Henry Phillpotts - Publications

Publications

Phillpotts was renowned for his political pamphlets and the fact that he aired his opinions on every matter of current affairs, although he was not the greatest of diplomats:

"The House of Lords expected a humane and courtly manner of bishops and was horrified at the fury of his tone, at the incongruity between his violence and his lawn sleeves." (Chadwick I, 1997, 217)

His published works include numerous speeches and pamphlets, including those connected with his well-known Roman Catholic controversy with Charles Butler (1750–1832) and with the Gorham case, in which he was a principal player. He was a prolific writer of articles on matters of politics, social order and religion, propounding conservative and often controversial views. He was regarded as an opponent of Catholic emancipation, and on this theme published Letters to Charles Butler (1825), Letters to Canning (1827) and A Letter to an English Layman on the Coronation Oath (1828). However, he eventually approved of Peel's scheme for granting relief to Catholics in 1829.