Life

He graduated B.A., possibly from Michaelhouse, Cambridge

Michaelhouse, Cambridge

Michaelhouse is the name of one of the former colleges of the University of Cambridge, that existed between 1323 and 1546, when it was merged with King's Hall to form Trinity College. Michaelhouse was the second residential college to be founded, after Peterhouse...

, in 1494/5, became M.A. in 1498, B.D. in 1503/4 and D.D. in 1506/7. He was Archdeacon of Rochester from 1512. He was also prebendary of Lincoln, and rector of Woodham Ferrers

Woodham Ferrers

Woodham Ferrers is a small village about southeast of Chelmsford, located between South Woodham Ferrers and Bicknacre in the county of Essex, England. The village is often shortened to Woodham by those in the area...

.

He was master of St. John's College, Cambridge from 1518. He built up the endowments: Metcalfe was in close touch with John Fisher

John Fisher

Saint John Fisher was an English Roman Catholic scholastic, bishop, cardinal and martyr. He shares his feast day with Saint Thomas More on 22 June in the Roman Catholic calendar of saints and 6 July on the Church of England calendar of saints...

, his bishop in the Diocese of Rochester

Diocese of Rochester

The Diocese of Rochester is a Church of England diocese in South-East England and forms part of the Province of Canterbury. It is an ancient diocese, having been established in 604; only the neighbouring Diocese of Canterbury is older in the Church of England....

 and as executor to Lady Margaret Beaufort a major force behind the foundation of St. John's. Through Fisher St John's in 1524 took over property from run-down nunneries, at Bromhall in Berkshire

Berkshire

Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...

 and Lillechurch (Higham) in Kent

Kent

Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...

. Another Kent property Fisher obtained was that of a hospital at Ospringe

Ospringe

Ospringe is a village and civil parish in the English county of Kent. It has a population of 715. Located south of Faversham, Ospringe forms part of the Borough of Swale...

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A steady Catholic and opponent of Hugh Latimer

Hugh Latimer

Hugh Latimer was a Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge, Bishop of Worcester before the Reformation, and later Church of England chaplain to King Edward VI. In 1555, under Queen Mary, he was burnt at the stake, becoming one of the three Oxford Martyrs of Anglicanism.-Life:Latimer was born into a...

, Metcalfe was later praised across the religious divide by Roger Ascham

Roger Ascham

Roger Ascham was an English scholar and didactic writer, famous for his prose style, his promotion of the vernacular, and his theories of education...

 for his concern for learning and its encouragement. He opposed the divorce of Henry VIII from Catherine of Aragon

Catherine of Aragon

Catherine of Aragon , also known as Katherine or Katharine, was Queen consort of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII of England and Princess of Wales as the wife to Arthur, Prince of Wales...

. In the end, by 1536, he conformed to the new church settlement. He was still compelled to resign as Master in 1537.