[iv]
lege, Cambridge, Sterne entered the ministry of the Church of England and settled as Vicar of Sutton-on-the-Forest—a small village eight miles to the north of the city of York. Through the influence of his uncle, Dr. Jaques Sterne, Precentor to York Minster and Archdeacon of Cleveland, he was appointed, early in 1741, a prebendary in the Cathedral. Thenceforth to the end of his life he was a member of the York Chapter, composed of the Dean, canons, and prebendaries, for the management of all affairs connected with the Cathedral. Within the Chapter there was a good deal of maneuvering, whenever a small office fell vacant, in the interest of friends; and at times friction arose between the Dean and the Archbishop over the real or apparent encroachment on each other's rights,
The first Archbishop of York that concerns us was Matthew Hutton, who disliked Sterne and took sides against him in a quarrel that sprang up between Laurence and his uncle Jaques. In the spring of 1757, Archbishop Hutton was translated to the see of Canterbury. His successor at York was Dr. John Gilbert, for some years Bishop of Salisbury. He was an amiable gentleman, most friendly towards Sterne, but without the strong hand necessary to check intrigues. Physical infirmities coming upon him, he rarely left his palace at
