George Smalridge (18 May 1662 – 27 September 1719) was an English bishop.
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George Smalridge was born at Lichfield, son of the Sheriff of Lichfield Thomas Smalridge, George received his early education, this being completed at Westminster School and at Christ Church, Oxford.
His political opinions were largely modelled on those of his friend Francis Atterbury, with whom he was associated at Oxford and elsewhere. After being a tutor at Christ Church, he was minister of two chapels in London, and for six or seven years he acted as deputy for William Jane, the regius professor of divinity at Oxford; his Jacobite opinions, however, prevented him from securing this position when it fell vacant in 1707.
In 1711, he was made dean of Carlisle Cathedral and canon of Christ Church, and in 1713 he succeeded Atterbury as dean of Christ Church. In the following year he was appointed bishop of Bristol, but retained his deanery. In 1715 Smalridge refused to sign the declaration against the pretender, James Francis Edward Stuart, defending his action in his Reasons for not signing the Declaration. In other ways also he showed animus against the house of Hanover, but his only punishment was his removal from the post of lord almoner to the king.
The bishop was esteemed by Swift, Steele, Whiston and other famous men of his day, while Dr Johnson declared his sermons to be of the highest class. Would fill any church it was said. George was persecuted by those who envied him.
George was an extremely agreeable man, highly thought of among the royals and the rich, his social standing was enviable, he extinguished the fires of talk wherever he went, Due to jealousy they kept moving him to poor churches, with a handful of people only to surprise them all by filling them to standing room only in a very short time, so they would move him again, and again, due to his popularity, and they had no real evidence against him, allegations made against him were published but never retracted, finally they had no choice they gave him Bristol one of the poorest churches in the land, they made him Bishop of Bristol, on arrival he found people starving, and a congregation of 12, the people walked for miles to listen to him he gave them hope, the cathedral was full with standing room only, his family fed the poor with soup going without themselves to feed others, then after months of struggling to help he was the benifactor of the Lottery £20,000. One of Georges pupils from Christchurch was greatly influenced by Georges teachings, John Wesley, on arriving back from the USA, George offered him a hall near the cathedral to teach his Methodist religion.
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| Preceded by John Robinson |
Bishop of Bristol 1714–1719 |
Succeeded by Hugh Boulter |
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