Arthur Richard Dillon

Arthur Richard Dillon (1721–1806) was archbishop of Narbonne in France. He was the youngest son of Arthur Dillon (1670–1733), who came to France with Mountcashel's Irish Brigade. At the French Revolution he refused the civil constitution of the clergy and fled first to Coblenz and then to London.

The most reverend Arthur Richard Dillon
Portrait of Arthur Richard Dillon wearing the Order of the Holy Spirit on its blue ribbon, the cordon bleu, around his neck
Archbishop of Narbonne
In office 1763–1790
Preceded by	Charles-Antoine de la Roche-Aimon
Succeeded by	Guillaume Besaucèle
Personal details
Born	14 September 1721 Saint-Germain-en-Laye
Died	5 July 1806 London
Mother	Christina Sheldon
Father	Arthur Dillon, Count Dillon

Birth and origins

Arthur Richard was born on 15 September 1721 at the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye in France.[1] He was the youngest of the five sons of Arthur Dillon and his wife Christina Sheldon. His father was born in 1670 in Ireland, had fought for the Jacobites in the Williamite War and had gone to France as the colonel of Dillon's Regiment with the Irish Brigade in April 1690 when Irish troops were sent to France in exchange for French troops sent to Ireland with Lauzun. He was a younger son of the 7th Viscount Dillon. His father's family was Old English Irish and descended from Sir Henry Dillon who came to Ireland with Prince John in 1185.[2] Henry's mother was a daughter of Ralph Sheldon, whereas Dominic Sheldon, the English Catholic Jacobite, was her uncle. She was a maid of honour to Queen Mary of Modena, wife of James II.[3] Both parents were thus Jacobites and Catholics. They had five sons and several daughters.[4]

Arthur Richard listed among his brothers

He appears below at the bottom of the list of brothers as the youngest: Charles (1701–1741), became the 10th Viscount Dillon;[5] Henry (1705–1787), became the 11th Viscount Dillon;[6] James (died 1745), became colonel of Dillon's Regiment, fell in the Battle of Fontenoy;[7] Edward (1720–1747), succeeded his brother as colonel and was mortally wounded in the Battle of Lauffeld;[8] and Arthur Richard (1721–1806).

Arthur Richard's sisters
He also had sisters including: Frances, became a Carmelite nun and died at the Carmel of Pontoise;[9] Catharine (died 1753), became a Carmelite nun, died at St. Denis;[10] Mary (died 1786), died at Saint-Germain-en-Laye;[11] Bridget (died 1785), married the Baron Blaisel, a Lieutenant-General in the French Army;[12][13] and Laura (died 1741), married Lucius Cary, Viscount Falkland.[14]

Family tree

Arthur Richard with parents, and other selected relatives. Theobald 7th Viscount d. 1691 Jacobite Mary Talbot d. 1691 Henry 8th Viscount d. 1714 Arthur 1670–1733 French General Christina Sheldon 1684–1757 Henry 11th Viscount 1705–1787 Lucius Cary Viscount Falkland 1687–1730 Laura d. 1741 Arthur Richard 1721–1806 Archbishop Edward Rothe d. 1766 Lucy Cary d. 1804 Mme de Rothe Charles 12th Viscount 1745–1813 Arthur Dillon 1750–1794 Therese Lucy de Rothe 1751–1782 Henry Augustus 13th Viscount 1777–1832 Henriette -Lucy de la Tour du Pin 1770–1853 Legend XXX Arthur R. Dillon XXX Viscounts of Dillon This family tree is partly derived from the Dillon family tree pictured in La Tour du Pin.[15] Also see the lists of siblings in the text.

Dillon's coat of arms. Above the escutcheon the green galero with fifteen tassels (as primate of Gallia narbonensis) and around the escutcheon is the cordon bleu of the Order of the Holy Spirit.

Career

Arthur Richard entered the priesthood and was successively curé of Elan near Mézières, vicar-general of Pontoise (1747), Bishop of Evreux (1753), Archbishop of Toulouse (1758), and Archbishop of Narbonne (1763). In that latter capacity, he also was both the Primate of the ecclesiastical region of Gallia narbonensis and ex officio president of the estates of Languedoc.[16]

He devoted himself less to the spiritual direction of his diocese than to the temporal welfare of its inhabitants, carrying out many works of public utility, bridges, canals, roads, harbours, etc.; he had chairs of chemistry and of physics created at the universities of Montpellier and Toulouse, and tried to reduce poverty, especially in Narbonne.[17]

From about the age of fifty he lived with his wealthy, widowed niece, Madame de Rothe. She was born Lucy Cary and was the child of his sister Laura, who had married Lucius Cary, 6th Viscount Falkland. Madame de Rothe had been widowed in 1766. Dillon and Madame de Rothe were lovers, an arrangement considered scandalous even by the jaded standards of the day. They maintained a household primarily at the château de Hautefontaine, where Dillon kept an extravagant hunt. Madame de Rothe brought her daughter Thérèse-Lucy de Dillon, a favourite of Marie Antoinette, the French Queen, and her grand-daughter Henriette-Lucy, who would become the memoirist Henriette-Lucy, Marquise de La Tour du Pin Gouvernet.

In 1787 and in 1788 he was a member of the Assembly of Notables called together by Louis XVI, and in 1788 presided over the assembly of the clergy.

Exile and death

Having refused to accept the civil constitution of the clergy, Dillon had to leave Narbonne in 1790. He was replaced by Guillaume Besaucèle, who was the constitutional bishop of Aude. Dillon then emigrated, accompanied by Madame de Rothe, to Coblenz in 1791. Soon afterwards both went to London, where he was visited in 1797 at his home in Thayer Street, Marylebone, by Henriette-Lucy, Marquise de La Tour du Pin Gouvernet.[18]

On 15 July 1801, at Paris, Napoleon and Pope Pius VII signed the Concordat of 1801 and most of the French clergy that had gone into exile or hiding returned to take up again their normal duties. Dillon however disobeyed the pope and rejected the Concordat, probably because it suppressed his see at Narbonne, or because he wanted to avoid paying his debts in France.

On 7 February 1804, Madame de Rothe, his partner, died in London. He survived her by two years and died on 5 July 1806 in London, and was buried in St Pancras churchyard, which was the burial place favoured by the émigré community, as there was no official Catholic cemetery available.[19]

Burial of Arthur Richard Dillon in Narbonne Cathedral

Timeline
Age	Date	Event
0	1721, 15 Sep	Born, at the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye.[1]
11	1733, 5 Feb	His father died at the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye.[20]
26	1747	Appointed Vicar-General of Pontoise.[16]
32	1753	Appointed Bishop of Evreux.[16]
36	1757	His mother died in Paris.[21]
37	1758	Appointed Archbishop of Toulouse.[16]
42	1763	Appointed Archbishop of Narbonne.[16]
69	1790	Replaced by the constitutional bishop of Aude, Guillaume Besaucèle.
70	1791	Fled to Coblenz and soon after to London.
82	1804, 7 Feb	His partner, Madame de Rothe, died in London.
84	1806, 5 Jul	Died in London.[19]

Final resting place

Dillon's grave on Old St. Pancras churchyard seems to have been disturbed in some ways during the cutting of the Midland Railway in 1865, as his name appears on the list of graves of important persons affected by that event on the Burdett-Coutts memorial, erected at that occasion. Between March 2002 and June 2003, part of the St Pancras Old Church graveyard was excavated[22] in preparation for the London terminus of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link. During archaeological investigation, Dillon's body was found to have been buried wearing a set of porcelain dentures. It is believed that he purchased them from a Parisian dentist named Nicholas de Chemant.[23]

In March 2007 the body of Archbishop Dillon was returned to France and now lies in Narbonne Cathedral.[24][25] On 19 May 2008, the porcelain dentures were accessioned into the Cobbe Museum (currently housed at Hatchlands, East Clandon).

References

1. Fisquet 1864, p. 75: "D'origine irlandaise, il naquit à Saint-Germain-en-Laye le 15 septembre 1721 ..."
2. Webb 1878, p. 149, line 7: "... [Sir Henry Dillon] came to Ireland in 1185 as secretary to Prince John ..."
3. Burke 1949, p. 603, right column, line 73: "He m. Christina, Maid of Honour to MARY, wife of JAMES II), dau. of Ralph Sheldon, and d. 5 Feb. 1733 ..."
4. O'Callaghan 1854, p. 48, line 36a: "Lieutenant-General Arthur Dillon, besides daughters, had 5 sons."
5. Debrett 1828, p. 748, line 26: "... father of CHARLES, 10th Viscount, who m. Frances, only child and h. of the 9th viscount, and d. without surviving issue, 1741;"
6. Debrett 1828, p. 748, line 29: "HENRY, 11th Viscount, who served in the French army as col. of Dillon's regiment, which command he resigned before the act of preventing British subjects from entering into foreign service ..."
7. Burke 1949, p. 603, left columns, line 78: "James, Kt. of Malta, Col. of the Dillon Regt. fell at its head at Fontenoy, 30 April, 1745."
8. Burke 1949, p. 603, left columns, line 80: "Edward, b. 1720, s. his brother in the command of Dillon's Regt. and was mortally wounded at Lauffeld, 1747."
9. Lodge 1789, p. 196, line 1: "Daughter Frances, a Carmelite nun, died at Pontoise."
10. Lodge 1789, p. 196, line 2: "Catharine, also a Carmelite nun, died at St. Denis in 1753."
11. La Tour du Pin 1913a, p. 15: "Mary Dillon, mourut `a Saint-Germain-en-Laye en 1786."
12. Lodge 1789, p. 196, line 4: "Bridget, was married to the Baron Blaisel, a Lieut.-General in the service of France."
13. La Chesnaye des Bois 1863, p. 311, left column, line 29: "BLAISEL (DU) Seigneur de Belle-Isle, de la Neuville en Picardie ..."
14. La Tour du Pin 1913a, p. 15, extreme right: "Laura Dillon, épousa LUCIUS CARY, LORD VISCOUNT FALKLAND, pair d'Ecosse. Elle mourut en 1741, laissant une fille unique LUCY."
15. La Tour du Pin 1913a, pp. 14–15: "Note généalogique sur la Maison des Lords Dillon"
16. Sollier 1913, p. 797: "... curé of Elan near Mezière; Vicar-General of Pontoise, 1747; Bishop of Evreux, 1753; Archbishop of Toulouse, 1758; Archbishop of Narbonne and Primate of France, 1763."
17. Chisholm 1910, p. 273, 44: "... and tried to reduce the poverty, especially in Narbonne."
18. La Tour du Pin 1913b, p. 159: "Un matin donc, je me dirigeai vers Thayer Street ..."
19. Fisquet 1864, p. 77: "Mgr Dillon mourut à Londres le 5 juillet 1806 et fut inhumé dans le cimetière de leglise de Saint-Pancras de cette ville, où nous avons vu les débris de sa modeste tombe."
20. O'Callaghan 1854, p. 48, line 38: "... died February 5th, at the Palace of St. Germain-en-Laye, aged 63 years."
21. O'Callaghan 1854, p. 48, line 35: "... [his mother] died in Paris in 1757, aged 77 ..."
22. Emery, P.A., and Wooldridge, K., 2011, St Pancras burial ground: excavations for St Pancras International, the London terminus of High Speed 1, 2002-3, Gifford (now Ramboll) Monograph
23. Powers, N.I., 2006 ‘Archaeological evidence for dental innovation: an 18th-century porcelain dental prosthesis belonging to Archbishop Arthur Richard Dillon’, Brit Dental J 201, 459-63
24. Commission Archéologique et Littéraire de Narbonne, 2008, Arthur-Richard Dillon, dernier Président-Né des Etats de Languedoc, de 1763 à 1790, Bulletin de la Commission Archéologique et Littéraire de Narbonne 51, 27-36
25. Bingham, David (30 April 2014). "The Archbishop of Narbonne's Teeth; Arthur Richard Dillon, 1721–1806, St Pancras burial ground". The London Dead. Retrieved 16 May 2016.

• Burke, Bernard (1949), A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire (99th ed.), London: Burke's Peerage Ltd.
• Debrett, John (1828), Peerage of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, 2 (17th ed.), London: F. C. and J. Rivington - Scotland and Ireland (for Dillon)
• Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1910), Dillon, Arthur Richard (1721–1807), 8 (11 ed.), New York: The Encyclopaedia Britannica Company, pp. 273
• Fisquet, Honoré (1864), La France Pontificale (Gallia Christiana): Métropole de Rouen: Évreux (in French), Paris: Etienne Repos
• La Chesnaye des Bois, François Alexandre Aubert de (1863), Dictionnaire de la noblesse (in French), 3 (3rd ed.), Paris: Schlesinger Frères - BER–BRA (for Blaisel, husband of his sister Bridget)
• La Tour du Pin, Henriette-Lucy, Marquise de (1913a), Journal d'une femme de cinquante ans (in French), 1 (7th ed.), Paris: Librairie Chapelot
• La Tour du Pin, Henriette-Lucy, Marquise de (1913b), Journal d'une femme de cinquante ans (in French), 2 (7th ed.), Paris: Librairie Chapelot
• Lodge, John (1789), The Peerage of Ireland, 4, Dublin: James Moore – Viscounts (for Dillon)
• O'Callaghan, John (1854), History of the Irish Brigade in the service of France, New York: P. O'Shea Publisher
• Sollier, J. F. (1913), "Dillon, Arthur-Richard", in Herbermann, Charles George (ed.), Catholic Encyclopedia, 4, New York: The Encyclopedia Press, p. 797
• Webb, Alfred (1878), "Dillon, Theobald, Viscount", Compendium of Irish Biography, Dublin: M. H. Gill & Son, p. 149

Further reading

• La Tour du Pin, Henriette-Lucy, Marquise de (1920), Recollections of the Revolution and the Empire, translated by Geer, Walter, New York: Brentano's (an abridged translation)
• Moorehead, Caroline (2009). Dancing to the Precipice: The Life of Lucie de la Tour du Pin, Eyewitness to an Era. Harper. ISBN 978-0-06-168441-8.
• L. Audibret, Le Dernier President des Etats du Languedoc, Mgr. Arthur Richard Dillon, archevêque de Narbonne (Bordeaux, 1868);
• Léonce Guilhaud de Lavergne, Les Assemblées provinciales sous Louis XVI (Paris, 1864).

External links

• Genealogy of Arthur Richard Dillon on The Peerage website
• Cobbe Museum