow 2 Oct. 1749, full fellow 4 July 1750, senior fellow 1768, sublector primus 1753, Latin reader 1754, lector primarius 1755, and Greek reader 1756. On graduating in 1746, Lort acted as librarian to Richard Mead until 1754.

His preferments were numerous, but for many years not very lucrative. From 1759 to 1771 he held the post of Regius Professor of Greek at Cambridge, and in 1768 he applied for the professorship of modern history, when Thomas Gray was given the chair. In 1761 he was appointed chaplain to Richard Terrick, bishop of Peterborough, and about that date he served the vicarage of Bottisham, near Cambridge. From 1779 to 1783 he lived at Lambeth Palace as domestic chaplain to Archbishop Frederick Cornwallis. He was promoted to be librarian at Lambeth in 1785, and he is said to have been librarian to the Duke of Devonshire. In January 1771 he became rector of St. Matthew, Friday Street, London. On 11 April 1780 he was collated to the prebendal stall of Tottenhall in St. Paul's Cathedral (which caused him to vacate his fellowship at Trinity College on Lady day 1781); he obtained in 1789 the rectory of St. Michael, Mile End, adjoining Colchester; and Bishop Beilby Porteus gave him in April 1789 the sinecure rectory of Fulham.

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