William Austin (bishop)

Lord William Piercy Austin (7 November 1807 – 9 November 1892)[1] was the inaugural and long serving[2] Bishop of Guyana from 1842 until his death.[3]

Austin's consecration

Life

He was the son of William Austin (1759–1817), co-owner of the Land of Plenty plantation in British Guiana, and his wife Mehetabel Piercy; he was born in Stone, Staffordshire.[4] He matriculated at Exeter College, Oxford in 1825, graduating B.A. 1829, and M.A. 1835.[5]

Ordained in 1831, Austin was in rapid succession curate, vicar and Rural Dean of Georgetown, then Archdeacon and Bishop.[6] He was consecrated a bishop at Westminster Abbey on 24 August 1842, to serve as first Bishop of British Guiana. In the words of the youthful Queen Victoria, he was "the youngest and handsomest of my Bishops."

In 1884, Austin was appointed Primate of the West Indies and in 1891, Prelate of the Order of St Michael and St George.[7]

Notes
  1. DOB/DOD
  2. The Times, Monday, 15 August 1892; pg. 6; Issue 33717; col D An Episcopal Jubilee.
  3. And, until 1884, Dean of St George's Cathedral,Georgetown
  4. "Summary of Individual William Austin, Legacies of British Slave-ownership". ucl.ac.uk.
  5. Foster, Joseph (1888–1892). "Austin, William Piercy" . Alumni Oxonienses: the Members of the University of Oxford, 1715–1886. Oxford: Parker and Co – via Wikisource.
  6. Diocesan History
  7. The Times, Saturday, 19 December 1891; pg. 9; Issue 33512; col E Court Circular
Church of England titles
New title Deans of St George's Cathedral, Georgetown
1842–1884		 Succeeded by
Francis Austin
Bishop of Guyana
1842–1892		 Succeeded by
Proctor Swaby
Primate of the West Indies
1884–1892		 Succeeded by
Enos Nuttall


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