William Warham to Edmund Grindal
69. WILLIAM WARHAM succeeded to this patriarchal chair in 1503, (fn. 1) to which he was translated from
London, of which see he was then bishop. He was
descended of an antient family seated at Walsanger,
in the parish of Okecliffe, commonly called Okely, in
Hampshire, in which parish he was born; he was
first educated at Wickham's college, in Winchester,
from whence he was sent to New college, in Oxford,
where he became fellow, and proceeded doctor of
laws, and afterwards practised as an advocate in the
arches, and in 1448 became moderator of the civil
law school, and taking orders, had the rectory of Barley, in Hertfordshire, conferred on him, as appears by
the church windows there; after which he was
dignified with several promotions, both ecclesiastical and civil; for in 1493 he was made. chancellor
of Wells, and next year constituted master of the
rolls, (fn. 2) when being sent ambassador to Philip, duke of
Burgundy, concerning the two counterfeits Lambert
and Perkin Warbeck, he behaved himself in that
business so wisely, that the king highly commended
him, (fn. 3) and in 1502, on his return, preferred him,
being then a privy councellor, to the bishopric of
London, (fn. 4) and made him keeper of the great seal, and
lord chancellor of England, (fn. 5) in which office he succeeded archbishop Dene, as well as in this archbi
shopric, (fn. 6) and as legate of the apostolic see. (fn. 7) His entertainment, which was kept in his palace at Canterbury, on his inthronization, on March 9, being Passion Sunday, anno 1504, was truly magnificent, the
duke of Buckingham performing the office of high
steward, during the solemnity, many of the nobility,
superior clergy and others of rank, being present as
guests at it.
At this palace king Henry VII. in his 24th year,
took up his abode as the archbishop's guest, during
which time he made his last will, which is dated at
Canterbury, on April 10 that year, 1509, by which he
founded one anniversary mass in Christ church, and
another in St. Augustine's monastery. (fn. 8)
On the scite of this antient palace, archbishop
Warham is said to have intended to have raised a
most sumptuous one for himself and his successors;
but on account of a difference which arose between
him and the citizens, concerning the limits of his
ground here, he changed his former intention, and in
his displeasure bestowed on his palace at Otford,
which before this was but a mean house, 33,000l.
leaving nothing of the former building standing, but
the walls of the hall and chapel; notwithstanding
which, he had already liberally builded at Knole, a
palace of the archbishopric, little more than two miles
from it. (fn. 9)
In the beginning of the year 1506, he was unanimously elected chancellor of the university of Oxford, and after king Henry VIII.'s accession to the
throne, he held the great seal for the first seven years
of that reign, and the king appears to have esteemed
him highly, insomuch that he appointed him, together with the earl of Surry, sponsors at the christening
of his eldest son; (fn. 10) notwithstanding which, Wolsey
by his ill treatment, at length obliged him to resign
the seal; for that prelate's power and interest with the
king and court of Rome, were so much greater than
the archbishop's, that during the whole of the cardinal's administration, he was little more than the shadow of a metropolitan; but as he was a man of parts
and principle, so he could not see the insolence and
depravity of the cardinal, without complaining of it
to the king, which put the two prelates upon ill terms
as long as Wolsey lived. (fn. 11)
Archbishop Warham is said to have understood the
interest of the nation, and the canon law, as well as
most men of his time. He was a friend to merit and
learning, and encouraged a more rational and useful
knowledge, than was to be acquired by the learning
of the schools.
Erasmus gives a true character of archbishop
Warham, when he commends him for his humanity,
learning, integrity and piety, and concludes by saying, that he was a most perfect and accomplished
prelate.
He was an especial benefactor to the university of
Oxford, particularly by contributing to the finishing
of St. Mary's church, and the divinity school there;
he gave several books and manuscripts to All Souls
and New college, in Oxford, and to Wickham's college, near Winchester, and he is said to have given the
iron railing to Rochester bridge; and he was a principal contributer in 1519 to the church of Lambeth.
He was a benefactor to the fabric of this cathedral,
especially to the great tower of it, on which his arms
are still to be seen in memory of it; so that excepting
the above, and the great sums he laid out on his palaces, we read of no other public benefactions during
his long continuance in this see.
Having sat as archbishop for twenty eight years, he
died on August 3, 1532, at St. Stephen's, near Canterbury, in the house of William Warham, archdeacon
of Canterbury, his kinsman, having by his last will
assigned the place of his sepulture in his own cathedral, and expressed his hopes that his successor would
not charge his executors with dilapidations, as he had
expended above 30,000l. in building and repairing
the edifices belonging to this see; he was accordingly
buried in a small chapel built by himself, for the purpose, upon the north side of the martyrdom in his
own cathedral, where there is an elegant tomb with
his effigies at full length in his pontifical habit, lying
on it; (fn. 12) in this chapel he founded a chantry of one
priest, daily to celebrate for his soul, which was suppressed with the priory in king Henry VIII.'s time.
70. THOMAS DRANMER, S. T. P. was elected
archbishop, the next in succession, in the year 1532. (fn. 13)
He was born at Arlaiston, in Northamptonshire, on
July 2, 1489, and educated at Jesus college, in Cambridge, where he became fellow and A. M. and afterwards divinity reader, moderator and S. T. P. in
that university; on the death of archbishop Warham,
the king foreseeing the importance it would be of, to
the designs which he had in hand, that the see of Canterbury should be filled with a person of that moderate disposition, which would not be likely to thwart
his measures, and one, who being inclined to the
changes he was bringing forward in religion, he could
the better influence in his future designs, sent to Cranmer, then abroad in Germany, to inform him of his intention to advance him to this see, and desiring him
to return home for that purpose. This, after some
little hesitation he did, and it is said, rather in obedience to the king's commands than his own inclination; for he foresaw the storms which were arising,
and the difficulties and troubles it would bring on
him. On his return, however, he accepted of the
promotion, and was consecrated in St. Stephen's chapel, in the royal palace at Westminster; (fn. 14) but before
his consecration, he made a solemn protestation in the
presence of a public notary, that the oath he was then
about to take to the pope, should not bind him from
doing whatsoever he was bound to do, to God, the
church, or the king.
He was instrumental in beginning the reformation
in the reign of king Henry VIII. and zealous in carrying it forward in that of king Edward VI. when
queen Mary came to the crown, he was advised to
make his escape by flight, but he retired only into
Kent, where he spent a few days at his palace of
Beaksborne, from whence he removed to that of Ford
in the same neighbourhood, where he received a summons to appear at Westminster, before the privy
council; soon after which he was committed prisoner
to the tower, and from thence conveyed to a prison
in Oxford, where, after he had been brought to a
public disputation with the papists concerning the
real presence in the sacrament, he was led to his trial.
and through the queen's implacable hatred to him,
on account of her mother's divorce, and her bigotry
and the inveterate malice of his enemies, he was, in
the first year of queen Mary's reign, attainted of
high treason in parliament, and his archbishopric was
immediately sequestered; and though the queen afterwards pardoned the treason, yet he was degraded,
excommunicated, and condemned to suffer death as
an heretic, so that being delivered over to the secular
power, he was accordingly burnt at Oxford, on
March 21, 1555, (fn. 15) aged 67, and in the 23d year of his
primacy.
Archbishop Cranmer had acquired learning, both
in the canon and civil law, equal to most of his cotemporaries; but he had a defect in his stile which was
diffused and unconnected, even for that age. He
had a natural simplicity and openness of heart, which
made him unfit for the courts of princes, where truth
and candour are but of little use; he was affable, gentle and easy to be intreated, full of benevolence and
condescension, and very inoffensive; at the same time
he was exceedingly timorous, which caused him frequently to comply with the king's measures, and that
where the most valuable rights of his church were to
be given up for the purpose; in this he has been
blamed by most historians, nor can his servility in it
ever meet with a defence. The archbishop left issue
one son, of his own name. (fn. 16)
Besides his life, to be found in Parker's Antiquitates
Brit. Eccles. Godwin and others; it was written at
large by Mr. Strype, in folio, in which a list of his writings may be seen.
Among the Har'eian manuscripts are the archbishop's five books on the Eucharist; his Reform of
the ecclesiastical laws; his renunciation of the papal
authority and submission to king Henry VIII. his
discourse concerning cardinal Pole's finding so much
favour at Rome, many letters to and from him, many
pieces concerning him, his life, his letters to the
king and others, and many other papers relating to
him.
There is a seal of archbishop Cranmer's appendant
to a deed, anno 1536, among the Chartœ Antiquœ, in
the treasury of the dean and chapter; 4 inches by
2½ diam. the upper part blurred; but it is the murder of Becket; underneath the archbishop, kneeling;
on one side a shield, with the arms of the see impaled with his own; on the other, another with his
own arms; legend, THOME CRANMER; the rest obliterated, p. 128.
He bore for his arms, Argent, on a chevron, azure,
three cinquefoils, or, between three cranes, sable; but
king Henry VIII. changed the craites to pelicans, vulnerating their breasts.
71. REGINALD POLE, cardinal of the church of
Rome, and related to the blood royal, was elected
archbishop of this see in the year 1555, and was consecrated on March 22 that year, the day after Cranmer's execution. (fn. 17)
He was the fourth son of Sir Richard Pole, knight
of the garter, cousin-german to king Henry VII. his
mother being the lady Margaret, countess of Salisbury, daughter of George, duke of Clarence, the
youngest brother of king Edward IV. (fn. 18) He was born
at Stoverton castle, in Staffordshire, and brought up
at the monastery of Carthusians at Shene, in Surry,
whence he went to Magdalen college, in Oxford, and
became fellow of Corpus Christi, in the same university. He was first promoted to a prebend in the
church of Salisbury, and was afterwards, in 1517, admitted to that of Knaresborough, in the church of
York, and likewise to the deanry of the collegiate
church of Wimborne, in Dorsetshire.
Being sent abroad by king Henry VIII. he resided
seven years at Padua, where he became acquainted
with and entertained in his family several of the most
learned men of the time; (fn. 19) in the meanwhile the king
made him dean of Exeter, and having abolished the
papal power, sent for him home; but Pole refusing
to return, was, about the year 1536, deprived of
his preferments. (fn. 20) To make him amends, however,
for the king's displeasure, pope Paul III. on May 22,
that year, created him a cardinal, (fn. 21) and deputed him
ambassador to the emperor, and the king of France;
he was afterwards made legate, and sat in the council
of Trent; he was twice elected pope, but not approving of the proceedings of the election, he at last lost
it. Upon this disappointment, he retired to Verona,
where he remained till queen Mary's accession to the
throne, who sent to him to return and take upon him
the direction of the affairs of the church in this king.
dom; shortly after which he arrived in the character
of legate from pope Julius III. landing at Dover on
Nov. 22, 1555, his attainder having been reversed in
parliament, by the first act that passed in that queen's
reign; he came to London two days afterwards, but
privately, for the papal power not being yet re-established, he could not be received in quality as legate;
but the parliament having addressed the queen to reconcile the kingdom to the see of Rome, and offered
to repeal all laws repugnant to it, the cardinal went
with much solemnity to the house, and in a long speech
gave them and the whole nation a plenary absolution,
and to proceed by degrees, he took out a licence under the great seal, for his legantine power. Being but
in deacon's orders on his coming into the kingdom,
he was ordained priest, and was afterwards, on March
22, the same year, anno 1555, being the 2d of queen
Mary's reign, consecrated archbishop of Canterbury,
by Heath, archbishop of York, and six other bishops,
in the church of the Franciscan friars, which had been
newly restored by the queen, who was present herself
at the solemnity; on the 25th he received the pall in
Bow-church, in London, and on the 31st was in
throned by proxy; (fn. 22) the queen having furnished the
palace at Lambeth for him at her own expence and
she afterwards honoured him with her company there
several times. In October following he was elected
chancellor of the university of Oxford, and soon after,
as is affirmed by some, of Cambridge likewise: and
he afterwards governed this church with a conduct
that has gained him the love, the praise and the admiration of posterity. But at the latter end of the
queen's reign; pope Paul IV. having taken a dislike
to him, for his mild and gentle proceedings, revoked
his legantine commission, and cited him to appear
personally at the court of Rome, to answer such matters as should be objected to him; and in order to
divest him of all power in England, he bestowed a
cardinal's hat on William Peto, the noted Franciscan
friar of Greenwich, and made him his legate a latere,
in the archbishop's 100m, on June 13, 1557, and gave
him besides the bishopric of Salisbury.
When the queen was informed of the pope's intentions, she made use of every endeavour to defend and
support the archbishop, who on his part was not inactive in this affair, but dispatched his friend Ormaret to
Rome, to render an account of his conduct, and the
state of religion in England, and in the mean time, the
queen stood so stoutly in the defence of her kinsman,
that she would not suffer the new legate either to enter
the realm as legate, or to enjoy the bishopric, which
the pope had assigned him, and she accordingly sent to
forbid his entrance into it, (fn. 23) and the legantine power
was left entire as before, to the archbishop.
At last, by the queen's firmness, her remonstrances,
and an alteration of circumstances, the pope, who
foresaw that he should again lose England if he obstinately persisted in his resentment, condescended to
stisle it, and was outwardly reconciled to the archbishop, telling Ormaret, that he was now satisfied that
Pole had been misrepresented, and that he plainly
saw no one living could escape calumny. But it is
said, that the pope's change of behaviour arose from
a secret article which he made that year, in a treaty
of peace with the duke of Alva, in the name of the
king of Spain, whose general he was, in which cardinal Pole was expressly restored to his legantine authority; which seems not improbable, considering the
queen's resolution not to admit of any other in that
character. (fn. 24)
The cardinal was in person of a middling stature,
handsome and comely, his countenance was fresh coloured, his eyes sparkling, and had a look of nobility,
mixed. with a placid gentleness; and he had a couttesy of behaviour, which insured both respect and affection from all who approached him; he was besides, of excellent piety, a man of learning and of
great integrity.
The divisions at this time among the Protestants,
their want of discipline, their disregard of the sacred
orders, and their seizing the church revenues, together
with the prejudices of education, inclined him to
think, that religion could not be supported without a
power equal to the pope's; but in this he was governed purely by motives of conscience. Had interest
or ambition swayed him, he would have complied
with king Henry's measures, and would then probably
have stood foremost in that prince's favour, neither
would he have declined his election to the popedom,
if wealth and greatness had been his object. His
whole conduct was noble and exemplary in all respects, and had he lived under a pope of less haughtiness, or a queen of less bigotry, his measures might
have been fatal to the reformed religion; the great
pattern of disinterestedness, regularity, and application which he shewed himself, his care to reform the
manners of the clergy, and the abuses which their
sloth and negligence had introduced, and the candid
and gentle treatment with which he desired the Proteltants might be used, joined to his constant opposition to the fire and the sword, gave the Papists room
to suspect him of leaning towards the heretics;
wherefore he was never taken into their councils, or
at least never heard or attended to in them. But in
this they were mistaken, for it was the sweetness of
his temper and the solidity of his judgment, that both
concurred to engage him to oppose cruelty and violence, although he had at the same time an invincible attachment to the see of Rome, to a degree of superstition, and thought it impossible to maintain the
order and unity of the church without it; in short,
to sum up his character, he was a man of as great
probity and virtue, and of as excellent endowments
of mind, as any of his predecessors who had sat in
this see before, had ever been, and have since, to the
present time.
He died on Nov. 17, 1558, a few hours after the
queen's decease, having sat in the patriarchal chair of
this see two years and almost eight months; (fn. 25) forty
days after which, his body having laid in state, was
with much pomp, brought to his own cathedral,
where it was entombed on the north side of Becket's
crown; his monument, which is only a plain tomb,
yet remains, and on it this short epitaph, Depositum
Cardinalis Poli. (fn. 26)
He bore for his arms, Per pale, sable, and or, a
saltire engrailed, counterchanged.
He is said to have given to his church of Canterbury, two silver candlesticks of great weight; a golden cross, a crozier and mitre, two rings, and a silver
bason for holy water.
He was the last archbishop who was intombed in
this church, their burials having ever since been discontinued here; a circumstance, seemingly strange,
that not one of the archbishops since the reformation,
should chuse to be buried in their own cathedral, in
which they had so many bright and illustrious examples; but all, as it were with one accord, have shrunk
from a burial in it, though it was the antient and accustomed place of archiepiscopal sepulture, affecting
rather an obscure burial in some one private parish
church or other.
He constituted Aloysio Priuli, a noble Venetian,
his heir, who had been his intimate friend and companion abroad, and who coming back with him into
England, continued so at the time of his death; but
this noble person refused every benefit arising from it,
and accepted only of two prayer books, which were
constantly used by the cardinal, contenting himself
with distributing the legacies and gifts, according to
the directions in his will.
The several books and treatises, written by the cardinal, (fn. 27) may be seen enumerated in Wood's Ath. (fn. 28) and
likewise the several lives of him written by different
persons, to which may be added, a more modern one,
being the life of the cardinal, published by Mr. Phillips, in 1764, which has since, however, met with a
refutation.
72. MATHEW PARKER, S. T. P. succeeded cardinal Pole in this archbishopric, to which he was
elected and consecrated in 1559. He was born at
Norwich, (fn. 29) and educated at Corpus Christi, alias Bennet college, in Cambridge; in the time of king
Henry VIII. he was promoted to be one of the king's
chaplains, and was made tutor to the princess Elizabeth; after which he was made a prebendary of Ely,
and in 1544 master of Benner college, above-mentioned, of which he had been fellow; afterwards being chaplain to king Edward VI. he was by the king
made dean of Lincoln, and had likewise the prebend
of Coringham, in that church, conferred on him, and
the rectory of Landbeach; besides which, he had the
deanry of the college of Stoke Clare, in Suffolk,
which was suppressed by king Edward VI. notwithstanding Dr. Parker used all his endeavours for the
preservation of it; but in queen Mary's reign, in
1554, he was deprived of all his preferments, for having entered into the state of matrimony, and afterwards lived a private and retired life, by which he
escaped all the storms of those days; from this obscure state he was called forth by queen Elizabeth,
who advanced him to this archbishopric, the highest
station in the English church, though not till after
several persons had refused it, on which, and not before, he proceeded in his degree of S. T. P. his consecration was performed with great solemnity, before
a number of spectators in the chapel of Lambeth palace, on Dec. 17, 1559, by the bishops of Chichester,
Exeter, Hereford, and the bishop suffragan of Bedford, free from the ceremonies of the church of
Rome, for there were used no mitre nor pall, no pastoral staff nor ring, no gloves nor sandals; nor was
there the authority of any bulls from Rome, to establish or confirm it. Being thus seated in this see, he
became an excellent governor of the church committed to his charge, and strictly adhered to its doctrine and discipline, by which he incurred the ill will
of the great men in power, and of most of the Puritans; but he was so firm and resolute in what he undertook to defend and maintain, that he would neither be frightened nor dissuaded from his purpose and
intention. On his coming to the archbishopric, he
partly rebuilt and partly repaired his palace at Canterbury, which he found burnt and almost wholly destroyed, at the expence of 1400l. (fn. 30) and he afterwards
having entertained queen Elizabeth and her whole
court for seven days at Croydon, entertained her sumptuously in his palace of Canterbury, in her progress
through this county in 1573, and the queen's visits to
him at Lambeth palace were afterwards frequent.
During his continuance in the see, he performed many
pious and charitable acts; he was a great benefactor
to the public library at Cambridge, and to Bennet,
Caius and Trinity colleges, in that university; in the
former of which he founded thirteen scholarships; in
the latter, one; and he repaired the regent walk, in
that university; he founded a grammar school at
Stoke Clare, in Suffolk, and another at Rochdale, in
Lancashire, and gave 10l. per annum. for the preaching of six sermons at five churches in Norfolk, in Rogation week, and he repaired, pewed and beautified
the chancel of Beaksborne church.
He was a great patron and encourager of learned
men, and was himself a great lover and promoter of
that learning especially, which served to illustrate the
history of this country, in which he was indefatigable, and spared no cost whatever. For this purpose,
the regulation of his family was laudably adapted,
for as he assigned to all his domestics some business,
and kept none idle about him, so those who were not
employed in the management of his revenues, or the
affairs of his household, were entertained for binding
books, engraving, and painting, in transcribing manuscripts, or in drawing and illuminating; and having
built the library of Bennet college, he deposited in it
printed books to a very considerable value, and all his
manuscripts relating to the reformation and church
history; which have been of no small service to later
historians.
He published new editions of the histories of Matthew Paris, Matthew Westminster and Walsingham,
and of the four gospels in the Saxon language; and
a little before his death, he finished the lives of his
predecessors, archbishops of Canterbury, under the
title of De Antiquitate Britannicæ Ecclesiæ, &c. (fn. 31) in
which he is said to have been principally assisted by
Josceline, one of his chaplains, and it seems at first
not to have been generally known who was the author of it. (fn. 32)
Willis says, that the archbishop was raised by Providence, to retrieve the learned monuments of our
forefathers, which had been so miserably dispersed at
the dissolution of monasteries, that nothing less than
the protection of so great a man could have saved
them from being irrevocably lost. The above very
excellent history, drawn up and published by his direction, shewed his regard to the church; and the
vast expence he was at in collecting, not only Saxon
manuscripts, but all other books, by which the history of this nation might be illustrated, demonstrated
his affections for every thing by which the piety and
learning of our forefathers might be transmitted to
posterity.
He was the author, among many other treatises, (fn. 33)
of one in defence of priest's marriages, to which he
was probably induced by the sufferings he had undergone, and the inconveniences he then felt with the
rest of the married clergy from the queen's severity to
them on that account; for queen Elizabeth ever discountenanced those of them, who entered into this
state, and she made it a continual obstacle to their
preferment; nor did those of the bishops and dignified clergy, in general, have their wives and families
to reside with them in their palaces, and cathedral
precincts, but hired houses, or lodgings for them elsewhere. (fn. 34)
The character of this worthy prelate, given by the
author of the Athenæ, is certainly both just and
true; who tells us, (fn. 35) he was a very religious and
learned man, of modest manners and behaviour; he
was well read in the English history, and a diligent
and curious collector of antient manuscripts, which
had been scattered at the dissolution of monasteries,
which he gave to the college in which he had been
educated. He was reported to have been a person of
great charity, a noted benefactor to the public, and
an eminent ornament to the places which gave him
birth and education; to which may be added, that
he had neither ambition nor avarice in his disposition,
and notwithstanding his public benefactions, the appearance of his family and the hospitality of his table,
at which entertainments to the nobility were not unfrequent, were always suitable to his dignity; for
though he left two sons, who were both married, yet
he did not exert himself to amass a heap of wealth
for them out of the revenues of the church, in or
der to raise a name and to give his family the rank
of quality (fn. 36)
The archbishop's life has been written at large by
Mr. Strype, in folio, London, 1711, with a copious
appendix of instruments relating to it.
Having sat in the chair of this see for fifteen years
and five months, he died on May 17, 1575, at his
palace of Lambeth, having directed his funeral to be
solemnized without pomp, noise or expence, his
bowels to be buried in the Duke's chapel, in Lambeth
church, (fn. 37) and his body in the chapel of Lambeth palace, (fn. 38) at the upper end against the communion table, on
the south side against his accustomed place of prayer (fn. 39)
under an altar tomb which he had erected for himself,
the inscription on which was written by Dr. Haddon.
The legacies in his will, both public and private,
were very numerous; among the latter were, those
to the queen; the several bishops who were his
friends; Sir Nicholas Bacon, keeper of the great
seal; Sir William Cecil, lord high treasurer; Sir
William Cordel, and Mr. Justice Manwood, and
the doctors of the college of the arches in London;
among the former, besides his benefactions already
noticed to Bennet, and the other colleges above mentioned, he ordered his executors to prepare chambers
in the former of them, for three other of his scholars,
to each of whom he gave 3l. 6s. 8d. yearly, to be
given in such manner as his executors by their writing
should prescribe; of which scholars he ordered, that
the first should be elected by them from the school
of Canterbury, being a native of it; the second from
the school of Aylsham, and the third from the school
of Wymondham, being both natives of those towns.
He devised a charitable donation to the mayor and
citizens of Norwich, in which city he was born, and
to the mayor and citizens of Canterbury and their
successors 100l. to be lent out to one or more manufacturers of wool, in that city, by whom the poor of it
might from thence be employed, according to the
judgment and consent of the dean and chapter; to
be lent every third year, if they should see proper.—For which he directed, that the commonalty, or
some able citizens of Canterbury shall be bound, in
order that his legacy should not at any time be lost;
and he besides bequeathed a benefaction to the university library. (fn. 40)
The archbishop bore for his arms, Gules, on a
chevron, argent, three stars of the first, between three keys
of the second.
73. EDMUND GRINDAL, S. T. P. succeeded to
this see in the same year 1575. (fn. 41) He was the son of
William Grindal, gent. of St. Bees, in Cumberland,
he was first scholar, then fellow in 1538, of Pembroke
hall, in Cambridge; in 1540 he proceeded A. M.
and in 1544 had the college titles for orders; four
years after which he was chosen master of the college, and assistant to the chancellor in his court; then
B. D. in 1549 he was Margaret professor; he was
next chaplain to bishop Ridley, chaunter of St. Paul's,
and by the bishop's means, was promoted to be one
of the king's chaplains; and in 1552 to a prebend of
Westminster, when he quitted his fellowship; the year
after which, on queen Mary's accession, he fled with
many others, for their religion's sake, into Germany,
and there is a letter of his to Ridley, printed and dated
at Frankfort in 1555. (fn. 42)
He was, says Camden in his Annals, anno 1583,
a religious and grave man, who returning from banishment on queen Elizabeth's accession, was first promoted to the see of London. being consecrated on
Dec. 1, 1559; (fn. 43) before which he had been chosen
master a second time of Pembroke college (fn. 44) In 1570
he was translated to York, and thence again to Canterbury in 1575, as above-mentioned; (fn. 45) at first he enjoyed much of the queen's favour, but being accused of countenancing the conventicles of the turbulent ministers, and their prophecies, (fn. 46) of which
his enemies took advantage, he quite lost the queen's
favour, and was also ordered by her to keep his
house; (fn. 47) during which time and his remaining under
the queen's displeasure, the bishops of his province
wrote to her in his behalf. About this time he became blind, and continued so for two years before his
death, when having sat as archbishop for the space of
almost seven years and an half, he died on July 6,
1583, aged 64, at his palace of Croydon, and was buried in the middle chancel of that church, on the
south side of the altar, where there is a handsome monument erected to his memory, having his effigies on
it at full length, in his doctor's robes.
The small wealth which he had gathered, he in
great measure bestowed upon the founding of a
school at St. Bees, the place of his nativity, and for
the advancement of learning in both the universities.
The charitable benefactions which he gave by his will
were; to the above mentioned school 30l. per ann.
to Queen's college, (fn. 48) in Oxford, 20l. per annum, the
greatest part of his books, 87 ounces of silver plate,
and the discharge of a debt of 40l. owing to him from
the college; to Pembroke hall, in Cambridge, 24l.
per annum; (fn. 49) the remainder of his books, and a gilt
cup of forty ounces, called the Canterbury cup; to
St. Mary Magdalen's college, in the same university,
5l. per annum, in lands; to Christ's college there,
forty ounces of silver plate; to the parish of Croydon,
the sum of 50l. to buy lands for the benefit of the poor,
and to the city of Canterbury 100l. to be kept in stock
for ever, for the use of the poor traders and dealers in
wool in that city. (fn. 50)
Archbishop Grindal is said, when he returned from
banishment on the accession of queen Elizabeth, to
have first translated into this country the Tamarisk,
so very useful in medicine, against the diseases of the
spleen. (fn. 51)
There are several letters from and to the archbishop
among the Harleian manuscripts, viz. of Nicholas
Ridley to him; of the archbishop to Zanchius, and to
Bullinger; of John Fox to the archbishop, and of
the archbishop to him; his remarkable letter on the
defence of prophesyings; his directions concerning
preachers; his speech whilst under the queen's displeasure; the archbishop's letter to lord Sussex, and
another letter concerning him. The archbishop left
behind him the character of being a good natured,
friendly, inoffensive man, a learned, useful prelate, and
a sincere pious Christian, and an amiable example of
all Christian virtue.
He bore for his arms, granted to him by Dethic,
garter king at arms, quarterly, or, and azure, a cross,
or, and ermine, in each quarter a dove, or, and azure,
counter changed of the field.
The archbishop's life is written by Mr. Strype, at
large, in folio, London.