Johnson in her tract, ‘The Shepherd of Salisbury Plain.’
Stonhouse succeeded a cousin, Sir James, tenth baronet, in the baronetcy on 13 April 1792. He died at Hotwells, Bristol, on 8 Dec. 1795, and was buried in Dowry chapel (now the church of St. Andrew the Less) in the same grave with his second wife. She was Sarah, only child and heiress of Thomas Ekins of Chester-on-the-Water, near Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, and Doddridge was her guardian. They were married after her father's death in 1754, and the estate came to Stonhouse. She died of consumption at Hotwells, Bristol, on 10 Dec. 1788, aged 55, leaving two sons and a daughter (for metrical epitaphs by Hannah More upon her and her husband see Gent. Mag. 1814, ii. 515). Thomas, the only son of the first marriage, was twelfth baronet, and on his death without issue in 1810 the title passed to his half-brother's son, Sir John Brook Stonhouse (d. 1848), thirteenth baronet.
Most of Stonhouse's tracts were reprinted by his son, the Rev. T. Stonhouse-Vigor, in a volume dated Bath, 1822, 12mo. It contained: 1. ‘Friendly Advice to a Patient,’ 1748. 2. ‘Spiritual Instructions,’ 1748. 3. ‘Faithful and Unfaithful Minister contrasted,’ 1769. 4. ‘Considerations on some particular Sins,’ 1758. 5. ‘Sermon before Governors of Salisbury Infirmary,’ 1771. 6. ‘Admonitions against Swearing.’ 7. ‘Short Explanation of the Lord's Supper,’ 1773. 8. ‘Prayers for private Persons,’ 1773. 9. ‘Hints from a Minister to a Curate,’ 1774. 10. ‘Religious Instruction of Children recommended,’ 1774. 11. ‘Most important Truths of Christianity stated,’ 1778. 12. ‘Address to Parishioners of Great Cheverell,’ 1780. 13. ‘Materials for Talking familiarly with Children and others on Religion,’ 1795. 14. ‘Remarks on the Office for the Visitation of the Sick and on the Communion Service.’ Many of these tracts went through several editions, and were long included in the ‘Religious Tracts of the Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge.’ Several were anonymous, including the ‘Hints from a Minister to a Curate,’ i.e. the Rev. Thomas Stedman. Stonhouse was also the author of: ‘Universal Restitution’ [anon.], 1761 and 1768; ‘Every Man's Assistant and the Sick Man's Friend,’ 1788 (often republished); and ‘On the Importance of keeping a Diary.’ Two volumes of letters from Job Orton [q. v.] and from Stonhouse to the Rev. Thomas Stedman were published in 1800, and again in 1805. Stonhouse contributed extensively to the life and letters of James Hervey.
[Gent. Mag. 1758 pp. 17–20, 1795 ii. 1058, 1075, 1796 i. 165, 1801 i. 81, 1815 i. 389; Foster's Alumni Oxon.; Foster's Baronetage; Betham's Baronetage; Burke's Peerage; Berry's Buckinghamshire Genealogies, p. 53; Orton's Letters, 1800, ii. 260–70; Nicholls and Taylor's Bristol, ii. 279; Robinson's Merchant Taylors' School Reg. ii. 60; Tyerman's Whitefield, ii. 195–200, 213, 233, 290; Doddridge's Corresp. iv. 369–73; Nichols's Illustrations of Literature, ii. 843–4, iii. 519; Nichols's Literary Anecdotes, ix. 811; Stanford's Doddridge, pp. 101, 113–21; Jay's Autobiogr. pp. 342–3; Roberts's Hannah More, 2nd edit. pp. 30–4, and pref. to 3rd edit. p. xix; Notes and Queries, 9th ser. ii. 124. A life of Stonhouse, with extracts from his correspondence, said to have been published in 1845, is not at the British Museum.]
STONOR, JOHN de (d. 1354), judge, was probably born at Stonor, near Sandwich, Kent, for in 1316 he took a release of the lands of Robert de Dumbleton in that county. He was, however, also connected with the manor of Stonor, near Dorchester, Oxfordshire, in the church of which place there is the effigy of a judge bearing his arms. Stonor frequently occurs as an advocate in the year-books, and in 1313, as one of the serjeants, was summoned to parliament. In 1316 he had 20l. per annum for his expenses in the king's service, and was about this time frequently employed on judicial commissions. On 16 Oct. 1320 Stonor was appointed one of the justices of the common pleas. Dugdale makes him one of the judges of the king's bench in 1323–4; but, though this seems to be an error, he was perhaps removed for a time from the common pleas, since mention is made of his reappointment to that court on 3 May 1324. Stonor was reappointed after the accession of Edward III, on 31 Jan. 1327, and in the autumn of that year was employed in the inquiries into the disturbances at Bury St. Edmunds and Abingdon Abbey (Cal. Pat. Rolls, Edward III, i. 2, 217, 221–2, 287–9; Memorials of St. Edmunds Abbey, ii. 302, 348, 353). On 22 Feb. 1329 he was made chief baron of the exchequer, and on 3 Sept. of the same year chief justice of the common pleas (Cal. Pat. Rolls, Edward III, i. 365, 439). He was removed from the chief-justiceship on 2 March 1331, and on 1 April appointed to the second place in the same court (ib. ii. 78, 102). He was confirmed in this position on 8 Feb. 1334, but on 16 July following was displaced by Geoffrey le Scrope [q. v.] However, on 7 July 1335 he was once more made chief justice of the common pleas (ib. ii. 510, 565, iii. 151). In this same year he was sent to inquire into the disputes between north and south at Oxford (Wood, Hist. and Antiq. i. 427).
