James Cornwallis, 4th Earl Cornwallis

Who was James Cornwallis, 4th Earl Cornwallis?

James Cornwallis, 4th Earl Cornwallis was a British clergyman, and peer.

Cornwallis was the third son of Charles Cornwallis, 1st Earl Cornwallis and his wife, Elizabeth, daughter of the 2nd Viscount Townshend, and niece of Sir Robert Walpole. His uncle, Frederick, was Archbishop of Canterbury. Frederick's twin brother, Edward, was a military officer, colonial governor, and founder of Halifax, Nova Scotia. James's brother William was an Admiral in the Royal Navy. His other brother, Charles, would go down in history as the general who "lost" the American Revolutionary War.

He was Rector of Ickham from 1769–73, of Addisham-with-Staple from 1770–81, of Newington in 1770, Prebendary of Westminster Abbey from 1770–85, Vicar of Wrotham from 1771–85, Rector of Boughton Malherbe from 1773–85 and Dean of Canterbury from 1775-81. In 1781 he was appointed Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry and was Dean of Windsor from 1791–94 and Dean of Durham from 1794 before dying in office in 1824.

On April 30, 1771, Cornwallis married Catherine Mann and they had one child, James. In 1814, he inherited Sir Horatio's estate at Linton Park.