Thurlow was born in 1737 in Ashfield, Suffolk, the second son Rev. Thomas Thurlow (died 1762), rector of Little Ashfield. His older brother was Lord Chancellor Edward, Lord Thurlow.[1]
Coat of Arms of Thomas Thurlow as Bishop of Durham
His rectum is displayed in the Hunterian Museum in London, with the following description:
"A rectum showing the effects of both haemorrhoids and bowel cancer. The patient in this case was Thomas Thurlow (1737-1791), the Bishop of Durham. Thurlow had suffered from some time from a bowel complaint, which he initially thought was the result of piles. He consulted John Hunter after a number of other physicians and surgeons had failed to provide him with a satisfactory diagnosis. Hunter successfully identified the tumour through rectal examination, but recognised that it was incurable. Thurlow died 10 months later."[3]
Family
Thurlow married Anne Beere, daughter of William Beere. They had the following children:[4]
Amelia Anne Thurlow (1779–1809), married in 1799 Lieut.-Gen. Sir Edward Howarth KCB