Philip Twysden

Philip Twysden (1713–1752), was an Anglican clergyman who served in the Church of Ireland as Lord Bishop of Raphoe from 1747 to 1752. The circumstances of his death later became the subject of scandalous rumour.

Early life and family He was born in Kent, south-east England, in 1713, the third son of Sir William Twysden, 5th Baronet of Roydon Hall, East Peckham, Kent, by his wife (and distant cousin) Jane Twisden.

He studied at University College, Oxford, from 1732. He was awarded a Master of Arts degree, and the honorary degree of Doctor of Civil Law in 1745. and a posthumous daughter called Frances (1753–1821). Frances, later Countess of Jersey, was one of the many mistresses of King George IV when he was Prince of Wales. Through Frances, they are ancestors of Diana, Princess of Wales, and of her sons, Princes William, the Prince of Wales, and Harry, Duke of Sussex.

Ecclesiastical career He was ordained a priest in the Church of England. He was instituted in 1738 as rector of Eard and in 1745, for a short time, served as the rector of Eastling in Kent. He accompanied The 4th Earl of Chesterfield to Dublin as his chaplain, upon the Earl's appointment as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. and was consecrated by the Lord Archbishop of Dublin, assisted by the bishops of Derry and Clonfert, at St Michan's Church, Dublin, on 29 March 1747.

Death Bishop Twysden died on 2 November 1752 at home in Jermyn Street, St James's, London. However, writing almost a century later, Henry Cotton incorrectly thought he died at Roydon Hall, East Peckham, his father's country house. or Wrotham Heath in Kent.