Life

Blandford was born at Melbury Abbas

Melbury Abbas

Melbury Abbas is a village in north Dorset, England, situated between Shaftesbury and Blandford Forum on Cranborne Chase. The village has a population of 301 , 34.4% are retired. 6.1% of dwellings are second homes....

 in Dorset

Dorset

Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...

, southern England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

.

A Fellow of Wadham College, Oxford

Wadham College, Oxford

Wadham College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, located at the southern end of Parks Road in central Oxford. It was founded by Nicholas and Dorothy Wadham, wealthy Somerset landowners, during the reign of King James I...

 at the time of the Parliamentary Visitation of 1648, he compromised sufficiently to retain his position. Later, he succeeded John Wilkins

John Wilkins

John Wilkins FRS was an English clergyman, natural philosopher and author, as well as a founder of the Invisible College and one of the founders of the Royal Society, and Bishop of Chester from 1668 until his death....

, being Warden

Warden (college)

A warden is the head of some colleges and other educational institutions. This applies especially at some colleges and institutions at the University of Oxford:* All Souls College* Greyfriars* Keble College* Merton College* New College* Nuffield College...

 of Wadham College, from 1659 to 1665. He was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford

University of Oxford

The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...

 in 1662, and succeeded in establishing a degree of calm after the turbulence that had accompanied the Restoration

English Restoration

The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...

 of 1660.

He became Bishop of Oxford

Bishop of Oxford

The Bishop of Oxford is the diocesan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Oxford in the Province of Canterbury; his seat is at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford...

 in November 1665 (his appointment being the first announcement in the first edition of the Oxford Gazette, later the London Gazette

London Gazette

The London Gazette is one of the official journals of record of the British government, and the most important among such official journals in the United Kingdom, in which certain statutory notices are required to be published...

), and Bishop of Worcester

Bishop of Worcester

The Bishop of Worcester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Worcester in the Province of Canterbury, England. He is the head of the Diocese of Worcester in the Province of Canterbury...

 in 1671.

He also had a distinguished series of positions as chaplain

Chaplain

Traditionally, a chaplain is a minister in a specialized setting such as a priest, pastor, rabbi, or imam or lay representative of a religion attached to a secular institution such as a hospital, prison, military unit, police department, university, or private chapel...

, first with John Lord Lovelace

John Lovelace, 2nd Baron Lovelace

John Lovelace, 2nd Baron Lovelace was a British peer and Royal servant.John was born in Hurley, Berkshire the son of Richard Lovelace, 1st Baron Lovelace and his wife, Margaret, the daughter of London merchant William Dodworth, and educated at Christchurch College, Oxford...

. He served as chaplain to Sir Edward Hyde, later the Earl of Clarendon and highly influential statesman. He was also one of the bishops brought into the household of Hyde's daughter, Anne, Duchess of York

Anne Hyde

Anne Hyde was the first wife of James, Duke of York , and the mother of two monarchs, Mary II of England and Scotland and Anne of Great Britain....

. Following in this position George Morley

George Morley

George Morley D.D. was an English bishop.-Life:He was born in London, England, and educated at Westminster school and the University of Oxford. In 1640, he was presented to the sinecure living of Hartfield, Sussex, and in the following year he was made canon of Christ Church, Oxford and exchanged...

, Blandford had no more success than others in heading off the Duchess’s ultimate conversion to Catholicism

Catholicism

Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....

.

Sources

• Dictionary of National Biography
  Dictionary of National Biography
  The Dictionary of National Biography is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published from 1885...