Name Edward Worth | ||
Edward Worth (c. 1620–2 August 1669) was a Church of Ireland Bishop of Killaloe, mainly remembered as the founder of the Blue Coat School for the poor boys of Cork.
He was born in County Cork, son of James Worth; his grandfather Jasper Worth came to Ireland from Prestbury, Cheshire, where the family had lived for several centuries. He was awarded a Doctor of Divinity (D.D.) by the University of Dublin. He was appointed Dean of Cork in 1645. During the political and religious conflicts of the 1640s and 1650s, Worth was described as "an adroit political player", who nonetheless emerged at the Restoration of Charles II with his reputation for loyalty to the English Crown apparently unquestioned. He was raised to the episcopy as Bishop of Killaloe in 1660 by Letters Patent of King Charles II. He was consecrated in St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin on 27 January 1661.
He died in Hackney, London, in 1669 and was buried in St. Mildred's Church, Bread Street, London.
He married Susannah Pepper, daughter of Dennis Pepper, and sister of Captain George Pepper of Ballygart, County Meath. They had fours sons:
They also had a daughter:
He left land and money to found St Stephen's Hospital in Cork, popularly known as the Blue Coat School for poor boys, for which act of benevolence he is now mainly remembered.