Engaging account of colourful Earl

The Londonderry author has penned a remarkably readable biography of the Earl Bishop, Frederick Hervey, the Fourth Earl of Bristol who served as Bishop of Derry from 1768 until his death in 1803.

And in an upcoming illustrated talk appropriately being held in the former Bishop’s Palace, the history buff hopes to show his audience the extent of Bishop Hervey’s extravagant lifestyle in 3D with recreations of perhaps his most famous residence, Mussenden Temple.

Stephen explained: “Sometimes history books can be a little bit dull but the whole point of this book and talk is to bring the Earl Bishop alive in a very human way. During his lifetime, Frederick was a devoted family man who managed to turn his entire family against him. He was a bishop who took mistresses. He was a pillar of the establishment, who was ostracised for embracing religious tolerance; King George III called him ‘that wicked prelate.’ He advocated revolution, yet became a counter-revolutionary. He was imprisoned for spying. He was an anonymous English clergyman who became rich and famous beyond his wildest dreams. He was Ireland`s first great art collector and when he died, he was shipped home from Italy in a box marked ‘ancient sculpture.’

“Although an Englishman, a Protestant bishop and an aristocrat, Frederick was adored in Ireland by people of all denominations, for his tolerance and personal generosity. But above all, he had a wicked sense of humour; making his clergy run races along the beach was the least of it.”

Stephen continued: “I’ve always been interested in him as a historical figure. Then I started doing the 3D work on National Trust properties which meant a lot of research into Downhill and Mussenden so I thought I might was well do something on the Bishop himself. But I could only find old biographies which needed a level of historical study to address them. I realised we needed an ‘everyman’ biography because he is such a fascinating character, even if you don’t know much about the Georgian period in Irish history.”

To find out more about the fascinating figure, join Stephen at his illustrated talk in The Freemason’s Hall, Bishop Street Within on Thursday, June 16 at 7.30 pm. Admission is free but space is limited so places need to be booked by contacting Ruth on 075 6423 9990. The talk is hosted by the National Trust and NI Live Vision.