Robert Hay Drummond

Retirement and family life The change of policy which speedily followed the accession of George III, when indignities were heaped upon the leading members of the old Whig party, aroused the indignation and disgust of the archbishop. Except when his duty as a churchman called for it, he ceased his attendance at the House of Lords, and retiring to his own private mansion of Brodsworth Hall in Yorkshire, of which we are told he 'made an elegant retreat,' he devoted himself to the vigorous oversight of his diocese and the education of his children, which he personally superintended. In 1749, he married Henrietta, daughter of Peter Auriol, a merchant of London, by whom he had a daughter followed by six sons. He instructed his children himself. History, of which he had an extensive and accurate knowledge, was his favourite subject, and his son gratefully records 'the perspicuous and engaging manner' in which he imparted his instruction, and the lucidity with which he traced the continuity and connection of all history, sacred and profane, 'with the zeal and fervour of honest conviction.' For the use of his children he drew up some clear and comprehensive chronological tables.

Reputation As a bishop he was certainly quite on a level with the standard of his age. A somewhat extensive collection of his letters existing in manuscript proves him to have been a good, sensible, practical man of business. In his religious views he was strongly opposed to Calvinism, and did not scruple to express freely his dislike of passages in the Articles and Homilies which appeared to favour those tenets. He fully shared in the suspicion which in that age of formality attached to the term "enthusiasm," which he vehemently denounced, while he was equally ardent in defence of what he styled "the decent services and rational doctrines of the church of England." Noble manners, an engaging disposition, affable and condescending address, a genial and good-humoured bearing, even if some allowance is made for partiality in description, make up an attractive portrait. His hospitality was generous, even to excess, and if the gossip of the day is to be credited his own example did not place any severe restraint on the clergy who gathered round his table. On his death Horace Walpole speaks of him as "a sensible, worldly man, but much addicted to his bottle." His son more guardedly records that "wherever he lived hospitality presided; wherever he was present elegance, festivity, and good humour were sure to be found." His very failings were those of a "heart warm even to impetuosity." His open-handed, generous character was manifested in the splendid additions he made to the archiepiscopal palace at Bishopthorpe, where he also erected a new gateway, ornamented the chapel at great cost, and rebuilt the parish church in the taste of the day. It deserves notice that, in an age when the fine arts suffered from prevalent neglect, the archbishop proved himself a liberal patron of English artists.

Writings Six of the archbishop's sermons which had been printed separately at the time of their delivery were collected by his youngest son, the Revd George Hay Drummond, and published in one volume in 1803, together with a short memoir and A Letter on Theological Study. These sermons display clearness of thought and force of expression, the matter is sensible and to the point, the composition is good, and the language dignified. The Letter on Theological Study was written to a young friend, and not intended for publication. The advice as to the selection of books is very sensible, and free from narrowness, wide reading being recommended, including works not strictly theological.

Death and posterity In 1766, he lost his eldest daughter at the age of 16, and in 1773, his wife died. He never recovered this last blow, and died at Bishopthorpe on 10 December 1776. By his own desire he was buried under the altar of the parish church, with as little pomp as possible. Of his five sons the eldest, Robert Auriol, succeeded his uncle, Thomas Hay, as 10th earl of Kinnoull, 1787. A portrait by Sir Joshua Reynolds was engraved by Watson. A small medallion portrait is prefixed to his sermons.

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