Edward Maltby

Edward Maltby (6 April 1770 – 3 July 1859) was an English clergyman of the Church of England. He became Bishop of Durham, controversial for his liberal politics, for his ecumenism, and for the great personal wealth that he amassed.

Early life Maltby was born in Norwich. He was the fourth son of George (died 1794), a weaver and deacon at the Presbyterian Octagon Chapel, and Mary (died 1804), his wife. William Maltby was a cousin. Though presbyterian by persuasion, the family were not hostile to the Anglican Church. Maltby attended Norwich Grammar School, where he became close to headteacher Samuel Parr but when Parr retired in 1785, he transferred to Winchester College under Joseph Warton. William Enfield also reputedly played a part in his education.

In 1784, Maltby's cousin Elizabeth had married George Pretyman and Pretyman sponsored Maltby's entry into Pembroke College, Cambridge in 1789. Maltby was a distinguished scholar and, finding his nonconformist inclinations no barrier, he graduated as eighth wrangler in 1792, receiving his DD in 1806. In 1794, Maltby had become domestic chaplain to Pretyman. Maltby consequently received a Lincoln prebend and two vicarages: Buckden, Huntingdonshire and Holbeach, Lincolnshire. On 10 July he married Mary Harvey. The couple were to go on to have four sons. With Pretyman's patronage and a well-received book of apologetics, Maltby was strongly favoured for eventual elevation to a bishop. and Charles James Blomfield, for no fee, so impressed was Maltby;

He also found time to write including publication of a collection of hymns (1815) and a projected, but uncompleted, edition of the New Testament. Subscribing to a book of sermons by Unitarian William Turner. Maltby was denounced and burnt in effigy (1838);

Durham University Maltby had strong connections to the University of Durham, making generous financial provision. He also assisted in the negotiations of its royal charter, persuading the government to honour its undertaking to his predecessor, William Van Mildert, that all students must subscribe to the Thirty-Nine Articles before graduation.

Wealth and personal life

The Established Church Act 1836 set the maximum annual income for a bishop at £8,000 (£525,000 at 2003 prices ) but it was revealed in 1847 that Maltby was earning around £12,000 (£787,000

Maltby died at his London residence and is buried in Kensal Green Cemetery in London, sharing a family vault with his eldest brother. A tablet to his memory was erected in Durham Cathedral.

Honours Fellow of the Royal Society, (1824); Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries (1834);