The Right Reverend Thomas Newton D.D. Lord Bishop of Bristol, and Dean of St. Paul’s.

A three quarter length portrait of Thomas Newton Bishop of Bristol (1704-82). He wears his bishop’s robes and sleeves and carries a mortar board cap in his hand. In the background is the Dome of St. Paul’s. Born of fairly humble origins, the son of a brandy merchant, he was both able and ambitious and soon secured the patronage of the William Pulteney Earl of Bath. He married well twice, and went on to become a favourite of the Prince and Princess of Wales and later Lord Bute, who appointed him Bishop of Bristol. He is buried in St. Paul’s Cathedral.