Portrait of the most Reverend Father in God, Lancelot Blackbourne, Archbishop of York

A mezzotint of the most Reverend Father in God Lancelot Blackbourne (1658-1743), by Divine Providence Archbishop of York (1724-1743), artist unknown. Sold by Tho: taylor at ye Golden Lion in Fleet Street.

A simple rectangular black and white torso-length mezzotint of a white middle-aged male. The background is plain black. He is seated facing the right of the frame but looks directly at the artist. He is dressed in a white large-sleeved shirt and dark clerical robes, and wears a jaw-length curly white haired wig. Below the image to the centre is a coat of arms on top of which sits a bishop’s mitre. Test in italic scroll reads on either side of the crest: ‘The most Rev.nd Father in God LANCELOT BLACKBOURNE by Divine Providence Lord ARCH-BISHOP of YORK Primate of England and Metropolitan’ [meaning chief religious figure.] Below the crest smaller text reads ‘Sold by Tho: Taylor atye Golden Lyon in Fleet Street.’ There is a small tear to the page across the text of Fleet Street. Pencil markings on the reverse date 1717-1724.

Lancelot Blackbourne (Blackburne, Blackburn or Blackbourn) was born in 1658 and died in 1743 at the age of 85. He was a controversial English clergyman who later became Archbishop of York, and was reputed to have spent a number of years in the West Indies after being ordained sailing as a pirate. This is likely linked to a scenario in which he was paid by King Charles II £20 for ‘secret services’ (he appears in the record of Moneys paid for Secret Services, 1861, with an entry that reads “to Launcelott Blackburne, clerk, bounty for his transportation to Antego.” Horace Walpole, who knew Blackbourne as his father’s neighbour, also stated that “Blackbourn, the jolly old Archbishop of York…had been a buccaneer.” William Prideaux Courtenay writes, “His enemies repeated the story that he acted as chaplain on board one of the ships engaged in buccaneering, and that he shared the booty, the joke running that one of the buccaneers on his arrival in England asked what had become of his old chum Blackburne, and was answered that he was archbishop of York.”

In a letter dated 11 December 1780 to Sir David Dalrymple, Walpole also references Blackbourne’s apparent mistress, a Mrs Conwys, who lived with Blackbourne and his wife for some time, and his supposed illegitimate son, Thomas Hayter, to whom he would leave part of his estate. Such rumours surrounded him for the rest of his life, exacerbated by his somewhat ‘free’ manners including ordering pipes, tobacco and liquor to be brought into his vestry, and applauding Queen Caroline for not objecting to the King’s new mistress. Despite the critiques of his past and behaviours, he was offered numerous clerical positions, and in 1691 became a Canon of Exeter in Devon, Dean of Exeter in 1705, Archdeacon of Cornwall in 1715, Bishop of Exeter in 1717, Lord High Almoner from 1723, and Archbishop of York and Privy Counsellor in 1724 until his death. He is buried at Westminster but has no monument or gravestone.

Related Collections

Portraits