Two eighteenth century bishops of Chester and their diocese, 1771-1787

Since this thesis is the first complete coverage of the diocese of Chester since 1895, it has been necessary to give a description of the structure and administration for a great deal of material has been revealed during cataloguing of the archives. A brief account of the predecessors of William Markham is essential for both he and Beilby Porteus built on foundations laid by those who preceeded them in office.
It will be observed that Markham, due to his other additional and external duties, was unable to give his diocese the attention such an awkward area of country demanded. He his is best and showed a keen interest in the affairs of the diocese but was unable to reform abuses in appointment for he had not the time at his disposal. Beilby Porteus not only reformed these abuses but also instituted a form of written examination for would be ordinands and specified the course of study. As a parish priest he took a keen interest in the welfare of the clergy and his tenure of the see highlights the problem of finding assistant curates for the northern chapelries at a time when it was believed there were more clergy than livings. At the same time the poverty of many of his clergy led to Porteus making provision for them.
In a dioces e so diverse as Chester, the problem of the Dissenters and Catholics was a more serious problem than elsewhere. The new industrial areas were becoming centres of Methodism and Dissent while the Catholics maintained their strongholds in northern Lancashire, both factors leading to problems which troubled the parish clergy. Education cannot be neglected for both the above groups as well as the Anglicans were exceptionally keen to provide educational facilities in the diocese. The Sunday School movement is markedly detailed in its archives in Chester.
Since both bishops were members of the House of Lords it has been essential to account for their actions outside the diocese and see what effect these had on their domestic policy. Finally the problems of the new industrial society are outlined to show how few of the clergy or the bishops really understood the meaning of the changes. Shortage of new churches, old churches too small and combined with an unprecedented increase in population created situations which the old diocesan machinery was unable to solve.