The family of Rev Dr George Legh LLD, came from Cheshire. He was the son of Catherine (née Chambre) & John Legh.
He was (possibly) uncle of Elizabeth Robinson.
He was prebendary of York before becoming Vicar of Halifax [1731].
On 9th July 1735, he married (1) widow Mary Hankins, [née Avenant] at Upton upon Severn.
On 29th January 1746, he married (2) Frances Dyve [1???-1749] at St Martin In The Fields, Westminster, London.
On 7th March 1750, he married (3) Elizabeth Roberts [1???-1765] at Chester Cathedral.
There were no children.
He lived at Cooper House, Luddendenfoot.
He inherited the manor of Loppington Hall, Shropshire through his mother's family.
In November 1769, he attended the enquiry which had been called by the Marquis of Rockingham to discuss the problem of the coiners and the murder of William Deighton.
He wrote in support of the controversy which had been sparked by Bishop Hoadley of Bangor when he published a sermon and a document entitled A Preservative against the Principles and Practice of the Non-jurors in which he maintained that the Church was independent of the state, that an established Church was a mere human institution, that the true Church did not require any other than spiritual sanctions, that Christ was the legislator and judge of the Church, and lastly, that no human or temporal power ought to violate his supremacy. Dr Legh's work was published in Scotland under an assumed name.
He also wrote a poem entitled The Clergyman's Choice of a Wife Delineated. This was published anonymously
by a Foreign Bishop, now residing and preaching in his diocese in Terra Incognita
and printed by E. Jacobs [1776].
He was one of the originators of the Halifax Circulating Library.
When he died, his property was auctioned; a local man bought a writing bureau and discovered jewellery, gold, silver and other valuables worth around £5,000 hidden in a secret compartment.
In his will, Dr Legh left money for the lecturer and 13 curates at the Church to buy a ring, and bequeathed £100 for Bibles and testaments to be loaned to the poor of Halifax and its chapelries.
He also requested that
a marble monumental inscription be fixed up in the vestry burial place or library in the Parish Church of Halifax, recording the time of my two last wives' burial there and mine, so as the expence thereof doth not exceed one hundred pounds or thereabouts
He and his 2 wives were buried beneath the vestry at Halifax Parish Church and there are memorials to them in the chancel there on what Crabtree describes as
an ill-executed monument
In 1857, when workmen were building a new staircase down from the vestry, the floor collapsed into the vault. This was filled with earth and sealed
This & associated entries use material contributed by Malcolm Corbett & David Glover
Page Ref: MML41
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