Blomfield, Charles James

Blomfield, Charles James, bishop of London, was born May 29, 1786, at Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, where his father was a schoolmaster. He was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, and graduated in 1808 as third wrangler. The first published fruit of his philological studies was an edition of the Prometheus of AEschylus, which appeared in 1810. This was followed by the Seven against Thebes, 1812, the Persians, the Choephore, and the Aganzemnon. A valuable edition of Callimachus was published under his supervision in 1824. In 1812 he edited, in connection with Rennel, the Muse Cantabrigienses, and with Monk the Posthumous Tracts of Porson, a work which he followed, two years later, by editing alone the Adversaria Porsoni. But, besides these, he is known to have written numerous critical papers on Greek literature, some of them of a rather trenchant character, in the quarterly reviews and classical journals, and he compiled in 1828 a Greek grammar for schools. His first preferment was to the living of Warrington, 1810, and in the same year he received that of Dunton in Esex. In 1819 he became chaplain to Howley, bishop of London, and very soon after became rector of St. Botolph, Bishopsgate, London, and archdeacon of Colchester. In 1524 he was raised to the bench as bishop of Chester, and in 1828 he succeeded Dr. Howley as bishop of London, in which see he remained until his death, Aug. 5, 1857. During his incumbency there were built in his diocese a number of churches beyond all comparison greater than in the presidency of any other bishop since the Reformation; and one of his latest public acts was an earnest- appeal, seconded by a large subscription, to raise funds to construct as many churches as the Census Report showed to be needed to meet the wants of the metropolis. His theological writings are Five Lectures on John's Gospel (Lona. 1823, 12mo):Twelve Lectures on the Acts (Lond. 1828, 8vo, which edition includes also the Lectures on John):-Sermons at St. Botolph's, (Lond. 1829, 8vo):-Sermons on the Church (Lond. 1842, 8vo); besides various occasional sermons, charges, pamphlets, etc. See Biber, Bishop Blomfield Land his Times (Lond. 1857); Memoir of Bp. Blomfield, by his Son (Lond. 1862); Christ. Remembrancer, 44:386; English Cyclopedia, s.v.