The diaries of Bishop William Poynter, V.A. (1815-1824)

William Poynter was born at Petersfield, Hampshire, England in 1762, and was sent to the English College at Douai, France, in 1775 to study for the priesthood. After receiving a doctorate in divinity, he returned to England to help establish a seminary for Catholic priests there. He was appointed vice-president, and, from 1802-1813, president of St. Edmund's College. He held important ecclesiastical offices, including titular Bishop of Halia (1802-1827), Coadjutor Vicar Apostolic of the London District (1802-1812), and Vicar Apostolic of the London District (1812-1827), one of four in England and Wales at the time. Poynter's surviving diaries date from 1815-1824, during his tenure as Vicar Apostolic, "when issues that were critical for the future of the Catholic Church in Britain had to be addressed." (P. 1).