thumb|right|200px|george croly george croly (august 17, 1780 â november 24, 1860) was an irish poet, novelist, historian, and anglican priest. he was rector of st stephen walbrook in the city of london from 1835 until his death. ==early life== he was born at dublin, his father was a physician. he graduated from trinity college, dublin with an ma in 1804. the college was to award him an honorary lld in 1831. he was ordained in 1804, and worked as a curate at a parish in the diocese of meath until around 1810. then, accompanied by his widowed mother, his brother henry and his sisters, he moved to london. finding himself unable to obtain preferment in the church, he dedicated himself to a literary career.white p.334 ==literary career== croly was a leading contributor to the literary gazette and blackwood's magazine, from their establishment in 1817, and was also associated with the tory magazine britannia. he worked as a theatre critic for to the new times and later as a foreign correspondent. he wrote poems, plays, satires, novels, history, and theological works, and attained some measure of success in all. perhaps his best known works were his novels, salathiel (1828), based on the legend of the wandering jew, and marston (1846). his main contribution to theological literature was an exposition of the apocalypse. one of his hymns is spirit of god, descend upon my heart written in 1854. ==religious appointments== in 1832 he was put in charge of the parish of romford in essex, while the vicar was unable to carry out his duties due to illness. the editor of the literary gazette, william jerdan, had previously attempted to procure a living for him, but this had proved unsuccessful, the reason (according to croly's obituary in the gentleman's magazine) being a confusion between him and another clergyman, a former roman catholic, with a similar name. in 1835, however, through the influence of lord brougham, a distant relative of his wife he was appointed rector of st stephen walbrook in the city of london, a position he held until his death. he had previously turned down brougham's offer of a remote living on the edge of dartmoor. his son frederick wrote:this parish being very small, and most of the parishioners non-resident, the new rector could still devote a large portion of his time to general literature. a still greater advantage of his new position was, that it afforde
1780_births 1860_deaths Irish_Anglican_theologians Irish_novelists Irish_poets People_from_Dublin_(city)