View source for Arthur Richard Dillon

{{Short description|French archbishop (1721–1806)}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2021}}
{{Use shortened footnotes|date=May 2023}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific_prefix = The most reverend
| name             = Arthur Richard Dillon
| image            = (Narbonne) Portrait de Mgr Arthur Dillon - Musée des Beaux-Arts de Narbonne.jpg
| caption          = Portrait of Arthur Richard Dillon wearing the [[Order of the Holy Spirit]] on its blue ribbon, the ''cordon bleu'', around his neck
| office           = [[Archbishop of Narbonne]]
| term_start       = 1763
| term_end         = 1790
| predecessor      = Charles-Antoine de la Roche-Aimon
| successor        = [[Guillaume Besaucèle]]
| father           = [[Arthur Dillon, Count Dillon]]
| mother           = Christina Sheldon
| birth_date       = 14 September 1721
| birth_place      = [[Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye|Saint-Germain-en-Laye]], [[Yvelines]], France
| death_date       = {{death date and age|df=y|1806|7|5|1721|9|14}}
| death_place      = London
}}

'''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 [[Justin McCarthy, Viscount Mountcashel|Mountcashel]]'s [[Irish Brigade (French)|Irish Brigade]]. At the French Revolution he refused the [[civil constitution of the clergy]] and fled first to [[Coblenz]] and then to London.

== Birth and origins ==
Arthur Richard was born on 15&nbsp;September 1721 at the [[Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye]] in France.{{Sfn|Fisquet|1867|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=RclkoCtVzMkC&pg=PA75 75]|ps=. "D'origine irlandaise, il naquit à Saint-Germain-en-Laye le 15 septembre 1721&nbsp;..."}} He was the youngest of the five sons of [[Arthur Dillon, Count Dillon|Arthur Dillon]] and his wife Christina Sheldon. His father was born in 1670 in Ireland, had fought for the Jacobites in the [[Williamite War in Ireland|Williamite War]] and had gone to France as the colonel of [[Dillon's Regiment]] with the [[Irish Brigade (France)|Irish Brigade]] in April 1690 when Irish troops were sent to France in exchange for French troops sent to Ireland with [[Antoine Nompar de Caumont|Lauzun]]. He was a younger son of the [[Theobald Dillon, 7th Viscount Dillon|7th Viscount Dillon]]. His father's family was [[Normans in Ireland|Old English]] Irish and descended from Sir Henry Dillon who came to Ireland with [[John, King of England|Prince John]] in 1185.{{Sfn|Webb|1878|p=[https://archive.org/details/acompendiumiris00webbgoog/page/n157/ 149, line 7]|ps=. "... [Sir Henry Dillon] came to Ireland in 1185 as secretary to Prince John&nbsp;..."}}

Henry's mother was a daughter of Ralph Sheldon, whereas [[Dominic Sheldon]], the English Catholic Jacobite, was her uncle. She was a [[Maids of Honour|maid of honour]] to Queen [[Mary of Modena]], wife of [[James II of England|James II]].{{Sfn|Burke|Burke|1915|p=[https://archive.org/details/b3136410x/page/646/ 646, right column, line 18]|ps=. "He m. [married] Christina, Maid of Honour to Mary, wife of James&nbsp;II), dau. of Ralph Sheldon, and d. 5&nbsp;Feb. 1733&nbsp;..."}} Both parents were thus Jacobites and Catholics.

Arthur had four brothers and several sisters,{{Sfn|O'Callaghan|1854|p=[https://archive.org/details/historyofirishbr01ocal/page/48/ 48, line 36a]|ps=. "Lieutenant-General Arthur Dillon, besides daughters, had 5 sons."}} [[Arthur Dillon, Count Dillon#chldrn|who are listed in his father's article]].

{{Chart top|width=auto|collapsed=no|align=right|clear=right|Family tree}}
{{Tree chart/start|style=clear: both; font-size: 90%; width: 31em;}}
{{Tree chart|Txt|Txt=Arthur Richard with parents, and other selected relatives.{{Efn|This family tree is partly derived from the Dillon family tree pictured in La Tour du Pin.{{Sfn|La Tour du Pin|1913a|pp=[https://archive.org/details/journaldunefemme01lato/page/14/ 14–15]|ps=. "Note généalogique sur la Maison des Lords Dillon"}} Also see the lists of siblings in the text.}}|boxstyle_Txt=border: 0 solid white; padding-bottom: 1em; text-align: left;}}
{{Tree chart/end}}
{{Tree chart/start}}
{{Tree chart| | | |ThbD7|y| Mry |boxstyle=border-width: 1px; border-radius: 0.5em;
 |ThbD7=[[Theobald Dillon, 7th Viscount Dillon|Theobald<br />'''7th<br />Viscount''']]<br />d. 1691<br />Jacobite|boxstyle_ThbD7=border-width: 1px; border-radius: 0.5em; background: lavender;
 |Mry='''Mary<br />Talbot'''<br />d. 1691}}
{{Tree chart| | | |,|-|-|^|.}}
{{Tree chart| | |HryD8| |Arthr|y|ChrSh|boxstyle=border-width: 1px; border-radius: 0.5em;
 |HryD8=[[Henry Dillon, 8th Viscount Dillon|Henry<br />'''8th<br />Viscount''']]<br />d. 1714|boxstyle_HryD8=border-width: 1px; border-radius: 0.5em; background: lavender;
 |Arthr=[[Arthur Dillon, Count Dillon|'''Arthur''']]<br />1670–1733<br />French<br />General
 |ChrSh='''Christina<br />Sheldon'''<br />1684–1757}}
{{Tree chart| |,|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|+|-|-|-|.|}}
{{Tree chart|HrD11| |LcsCy|y|Laura| |Sbjct|boxstyle=border-width: 1px; border-radius: 0.5em;
 |HrD11=[[Henry Dillon, 11th Viscount Dillon|Henry<br />'''11th<br />Viscount''']]<br />1705–1787|boxstyle_HrD11=border-width: 1px; border-radius: 0.5em; background: lavender;
 |LcsCy=[[Lucius Cary, 6th Viscount Falkland|Lucius Cary<br />'''Viscount<br />Falkland''']]<br />1687–1730
 |Laura='''Laura'''<br />d. 1741
 |Sbjct='''Arthur<br />Richard'''<br />1721–1806<br />Archbishop|boxstyle_Sbjct=border: 2px solid red; border-radius: 0.5em;}}
{{Tree chart| |!| | | | | |`|-|-|-|.| |:}}
{{Tree chart| |!| | | | |Rothe|y|LcyCy|J|boxstyle=border-width: 1px; border-radius: 0.5em;
 |Rothe='''Edward<br />Rothe'''<br />d. 1766
 |LcyCy='''Lucy Cary'''<br />d. 1804<br />Mme de Rothe}}
{{Tree chart| |)|-|-|-|.| | | |!}}
{{Tree chart|ChD12| |ArtDl|y|TLdeR|boxstyle=border-width: 1px; border-radius: 0.5em;
 |ChD12=[[Charles Dillon, 12th Viscount Dillon|Charles<br />'''12th<br />Viscount''']]<br />1745–1813|boxstyle_ChD12=border-width: 1px; border-radius: 0.5em; background: lavender;
 |TLdeR=[[Thérèse-Lucy de Dillon|'''Therese<br />Lucy<br />de Rothe''']]<br />1751–1782
 |ArtDl='''Arthur<br />Dillon'''<br />1750–1794}}
{{Tree chart| |!| | | | | |!}}
{{Tree chart|HAD13| | | |HLdlT|boxstyle=border-width: 1px; border-radius: 0.5em;
 |HAD13=[[Henry Dillon, 13th Viscount Dillon|Henry<br />Augustus<br />'''13th<br />Viscount''']]<br />1777–1832|boxstyle_HAD13=border-width: 1px; border-radius: 0.5em; background: lavender;
 |HLdlT=[[Henriette-Lucy, Marquise de La Tour du Pin Gouvernet|'''Henriette<br />-Lucy<br />de la<br />Tour du Pin''']]<br />1770–1853}}
{{Tree chart/end}}
{{Tree chart/start|style=clear: both;}}
{{Tree chart|Leg|Leg='''Legend'''|boxstyle_Leg=border: 0 solid white;}}
{{Tree chart/end}}
{{Tree chart/start|style=clear: both; }}
{{Tree chart|SbjBx|SbjTx| |Bk1Bx|Bk1Tx
 |SbjBx=XXX|boxstyle_SbjBx=border: 2px solid red; border-radius: 0.5em; color: white;
 |SbjTx=Subject of<br />the article|boxstyle_SbjTx=border: 0 solid white; text-align: left;
 |Bk1Bx=XXX|boxstyle_Bk1Bx=background: lavender; border-radius: 0.5em; border-width: 1px; color: lavender;
 |Bk1Tx=[[Viscount Dillon|Viscounts of<br />Dillon]]|boxstyle_Bk1Tx=border: 0 solid white; text-align: left;}}
{{Tree chart/end}}
{{Chart_bottom}}

[[File:Coat of arms of Arthur Richard Dillon.svg|left|thumb|Dillon's coat of arms. Above the escutcheon the green [[galero]] with fifteen tassels (as [[Primate (bishop)|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 [[Charleville-Mézières|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 (bishop)|Primate]] of the ecclesiastical region of Gallia narbonensis and ''ex officio'' president of the estates of [[Languedoc]].{{Sfn|Sollier|1913|p=[https://archive.org/details/catholicencyclo12wynngoog/page/n878/ 797]|ps=. "... ''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."}}

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 [[University of Montpellier|Montpellier]] and [[University of Toulouse|Toulouse]], and tried to reduce poverty, especially in Narbonne.{{Sfn|Chisholm|1910|p=[[:s:1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Dillon, Arthur Richard|273]]|ps=. "...&nbsp;and tried to reduce the poverty, especially in Narbonne."}}

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 granddaughter 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 of France|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]],{{Sfn|Lavergne|1864|p=[https://archive.org/details/lesassemblespro02lavegoog/page/n443/ 416]|ps=. "...&nbsp;refusa le serment et mourut dans Témigrationj"}} 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, London|Thayer Street]], [[Marylebone]], by [[Henriette-Lucy, Marquise de La Tour du Pin Gouvernet]].{{Sfn|La Tour du Pin|1913b|p=[https://archive.org/details/journaldunefemme02lato/page/159/ 159]|ps=. "Un matin donc, je me dirigeai vers Thayer Street&nbsp;..."}}

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. He was buried in St Pancras churchyard, which was the burial place favoured by the émigré community, as there was no official Catholic cemetery available.{{Sfn|Fisquet|1867|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=RclkoCtVzMkC&pg=PA77 77]|ps=. "Mgr Dillon mourut à Londres le 5 juillet 1806 et fut inhumé dans le cimetière de l'église de Saint-Pancras de cette ville, où nous avons vu les débris de sa modeste tombe."}}

[[File:Cathédrale Saint-Just de Narbonne - Tombe de Dillon.jpg|thumb|Burial of Arthur Richard Dillon in [[Narbonne Cathedral]]]]

{|{{Table|hide}}
!colspan=3|Timeline
|-
!align="left"|Age!!align="left"|Date!!align="left"|Event
|-
|0||1721, 15 Sep||Born, at the [[Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye]]<ref name="FOOTNOTEFisquet1867[httpsbooksgooglecombooksidRclkoCtVzMkCpgPA75 75]"/>
|-
|{{Age|15 Sep 1721|5 Feb 1733}}||1733, 5&nbsp;Feb||Father died at the [[Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye]].{{Sfn|O'Callaghan|1854|p=[https://archive.org/details/historyofirishbr01ocal/page/48/ 48, line 38]|ps=. "... died February 5th, at the Palace of St. Germain-en-Laye, aged 63 years."}}
|-
|{{Age|15 Sep 1721|1747}}||1747||Appointed Vicar-General of [[Pontoise]]<ref name="FOOTNOTESollier1913[httpsarchiveorgdetailscatholicencyclo12wynngoogpagen878 797]"/>
|-
|{{Age|15 Sep 1721|1753}}||1753||Appointed [[Bishop of Evreux]]<ref name="FOOTNOTESollier1913[httpsarchiveorgdetailscatholicencyclo12wynngoogpagen878 797]"/>
|-
|{{Age|15 Sep 1721|1757}}||1757||Mother died in Paris.{{Sfn|O'Callaghan|1854|p=[https://archive.org/details/historyofirishbr01ocal/page/48/ 48, line 35]|ps=. "... [his mother] died in Paris in 1757, aged 77&nbsp;..."}}
|-
|{{Age|15 Sep 1721|1758}}||1758||Appointed [[Archbishop of Toulouse]]<ref name="FOOTNOTESollier1913[httpsarchiveorgdetailscatholicencyclo12wynngoogpagen878 797]"/>
|-
|{{Age|15 Sep 1721|1763}}||1763||Appointed [[Archbishop of Narbonne]]<ref name="FOOTNOTESollier1913[httpsarchiveorgdetailscatholicencyclo12wynngoogpagen878 797]"/>
|-
|{{Age|15 Sep 1721|1790}}||1790||Replaced by the constitutional bishop of Aude, [[Guillaume Besaucèle]]
|-
|{{Age|15 Sep 1721|1791}}||1791||Fled to [[Coblenz]] and soon after to London
|-
|{{Age|15 Sep 1721|7 Feb 1804}}||1804, 7&nbsp;Feb||Partner, Madame de Rothe, died in London.
|-
|{{Age|15 Sep 1721|5 Jul 1806}}||1806, 5&nbsp;Jul||Died in London
<ref name="FOOTNOTEFisquet1867[httpsbooksgooglecombooksidRclkoCtVzMkCpgPA77 77]"/>
|}

== 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<ref>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</ref> in preparation for the London terminus of the [[Channel Tunnel]] Rail Link. During the 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.<ref>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</ref>

In March 2007 the body of Archbishop Dillon was returned to France and now lies in [[Narbonne Cathedral]].<ref>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</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Bingham|first=David|title=The Archbishop of Narbonne's Teeth; Arthur Richard Dillon, 1721–1806, St Pancras burial ground |url=http://thelondondead.blogspot.com.au/2014/04/the-archbishop-of-narbonnes-teeth.html |website=The London Dead |accessdate=16 May 2016 |date=30 April 2014}}</ref> On 19 May 2008, the porcelain dentures were accessioned into the [http://www.cobbecollection.co.uk Cobbe Museum] (currently housed at Hatchlands, East Clandon).
{{Clear}}

== Notes and references ==
=== Notes ===
{{Notelist}}

=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}

=== Sources ===
{{Refbegin|30em|indent=yes}}
* {{Cite book|last1=Burke |first1=Bernard |author1-link=Bernard Burke |last2=Burke |first2=Ashworth Peter |date=1915 |title=A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Peerage and Baronetage, the Privy Council, Knightage and Companionage |edition=77th |publisher=Harrison |location=London |oclc=1155471554 |url=https://archive.org/details/b3136410x/}}
* {{Cite EB1911|editor-last=Chisholm |editor-first=Hugh |date=1910 |wstitle= Dillon, Arthur Richard |volume=8 |page=273}}
* {{Cite book|last=Fisquet |first=Honoré Jean Pierre |date=1867 |title=La France pontificale (Gallia christiana) Histoire chronologique et biographique des archevêques at évêques de tous les diocèses de France depuis l'établissement du christiansme jusqu'à nos jours: Metropole de Rouen: Evreux |publisher=E. Repos |location=Paris |language=fr |oclc=496333101 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RclkoCtVzMkC}}
* {{Cite book|last=La Tour du Pin |first=Henriette-Lucy, Marquise de |author-link=Henriette-Lucy, Marquise de La Tour du Pin Gouvernet |date=1913a |title=Journal d'une femme de cinquante ans |trans-title=Diary of a Woman in her Fifties |edition=7th |volume=I |publisher=Librairie Chapelot |location=Paris |language=fr |oclc=1047408815 |url=https://archive.org/details/journaldunefemme01lato/}}
* {{Cite book|last=La Tour du Pin |first=Henriette-Lucy, Marquise de |author-link=Henriette-Lucy, Marquise de La Tour du Pin Gouvernet |date=1913b |title=Journal d'une femme de cinquante ans |trans-title=Diary of a Woman in her Fifties |edition=7th |volume=II |publisher=Librairie Chapelot |location=Paris |language=fr |oclc=1047478749 |url=https://archive.org/details/journaldunefemme02lato/}}
* {{Cite book|last=Lavergne |first=Léonce Guilhaud de |date=1864 |title=Les Assemblées provinciales sous Louis XVI |publisher=Michel Levy frères |location=Paris |oclc=253663732 |url=https://archive.org/details/lesassemblespro02lavegoog/}}
* {{Cite book|last=O'Callaghan |first=John Cornelius |date=1854 |title=History of the Irish Brigades in the Service of France |publisher=P. O'Shea Publisher |location=New York |oclc=1046538374 |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofirishbr01ocal/}}
* {{Cite encyclopedia|last=Sollier |first=J. F. |editor-last=Herbermann |editor-first=Charles George |editor-link=Charles George Herbermann |date=1913 |title=Dillon, Artur-Richard |encyclopedia=[[Catholic Encyclopedia]] |volume=IV |publisher=[[The Encyclopedia Press]] |location=New York |page=797 |oclc=1157968788 |url=https://archive.org/details/catholicencyclo12wynngoog/page/n878/}}
* {{Cite encyclopedia|last=Webb |first=Alfred |author-link=Alfred Webb |date=1878 |title=Dillon, Sir Henry |encyclopedia=Compendium of Irish Biography |publisher=[[M. H. Gill & Son]] |location=Dublin |page=149 |oclc=122693688 |url=https://archive.org/details/acompendiumiris00webbgoog/page/n157/}}
{{Refend}}

== Further reading ==
* {{Cite book|last=La Tour du Pin |first=Henriette-Lucy, Marquise de |author-link=Henriette-Lucy, Marquise de La Tour du Pin Gouvernet |translator-last=Geer |translator-first=Walter |date=1920 |title=Recollections of the Revolution and the Empire |publisher=Brentano's |location=New York |url=https://archive.org/details/recollectionsre00geergoog/ |ref=none}} (an abridged translation)
* {{Cite book|last=Moorehead |first=Caroline |date=2009 |title=Dancing to the Precipice: The Life of Lucie de la Tour du Pin, Eyewitness to an Era |publisher=[[Chatto & Windus]] |location=London |isbn=978-0-7011-7904-5 |url=https://archive.org/details/dancingtoprecipi0000moor/ |url-access=registration |ref=none}}
* L. Audibret, ''Le Dernier President des Etats du Languedoc, Mgr. Arthur Richard Dillon, archevêque de Narbonne'' (Bordeaux, 1868);

== External links ==
<!--
Deprecated, see list at WP:RSPSS. Preserved here for cross-checking.
* [http://www.thepeerage.com/p37110.htm#i371097 Genealogy of Arthur Richard Dillon on The Peerage website]
-->
* [http://www.cobbecollection.co.uk Cobbe Museum]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dillon, Arthur}}
[[Category:1721 births]]
[[Category:1806 deaths]]
[[Category:18th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in France]]
[[Category:Archbishops of Toulouse]]
[[Category:Archbishops of Narbonne]]
[[Category:Bishops of Évreux]]
[[Category:Burials at St Pancras Old Church]]
[[Category:French people of Irish descent]]
[[Category:People from Saint-Germain-en-Laye]]