Lovelace Stamer, 3rd Baronet

Who was Lovelace Stamer, 3rd Baronet?

The Rt. Rev. Sir Lovelace Tomlinson Stamer Bt., DD, VD was the first Anglican Bishop of Shrewsbury in the modern era.

Lovelace Stamer was born into an Anglo-Irish noble family at York. He succeeded to the family baronetcy, originally created in 1809 for his grandfather, twice Lord Mayor of Dublin, following the death of his father in 1860.

He was educated at Rugby and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he took part in his college's first rowing crew and graduated BA in 1835 and MA in 1856, and was awarded degree as DD in 1888. Ordained priest in 1855, he began his career with curacies at Clay Cross, Derbyshire, in 1853-54 and Turvey in 1854. There then followed a short spell as Curate-in-charge at Long Melford, Suffolk before in 1858 he was appointed the Rector of Stoke-on-Trent, a position he held for 34 years.

When he arrived at Stoke, there was one Anglican parish church in the growing Potteries town. He led an improvement in local ministry to the area, leaving it with four Anglican churches, and five school or mission churches.

He was also keenly interested in education, helping found night schools for working men in 1863, and was Chairman of the Stoke Schools Board from its founding in 1871. He took part in local government by serving as Chief Bailiff of Stoke in 1867-68. He was from 1860 honorary chaplain to the area's volunteer infantry force, later the 1st Volunteer Battalion, North Staffordshire Regiment, and was ultimately awarded the Volunteer Decoration.