a proceeding so unpopular that he soon dismissed them. He voted against Roman catholic emancipation in 1821, and again in 1825. On 22 March 1823 he was translated to Down and Connor, succeeding Nathaniel Alexander, D.D. (d. 22 Oct. 1840), who had been translated to Meath. There was then, as now, no official residence connected with his diocese; Mant fixed his abode at Knocknagoney (Rabbit's Hill), in the parish of Holywood, co. Down, a few miles from Belfast. He had come from a diocese which was largely Roman catholic to a stronghold of protestantism, mainly in its presbyterian form, and he succeeded in doing much for the prosperity of the then established church. Mant was on the royal commission of inquiry into ecclesiastical unions (1830); the publication of its report in July 1831 was followed by considerable efforts of church extension in his diocese. He found Belfast with two episcopal churches, and left it with five. He took an active part in connection with the Down and Connor Church Accommodation Society, formed (19 Dec. 1838) at the suggestion of Thomas Drew, D.D. (d. 1859), which between 1839 and 1843 laid out 32,000l. in aid of sixteen new churches. In 1842, on the death of James Saurin, D.D., bishop of Dromore, that diocese was united to Down and Connor, in accordance with the provisions of the Church Temporalities Act of 1833. The united diocese is a large one, being ‘a sixteenth of all Ireland.’ The last prelate who had held the three sees conjointly was Jeremy Taylor, to whose memory a marble monument, projected by Mant, and with an inscription from his pen, had been placed in 1827 within the cathedral church at Lisburn, co. Antrim.
Mant was an indefatigable writer; the bibliography of his publications occupies over five pages in the British Museum Catalogue. His poetry is chiefly notable for its copiousness. Four of his hymns are included in Lord Selborne's ‘Book of Praise,’ 1863; about twenty others, some being metrical psalms, are found in many hymnals. Many of his hymns were adapted from the Roman breviary. The annotated Bible (1814) prepared by George D'Oyly, D.D. [q. v.], and Mant, at the instance of Archbishop Manners-Sutton, and at the expense of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, was largely a compilation; it still retains considerable popularity. It was followed by an edition of the prayer-book (1820), on a somewhat similar plan, by Mant alone.
His best work is his ‘History of the Church of Ireland’ (1840), the fruit of much research into manuscript as well as printed sources. It was undertaken to meet a want, felt all the more from the conspicuous ability which marked the first two volumes (1833–1837) of Reid's ‘History of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland.’ No one was so well equipped for the task as Charles Richard Elrington, D.D. [q. v.]; but on his failure, owing to ill-health, to fulfil the design, Mant came forward. His style is very readable, and if his comments are those of a partisan, his facts are usually well arranged and ascertained with care. The earlier church history of Ireland is ignored, and the period immediately preceding the Reformation is treated too much in the manner of a protestant-pamphlet; but the real topic of the book, the post-Reformation annals of the Irish establishment to the union, could hardly have enlisted a more judicious narrator. A copious index by Mant himself adds to the book's value.
Mant was taken ill on 27 Oct. 1848 while staying at the rectory-house, Ballymoney, co. Antrim, and died there on 2 Nov. 1848. He was buried on 7 Nov. in the churchyard of St. James's, Hillsborough, co. Down. He married, on 22 Dec. 1804, Elizabeth Wood (d. 2 April 1846), an orphan, of a Sussex family, and left Walter Bishop Mant [q. v.], another son, and a daughter.
His publications may be thus classified:
I. Poetical.
- ‘Verses to the Memory of Joseph Warton, D.D.,’ &c., Oxford, 1800, 8vo.
- ‘The Country Curate,’ &c., Oxford, 1804, 8vo.
- ‘A Collection of Miscellaneous Poems,’ &c., Oxford, 1806, 8vo (3 parts).
- ‘The Slave,’ &c., Oxford, 1806, 8vo.
- ‘The Book of Psalms … Metrical Version,’ &c., 1824, 8vo.
- ‘The Holydays of the Church … with … Metrical Sketches,’ &c., 1828–31, 8vo, 2 vols.
- ‘The Gospel Miracles; in a series of Poetical Sketches,’ &c., 1832, 12mo.
- ‘Christmas Carols,’ &c., 1833, 12mo.
- ‘The Happiness of the Blessed,’ &c., 1833, 12mo; 4th ed. 1837; 1870, 8vo.
- ‘The British Months: a Poem, in twelve parts,’ &c., 1835, 8vo, 2 vols.
- ‘Ancient Hymns from the Roman Breviary … added, Original Hymns,’ &c., 1837, 12mo.
- ‘The Sundial of Armoy,’ &c., Dublin, 1847, 16mo. 13. ‘The Matin Bell,’ &c., Oxford, 1848, 16mo.
- ‘The Youthful Christian Soldier … with … Hymns,’ &c., Dublin, 1848, 12mo.
II. Historical:
- ‘The Poetical Works of … Thomas Warton … with Memoirs,’ &c., 1802, 8vo.
- ‘Biographical Notices of the Apostles, Evangelists, and other Saints,’ &c., Oxford, 1828, 8vo.
- ‘History of the Church of Ireland,’ &c., 1840, 8vo, 2 vols.
III. Theological:
- ‘Puritanism Revived,’ &c., 1808,
