Thomas Seaton
Encyclopedia
The Reverend Thomas Seaton (baptised 2 October 1684, Stamford, Lincolnshire
, died 18 August 1741 at Ravenstone, Buckinghamshire), was a Church of England
clergyman and religious writer.
and Clare College
, Cambridge
, graduating BA
in 1705 and MA in 1708.
He became chaplain to Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham
. In 1713, he gained the vicarage of Madingley
, Cambridgeshire
, and in 1721 Nottingham gave him the vicarage of Ravenstone in Buckinghamshire
, which enabled him to give up his college fellowship and which he retained until his death.
He wrote several religious works (see 'Publications'). In The Conduct of Servants in Great Families (1720), he advised employers to oversee the moral conduct of their servants.
Seaton died unmarried in 1741 at Ravenstone and is buried there.
, Northamptonshire
, to the University of Cambridge
, with the object of funding an annual poetry prize for a poem in English on the nature of God or on another sacred subject, the judges to be the university's Vice-chancellor
, the Professor of Greek, and the Master of Clare College. The Seatonian Prize
has been awarded annually since 1750, apart from the years 1766, 1769, and 1771. Musae Seatonianæ includes most of the prize poems.
George Gordon, Lord Byron, another Cambridge graduate, refers to recipients of the celebrated university prize as "Seaton's sons" in his poem English Bards and Scotch Reviewers (1809).
Stamford, Lincolnshire
Stamford is a town and civil parish within the South Kesteven district of the county of Lincolnshire, England. It is approximately to the north of London, on the east side of the A1 road to York and Edinburgh and on the River Welland...
, died 18 August 1741 at Ravenstone, Buckinghamshire), was a Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
clergyman and religious writer.
Education
He was educated at Stamford SchoolStamford School
Stamford School is an English independent school situated in the market town of Stamford, Lincolnshire, England. It has been a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference since 1920.-History:...
and Clare College
Clare College, Cambridge
Clare College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England.The college was founded in 1326, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the University after Peterhouse. Clare is famous for its chapel choir and for its gardens on "the Backs"...
, Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
, graduating BA
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in 1705 and MA in 1708.
Career
Seaton was elected a fellow of Clare College in 1706 and continued as a Fellow until 1721. He was ordained deacon in 1707 and priest of the Church of England in 1709.He became chaplain to Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham
Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham
Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham, 7th Earl of Winchilsea PC , was an English Tory statesman during the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries.-Early life:...
. In 1713, he gained the vicarage of Madingley
Madingley
Madingley is a village near Coton and Dry Drayton on the western outskirts of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.Known as Madingelei in the Domesday Book, the village's name means "Woodland clearing of the family or followers of a man called Mada"....
, Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
, and in 1721 Nottingham gave him the vicarage of Ravenstone in Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
, which enabled him to give up his college fellowship and which he retained until his death.
He wrote several religious works (see 'Publications'). In The Conduct of Servants in Great Families (1720), he advised employers to oversee the moral conduct of their servants.
Seaton died unmarried in 1741 at Ravenstone and is buried there.
Publications
- The Divinity of our Saviour Proved (1719)
- The defects of the objections against the New Testament application of the prophecies in the Old exposed (1726)
- A Compendious View of the Grounds of Religion, both Natural and Revealed (1729)
- The Conduct of Servants in Great Families (1720)
The Seatonian Prize
On his death, Seaton left his estate at KislingburyKislingbury
Kislingbury is a village in Northamptonshire, England, about west of Northampton town centre, and close to junctions 15A and 16 of the M1 motorway.-Demographics:...
, Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
, to the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
, with the object of funding an annual poetry prize for a poem in English on the nature of God or on another sacred subject, the judges to be the university's Vice-chancellor
Chancellor (education)
A chancellor or vice-chancellor is the chief executive of a university. Other titles are sometimes used, such as president or rector....
, the Professor of Greek, and the Master of Clare College. The Seatonian Prize
Seatonian Prize
The Seatonian Prize is awarded by the University of Cambridge for the best English poem on a sacred subject, and is open to any Master of Arts of the university. Seaton, and his prize, is referred to in the poem of George Gordon, Lord Byron 'English Bards and Scots Reviewers' 1809.- Founding :It...
has been awarded annually since 1750, apart from the years 1766, 1769, and 1771. Musae Seatonianæ includes most of the prize poems.
George Gordon, Lord Byron, another Cambridge graduate, refers to recipients of the celebrated university prize as "Seaton's sons" in his poem English Bards and Scotch Reviewers (1809).