this was Crokesley's skeleton, he must have been a tall man, slightly lame with one leg, and subject to rheumatism. Matthew Paris describes him as ‘elegans’ and ‘facundus,’ and gives him credit for having ably administered his abbey.
[Matt. Paris's Chron. Maj. (Rolls Series), iv. 589, v. 128, 228, 231, 239, 304, 305, 520, 560, 682, 700; Madox's Exch. ii. 318–19; Rymer's Fœdera, ed. Clarke, i. 344, 350, 351, 355; Annales Monast. (Rolls Series), i. 447, 460, iii. 211; Widmore's Westminster, p. 63; Foss's Lives of the Judges.]
CROLL, FRANCIS (1826?–1854), line engraver, was born at Musselburgh about 1826. At a very early age his talent for drawing attracted the notice of the Scottish sculptors, Alexander and John Ritchie, who urged his friends to cultivate it. He was accordingly articled to Thomas Dobbie of Edinburgh, an excellent draughtsman and naturalist, but less known as an engraver, under whose tuition Croll made good progress in drawing, but not so much in engraving. The death of his master, however, before the completion of his apprenticeship led to his being placed for two years to study line engraving under Robert Charles Bell [q. v.], and during the same time he attended the schools of the Royal Scottish Academy, then under the direction of Sir William Allan [q. v.], from whose instruction and advice he derived much benefit. His earlier works were some plates of animals for Stephens's ‘Book of the Farm,’ some portraits for ‘Hogg's Weekly Instructor,’ and a small plate from James Drummond's picture of ‘The Escape of Hamilton of Bothwellhaugh.’ In 1852 he executed for the ‘Art Journal’ an engraving of ‘The Tired Soldier,’ after the picture by Frederick Goodall in the Vernon Gallery. He also engraved for the Royal Association for the Promotion of the Fine Arts in Scotland one of a series of designs by John Faed to illustrate ‘The Cottar's Saturday Night’ of Robert Burns. During the progress of this plate he was attacked by heart disease, and soon after its completion a career of much promise was closed by his death in Edinburgh, 12 Feb. 1854, at the early age of twenty-seven.
[Scotsman, 18 Feb. 1854; Art Journal, 1854, p. 119.]
CROLLY, WILLIAM, D.D. (1780–1849), catholic archbishop of Armagh, was born at Ballykilbeg, co. Down, on 8 June 1780, and received his education at a grammar school kept by Dr. Nelson, a unitarian, and Mr. Doran, a catholic. In 1801 he entered Maynooth; he was ordained priest in 1806, and for six years he was a professor in the college. In 1812 he was appointed parish priest of Belfast, a position rendered delicate by the local prejudices against catholicism. It is stated that during the first seven years of his ministry he received one thousand converts into the Roman church. On 1 May 1825 he was consecrated bishop of Down and Connor.
He was translated to the archiepiscopal see of Armagh and the primacy of Ireland by propaganda on 7 April 1835. He was one of the commissioners of charitable bequests, and in accepting that office, in conjunction with Dr. Murray and Dr. Denvir, he incurred a large share of odium, from which, however, he never shrank, notwithstanding that the opposition against him was led by O'Connell in person. He died at Drogheda on 6 April 1849, and was buried in the catholic cathedral of Armagh.
His biography, by the Rev. George Crolly (Dublin, 1852, 8vo), contains numerous anecdotes illustrative of the times in which he lived.
[Shirley's Cat. of the Library at Lough Fea, p. 81; Brady's Episcopal Succession, i. 232, 274; Webb's Compendium of Irish Biography, p. 105; Gent. Mag. new ser. xxxi. 539.]
CROLY, GEORGE (1780–1860), author and divine, born at Dublin 17 Aug. 1780, received the greater part of his education at Trinity College, which he entered at the age of fifteen. He distinguished himself as a classical scholar and an extempore speaker, and after taking the usual degrees was ordained in 1804, and licensed to a curacy in the north of Ireland. The obscurity of his situation was distasteful to him, and about 1810, accompanied by his widowed mother and his sisters, he settled in London, and devoted himself chiefly to literary pursuits. He became dramatic critic to the ‘New Times,’ and was a leading contributor to the ‘Literary Gazette’ and ‘Blackwood's Magazine’ from their commencement. Among his numerous contributions to the latter periodical was ‘The Traditions of the Rabbins,’ a portion of which has been erroneously attributed to De Quincey, and still appears among his collected works. Croly's connection with the ‘Literary Gazette’ brought about his marriage in 1819 to Margaret Helen Begbie, with whom he had become acquainted as a fellow-contributor to the journal. Jerdan, the editor of the ‘Gazette,’ endeavoured to procure Croly church preferment, but his efforts failed, according to the ‘Gentleman's Magazine,’ from Croly being confounded with a converted Roman catholic priest of nearly the same name. Croly accordingly continued to devote himself vigorously to literature, producing
