John Quirk


John Nathaniel Quirk was an Anglican bishop.

Early life

Quirk was the son of Charles Thomas Quirk, sometime rector of Golborne. After being educated at Shrewsbury School and St John's College, Cambridge, he was ordained deacon in 1874 and priest in the following year.

Ecclesiastical career

His first post was as a curate at St Leonard's, Bridgnorth, where he served for four years, after which he was at Doncaster. He was Vicar of St Thomas's, Douglas, for a year, then successively Vicar of Rotherham, of St Mary′s, Beverley and of St Paul′s, Lorrimore Square, before being appointed Canon of York in 1888. He was appointed Rector and Rural Dean of Bath in 1895, where he was heavily involved with the restoration of Bath Abbey.
Quirk had recently been nominated Vicar Designate of Doncaster, when in September 1901 he became the first and only Bishop of Sheffield to be a suffragan bishop in the Diocese of York. He was consecrated as a bishop in York Minster on 18 October 1901. In May 1902 he received the degree Doctor of Divinity from the University of Cambridge.
When Sheffield was selected to form the centre of a new diocese in 1914, Quirk was translated to be the second Bishop of Jarrow. He also served as Archdeacon of Durham from 1922 to 1924.
He was appointed Honorary Chaplain to the Yeomanry regiment the Yorkshire Dragoons on 28 May 1902.
He died on 26 April 1924. He had become a Doctor of Divinity.

Family

Quirk was married, on 22 April 1880 at Brathay Church, Ambleside, to Mary Jane Clay. She was the daughter of John Clay, a priest, of Burton-on-Trent, and his wife, Jessie Harden of Ambleside. They had two sons and a daughter: