Richard Robinson, 1st Baron Rokeby

Who was Richard Robinson, 1st Baron Rokeby?

Richard Robinson, 1st Baron Rokeby was an Irish ecclesiastic.

Robinson came to Ireland as chaplain to the Duke of Dorset in 1751. He was translated from the See of Kildare to the Archbishopric of Armagh in 1765.

In 1777 he was created Baron Rokeby, of Armagh in the Peerage of Ireland.

In 1774 he founded the County Infirmary. In 1780 he donated land for the erection of a new prison and in 1771 he founded the Armagh Public Library. In 1790 he founded the Armagh Observatory as part of his plan for a university in Armagh. He died on 10 October 1794. His cousin Matthew Robinson, a noted eccentric, inherited his title.

Robert Walpole called Robinson 'a proud but superficial man'. John Wesley accused him of being more interested in buildings than in the care of souls.