Samuel Bradford
Encyclopedia
Samuel Bradford was an English churchman and whig, bishop successively of Carlisle and Rochester.
, he attended Charterhouse School
. He was admitted to Corpus Christi College, Cambridge
, in 1669, but left without a degree in consequence of religious scruples.
He devoted himself for a time to the study of medicine; but he was admitted in 1680, through the favour of Archbishop William Sancroft
, to the degree of M.A. by royal mandate. He only took holy orders after the Glorious Revolution
of 1689, and in the mean time acted as private tutor in the families of several country gentlemen. Bradford was ordained deacon and priest in 1690, and in the spring of the following year was elected by the governors of St. Thomas's Hospital the minister of their church in Southwark. He soon received the lectureship of St. Mary-le-Bow, and was tutor to the two grandsons of Archbishop John Tillotson
, with whom he resided at Carlisle House, Lambeth. In November 1693 Tillotson collated Bradford to the rectory of St. Mary-le-Bow; he then resigned his minor ecclesiastical preferments, but soon after accepted the lectureship of All Hallows, Bread Street.
Bradford was a frequent preacher before the corporation of London, and was a staunch whig. On 30 January 1698 he preached before William III
, who that March following appointed Bradford one of the royal chaplains in ordinary. The appointment was continued by Queen Anne, by whose command he was created D.D. on the occasion of her visit to the University of Cambridge, 16 April 1705.
In 1699 Bradford delivered the Boyle lecture in St. Paul's Cathedral. He was elected master of Corpus Christi College on 17 May 1716; and on 21 April 1718 was nominated to the bishopric of Carlisle, to which he was consecrated on 1 June. In 1723 he was translated to the see of Rochester, and was also appointed dean of Westminster, which he held in commendam
with the bishopric of Rochester. In 1724 Bradford resigned the mastership of Corpus Christi, and in 1725 became the first dean of the revived Order of the Bath
. He died at the deanery of Westminster, and was buried in Westminster Abbey
.
in Leicestershire
, and bore him one son and two daughters. One of the latter was married to Reuben Clarke, archdeacon of Essex, and the other to John Denne, archdeacon of Rochester. His son, the Revd William Bradford, died on 15 July 1728, aged thirty-two, when he was archdeacon of Rochester and vicar of Newcastle-on-Tyne.
Life
He was the son of William Bradford of London and was born in St. Anne's, Blackfriars. He was educated at St Paul's School; and when the school was closed, owing to the Great Plague and the Great Fire of LondonGreat Fire of London
The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through the central parts of the English city of London, from Sunday, 2 September to Wednesday, 5 September 1666. The fire gutted the medieval City of London inside the old Roman City Wall...
, he attended Charterhouse School
Charterhouse School
Charterhouse School, originally The Hospital of King James and Thomas Sutton in Charterhouse, or more simply Charterhouse or House, is an English collegiate independent boarding school situated at Godalming in Surrey.Founded by Thomas Sutton in London in 1611 on the site of the old Carthusian...
. He was admitted to Corpus Christi College, Cambridge
Corpus Christi College, Cambridge
Corpus Christi College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. It is notable as the only college founded by Cambridge townspeople: it was established in 1352 by the Guilds of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary...
, in 1669, but left without a degree in consequence of religious scruples.
He devoted himself for a time to the study of medicine; but he was admitted in 1680, through the favour of Archbishop William Sancroft
William Sancroft
William Sancroft was the 79th Archbishop of Canterbury.- Life :Sancroft was born at Ufford Hall in Fressingfield, Suffolk, son of Francis Sandcroft and Margaret Sandcroft née Butcher...
, to the degree of M.A. by royal mandate. He only took holy orders after the Glorious Revolution
Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688, is the overthrow of King James II of England by a union of English Parliamentarians with the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau...
of 1689, and in the mean time acted as private tutor in the families of several country gentlemen. Bradford was ordained deacon and priest in 1690, and in the spring of the following year was elected by the governors of St. Thomas's Hospital the minister of their church in Southwark. He soon received the lectureship of St. Mary-le-Bow, and was tutor to the two grandsons of Archbishop John Tillotson
John Tillotson
John Tillotson was an Archbishop of Canterbury .-Curate and rector:Tillotson was the son of a Puritan clothier at Haughend, Sowerby, Yorkshire. He entered as a pensioner of Clare Hall, Cambridge, in 1647, graduated in 1650 and was made fellow of his college in 1651...
, with whom he resided at Carlisle House, Lambeth. In November 1693 Tillotson collated Bradford to the rectory of St. Mary-le-Bow; he then resigned his minor ecclesiastical preferments, but soon after accepted the lectureship of All Hallows, Bread Street.
Bradford was a frequent preacher before the corporation of London, and was a staunch whig. On 30 January 1698 he preached before William III
William III of England
William III & II was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland...
, who that March following appointed Bradford one of the royal chaplains in ordinary. The appointment was continued by Queen Anne, by whose command he was created D.D. on the occasion of her visit to the University of Cambridge, 16 April 1705.
In 1699 Bradford delivered the Boyle lecture in St. Paul's Cathedral. He was elected master of Corpus Christi College on 17 May 1716; and on 21 April 1718 was nominated to the bishopric of Carlisle, to which he was consecrated on 1 June. In 1723 he was translated to the see of Rochester, and was also appointed dean of Westminster, which he held in commendam
In Commendam
In canon law, commendam was a form of transferring an ecclesiastical benefice in trust to the custody of a patron...
with the bishopric of Rochester. In 1724 Bradford resigned the mastership of Corpus Christi, and in 1725 became the first dean of the revived Order of the Bath
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
. He died at the deanery of Westminster, and was buried in Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
.
Works
Bradford published more than 20 separate sermons. One of these, Discourse concerning Baptismal and Spiritual Regeneration, 2nd ed., London, 1709, attained popularity. A ninth edition was published in 1819 by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. As Boyle lecturer he preached eight sermons on The Credibility of the Christian Revelation, from its Intrinsick Evidence. These, with a ninth sermon preached in his own church in January 1700, were issued with other Boyle lectures delivered between 1691 and 1732, in A Defence of Natural and Revealed Religion, &c. 3 vols., London, 1739.Family
Bradford's wife, who survived him, was a daughter of Captain Ellis of MedbourneMedbourne
Medbourne is a village in Leicestershire.Each year it competes with nearby Hallaton during the Bottle-kicking event on Easter Monday. It is believed that Medbourne, which lay on the Gartree Road was a large market settlement at the time of Roman Britain....
in Leicestershire
Leicestershire
Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...
, and bore him one son and two daughters. One of the latter was married to Reuben Clarke, archdeacon of Essex, and the other to John Denne, archdeacon of Rochester. His son, the Revd William Bradford, died on 15 July 1728, aged thirty-two, when he was archdeacon of Rochester and vicar of Newcastle-on-Tyne.