Rector - Henry Mordaunt (1732-1778)
Henry Mordaunt (LCTK-SFV) was appointed rector of Halsall on 8th March 1757, under the patronage of his father, Colonel Charles Mordaunt (MSMW-P2V) of Halsall. It was Henry’s brother, Charles Louis Mordaunt who was famous for building Halsall Cotton Mill and paying his staff with the Halsall Penny.
Henry was born in London on 20th October 1732 to the Honourable Ann Howe and Colonel Charles Mordaunt. Baptised at St. Anne’s church in Soho, Westminster on 3rd April 1732, his godparents were his cousin, Cosmo Gordon, 3rd Duke of Gordon and his aunt and uncle, Thomas Page and Mary Howe (later Herbert then Mordaunt) who was also the Countess of Pembroke.
In addition, Henry had distinguished grandparents, his maternal grandparents were Scrope Howe (Wikipedia), 1st Viscount Howe, an English politician and the Honourable Juliana Alington, Viscountess Howe (Credit : National Trust) . His paternal grandfather was General Lewis Mordaunt, who was the brother of Charles Mordaunt, 3rd Earl of Peterborough (Credit: Wikipedia)
Henry was the youngest of three sons; his brothers were Charles Louis Mordaunt (KFR4-41P) who, being the eldest, inherited Halsall Hall from their father and Thomas Osbert Mordaunt (KZP6-M5R), a British Army Officer and poet known for ‘The Call’ .
Henry obtained a BA from Oxford University (Christ Church College) and then followed the path of becoming a clergyman.
Henry’s career is outlined in the Clergy of the Church of England Index (1540-1835) as follows:
* Ordained as a Deacon in St. Margaret’s church, Westminster, London on 16th May 1756.
* Ordained as a Priest in St. Margaret’s church, Westminster, London on 27th February 1757.
* Appointed Rector of St. Cuthbert’s church, Halsall, Lancashire on 8th March His father, Colonel Charles Mordaunt was the patron of Halsall at that time and presented his youngest son to the living. Henry was only 24 years old when he became rector of Halsall.
On 16th February 1764, he was appointed Chaplain to Charlotte, Duchess of Atholl, Baroness Strange. Charlotte Murray, Duchess of Atholl – Wikipedia
Despite his aristocratic connections, Henry married a local lady, Margaret Yeates who hailed from Ormskirk. The wedding took place at St. Cuthbert’s church, Halsall on 17th May 1773. Henry’s curate, William Windus, led the service.
William Windus had been appointed as curate a few years previously, on 7th June 1766, having been nominated by Reverend Henry Mordaunt, patron at that time. William moved from Shap, Cumberland where he had been ordained as a deacon in 1757 and where he worked as a curate and schoolmaster at Swindale Chapel until his move to St. Cuthbert’s. He even received a mention in an article written by Rev. J. Whiteside, MA in 1901 for the Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society, Vol.1, New Series 1901, pp. 256-267. Follow the link to Rawes: Life in the Lake District to view the item.
However, their marriage was short-lived because Henry died only five years later in the summer of 1778. His death was caused after falling from his horse according to Henry Mordaunt of the family history website mordaunt.me.uk The Earls of Peterborough family .
Margaret Mordaunt died three years later and was also buried at Halsall on 7th January 1781.
