John Sharp DD (bef. 1723 - 1792)

Born before 2 Apr 1723 in Rothbury, Northumberland, England

Ancestors

Husband of Mary Dering — married 4 Dec 1752 in Ripon Cathedral, Yorkshire, England.

Died 28 Apr 1792 after age 69 in Durham, County Durham, England

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Biography

John was the eldest son of Thomas Sharp and Judith Wheler, and was baptised on 2 April 1723 at Rothbury, Northumberland.^[1]

He matriculated from Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1740, was admitted to the Bachelor of Arts degree in 1743/4, Master of Arts in 1747 and Doctor of Divinity in 1759.^[2]

Following John's ordination as a deacon at Ely, Cambridgeshire, in 1748, and priest in 1749, he was appointed to the following posts:^[3]

• Rector of Hartburn, Northumberland (1749-1792)
• Archdeacon of Northumberland (1762-1792)
• Rector of Howick, Northumberland (1762-1792)
• Prebendary of Durham, County Durham (1768-1792)
• Perpetual Curate of Bamburgh, Northumberland (1772-1792)

On 4 December 1752 John married Mary Dering in Ripon Cathedral, Yorkshire.^[4] They had a daughter Anne Jemima, baptised in 1762.^[5] Anne suffered from progressive hearing loss and was once described by an uncle as unfamiliar with the ways of the world.^[6]

Upon the death of his father in 1758, John became a Trustee of Lord Crewe's Charity, and focused on charitable work in Bamburgh. He promptly commissioned the repairing of the keep at Bamburgh Castle and court room to accommodate the manorial courts. He paid nearly £320 for this work from his own funds, before it was repaid by the trustees. His achievements included:^[7]

• Setting up free schools for boys and girls.
• Safe keeping of all wreckage on the coast of the manor of Bamburgh until claimed by its rightful owners.
• Hired men to patrol the coast on stormy nights, to assist shipwreck victims, and provided food and shelter in the castle for up to seven days, at the expense of the trustees.
• Provided chains to drag ships onto the beach for repair and pumps to remove water from them.
• Purchased a signal gun to be fired regularly during every fog, with gunpowder provided by trustees.
• Provided two granaries in the castle and two in the village, with a windmill in the castle, selling wheat, peas, beans and barley two days a week to any poor person from within forty miles of Bamburgh, and a cheap shop was opened which sold candles, butter, pepper, pins, alum and rice specially imported from Carolina by the trustees. A set of standard weights and measures were provided at the castle so local shopkeepers could bring their own measures in for testing.
• Appointed a surgeon and set up a dispensary, where free medical treatment was provided.
• On inheriting the library of his brother Thomas, sold it to the trustees for public use.
• During the American War of Independence the castle became an alarm post with a small garrison to watch for privateers and any potential landing on the coast.
• Commissioned an “unimmergible” lifeboat which was converted by Lionel Lukin and has claim to be the first inshore lifeboat, operating from Bamburgh. The Trustees continued to provide and run a lifeboat service from North Sunderland until passing its management over to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution in the 1860s.

John died on 28 April 1792,^[2] and was buried in Durham Cathedral, County Durham, on 3 May 1792.^[8] His epitaph describes him as "Archdeacon of Northumberland, Prebendary of Durham and Perpetual Curate of Bamburgh, who, after rendering the ruins of Bamburgh Castle habitable, first established there a free school and dispensary, and also formed a permanent arrangement for the preservation of the lives, and relief of the distresses of shipwrecked mariners. Appointed Trustee AD 1758, died 1792."^[9]

John made his will on 21 April 1792. It was proved in the Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury on 2 May 1793.^[10]

Following his death, some visitors to Bamburgh Castle report seeing "a misty apparition" in the gallery area and claim it resembles Dr John Sharp, whose picture hangs in the castle's museum.^[11]

Sources

1. ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:J994-ZJV : accessed 31 Oct 2020), John Sharp, 1723.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} ACAD - A Cambridge Alumni Database (https://venn.lib.cam.ac.uk/Documents/acad/2018/search-2018.html, accessed 31 Oct 2020) entry for John Sharp, unique identifier SHRP740J.
3. ↑ Clergy of the Church of England Database (https://theclergydatabase.org.uk/jsp/search/index.jsp : accessed 31 Oct 2020) database entry for John Sharp, CCEd Person ID 20289.
4. ↑ Yorkshire Marriages (FindMyPast, http://www.findmypast.com : accessed 31 Oct 2020) marriage record (image) for Rev John Sharpe of Northumberland and Mary Dering of Ripon, 4 Dec 1752, in Cathedral, Ripon, Yorkshire. Archive: North Yorkshire County Record Office, Archive reference: N-PR-RI-1-9.
5. ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NRVP-78Z : accessed 31 Oct 2020), Anne Jemima Sharp, 1762.
6. ↑ Durham University. John Sharp, Archdeacon of Northumberland (1723-1792) (Archived at Wayback Machine, accessed 31 Oct 2020).
7. ↑ Lord Crewe's Charity. The Bamburgh Charities (blog : accessed 31 Oct 2020, archived at Wayback Machine)
8. ↑ National Burial Index For England & Wales (FindMyPast, http://www.findmypast.com : accessed 31 Oct 2020) database entry for Sharp, john (Burial Date: 3 May 1792, Church: Cathedral, Denomination: Anglican, Location: Durham, County Durham).
9. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 06 August 2020), memorial page for John Sharp (21 Mar 1723–28 Apr 1792), Find a Grave Memorial no. 153599542, citing Durham Cathedral, Durham, Durham Unitary Authority, County Durham, England. Find A Grave: Memorial #153599542
10. ↑ National Archives (https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk : accessed 31 Oct 2020) Reference: PROB 11/1232/15, Will of Reverend John Sharp, Doctor in Divinity Archdeacon of Northumberland and Prebendary of Durham of Bamburgh Castle, Northumberland. Date: 02 May 1793.
11. ↑ "Haunted History - History & Haunting of: Bamburgh Castle", 24 Mar 2014, Facebook (accessed 31 Oct 2020).