William Barlow (bishop of Chichester)
Encyclopedia
William Barlow (died 1568) was an English Augustinian prior
turned bishop of four dioceses, a complex figure of the Protestant Reformation
. Aspects of his life await scholarly clarification. Labelled by some a "weathercock reformer", he was in fact a staunch evangelical, an anti-Catholic and collaborator in the Dissolution of the Monasteries
and dismantling of church estates; and largely consistent in his approach, apart from an early anti-Lutheran tract and a supposed recantation under Mary I of England
.
, Norfolk
in 1524, having headed some smaller houses. It was dissolved by Cardinal Wolsey in 1528.
Already by 1526 he was in contact with the literature of the Protestant reformers, having brought a work of Bugenhagen to Thomas More
.
. It is said that William was sent by Henry VIII as a courier to William Knight in Rome, on the divorce negotiations; but this is also doubted, as more likely his brother John, at the end of 1527. He was also chaplain to George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford
, and owed advancement to the Boleyn interest at court. There is a further confused story about presentation to the living of Sundridge, Kent
, and a verbal muddle with Tonbridge
.
What is apparent is that William Barlow was later appointed as prior of Haverfordwest Priory
, in 1534; the position was in the gift of Anne Boleyn as Marchioness of Pembroke. He was also suggested as a suffragan bishop
in the diocese of St David's, but the bishop Richard Rawlins
, soon to be a troublesome opponent, rejected him.
Haverfordwest Priory was soon suppressed, and Barlow was made prior of Bisham Priory, with the support of Thomas Cromwell. This he handed over to the king in 1536; but it was briefly a candidate to be upgraded to an abbey. His brothers Roger and Thomas Barlow were purchasers or grantees of Haverfordwest Priory in 1546, after its dissolution in 1536. They founded a Barlow family in Slebech
. Roger Barlow was a merchant and a companion of Sebastian Cabot
voyaging to South America; Thomas Barlow was rector of Catfield
.
, was sent to Scotland in October 1534. He went again to James V of Scotland
with Sir William Howard
in February 1536. Barlow wrote to Cromwell discussing the miseries of the English border people
who were not well served by the judiciary, and compared their situation to the rule of a corrupt Abbot whose officers live in luxury and support his power whilst the brothers live in grievous wretchedness. At Holyroodhouse they presented the King with the ornaments of the Order of the Garter
. In Edinburgh, Barlow encountered the suspicions of the King's Catholic advisors, who feared he had come to preach or take away Henry VIII' sister Margaret Tudor
. Howard in his letter of 25 April 1536 referred to Barlow as 'My Lord of Saint David,' and regretted that Barlow could not advise him during his meeting with James V at Stirling Castle
on Good Friday
.
Howard and Barlow were in Edinburgh in May 1536, and learnt of a plan for James V to marry his mistress Margaret Erskine
although they thought it was 'against the heart of all his nobles.' They heard that James had sent a messenger to the Pope
asking him to forbid James to meet Henry VIII. Barlow stayed in Scotland some days after Howard's return at request of Margaret Tudor, and he joked to Cromwell that it would be no more unpleasant to leave Edinburgh than for Lot
to pass out of Sodom
.
in 1536, and Bishop of St David's
. His appointment at St Asaph was made during his absence on a diplomatic mission to James V of Scotland, with William Howard and Robert Ferrar
. Some historians have argued that he must not have been consecrated because there is no direct reference to it in the Archbishop's register. However, that Register does record his election as Bishop, the royal assent to it and his confirmation. Moreover, "the (separate) record of his consecration may easily have been lost or stolen", as clearly happened on other occasions. His consecration as Bishop is important in the issue of apostolic succession
, his own consecration of Matthew Parker
holds an important place in the question of the validity of Anglican orders, from the Catholic perspective.
He was involved in quarrels with his chapter, who sent up a series of articles addressed to the President of the Council of Wales, denouncing him as a heretic. Nevertheless he carried on a campaign against relic
s, pilgrimage
s, saint-worship, and other Catholic practices. He tried to suppress the cult of St David, in St David's Cathedral
. The statue of Our Lady of Cardigan
, at St Dogmaels Abbey was a particular target, mentioned in his correspondence with Cromwell; the abbey was suppressed in 1536.
In despair of the western district around St David's
, he sought to transfer his see to relatively central Carmarthen
. He established the later custom of the bishops residing at Abergwili
, a village within two miles of Carmarthen, and stripped the lead from the episcopal palace at St. David's; but the see did not move. He alienated the rich manor of Lamphey
from the see. He tried to maintain a free grammar school at Carmarthen, and succeeded in obtaining the grant of some suppressed religious houses for the foundation of Christ College, Brecon
, and of a grammar school there (19 January 1542).
Barlow also took part in general ecclesiastical politics. He signed the articles drawn up in 1536. He shared in composing the Institution of the Christian Man, and supported the translation of the Bible. He vainly tried to substitute a milder policy for the Six Articles of 1530. Extreme Erastianism, which maintained that simple appointment by the monarch was enough, without episcopal consecration, to constitute a lawful bisbop, he shared with Thomas Cranmer
. But the other opinions he maintained—that confession was not enjoined by Scripture; that there were just three sacraments; that laymen were as competent to excommunicate heretics as bishops or priests; that purgatory was a delusion—were extreme and incautious for the end of Henry VIII's reign. At this period he was one of Cranmer's few close allies on the evangelical wing of the bishops: they two with Hugh Latimer
were the main clerical supporters of humanist education, and with Thomas Goodrich
were the most advanced reformers on some matters of doctrine. In 1547 he supported Cranmer's Homilies campaign, preaching at St Paul's Cross, early in the new reign.
by preaching against images. In 1548, he was translated to become Bishop of Bath and Wells
. On 20 May of the same year he sold to the Duke seven manors, together with the palace at Wells
, and other estates and profits of jurisdiction belonging to the see, for, it is said, £2000; of this he appears to have received £400. Bath Place and the Minories
went to the Duke's brother, Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley
. Barlow himself was lodged in the deanery. Finding that Dean Goodman had annexed the prebend of Wiveliscombe
, Barlow deprived him. The dean in return attempted to prove him guilty of praemunire
, the deanery being a royal donative. Barlow had to accept the king's pardon, but the deprivation stood. Barlow was in complete sympathy with the rulers and reformers of the time, but Cranmer did not trust him.
He was now married to Agatha Wellesbourne. This marriage or relationship apparently anticipated the formal lifting of the requirement of clerical celibacy
; the subsequent tradition around the large family of the Barlows has been attributed to compensatory apologetics.
came to the throne he resigned his bishopric, because he was married. He was a Marian exile in Germany, and Poland, after imprisonment in the Tower of London
. He travelled with Catherine Willoughby, 12th Baroness Willoughby de Eresby and Richard Bertie
. He also had an English congregation at Emden
.
Under Elizabeth I he was bishop of Chichester
. Almost immediately she compelled him by Act of Parliament to give up manors, including Selsey
.
.
A work A dialogue describing the originall ground of these Lutheran faccions, and many of their abuses from 1531, printed by William Rastell
, was reissued in 1553. It takes Martin Luther
to be a heretic, and in it Barlow explains that contact with Lutherans had led into a temporary apostasy. George Joye
accused Thomas More of being the real author.
William Barlow (1544–1629), writer on magnetism, was his son.
His wife Agatha died in 1595; there is a memorial to her in Easton, Hampshire
.
Prior
Prior is an ecclesiastical title, derived from the Latin adjective for 'earlier, first', with several notable uses.-Monastic superiors:A Prior is a monastic superior, usually lower in rank than an Abbot. In the Rule of St...
turned bishop of four dioceses, a complex figure of the Protestant Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
. Aspects of his life await scholarly clarification. Labelled by some a "weathercock reformer", he was in fact a staunch evangelical, an anti-Catholic and collaborator in the Dissolution of the Monasteries
Dissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...
and dismantling of church estates; and largely consistent in his approach, apart from an early anti-Lutheran tract and a supposed recantation under Mary I of England
Mary I of England
Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
.
Life
An Augustinian regular canon, he became prior of Bromehill Priory, WeetingWeeting
Weeting is a village in Norfolk, England.Its church, St. Mary, stands close to Weeting Castle, and is one of 124 existing round-tower churches in Norfolk.During the 1920s and 1930s, Weeting housed a Ministry of Labour work camp...
, Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
in 1524, having headed some smaller houses. It was dissolved by Cardinal Wolsey in 1528.
Already by 1526 he was in contact with the literature of the Protestant reformers, having brought a work of Bugenhagen to Thomas More
Thomas More
Sir Thomas More , also known by Catholics as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, social philosopher, author, statesman and noted Renaissance humanist. He was an important councillor to Henry VIII of England and, for three years toward the end of his life, Lord Chancellor...
.
Court circles
He certainly was closely associated with the Boleyn party at Court, and so with the anti-Wolsey faction, but the details are unclear. His brother John Barlow was a member of the household of Anne BoleynAnne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn ;c.1501/1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536 as the second wife of Henry VIII of England and Marquess of Pembroke in her own right. Henry's marriage to Anne, and her subsequent execution, made her a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that was the...
. It is said that William was sent by Henry VIII as a courier to William Knight in Rome, on the divorce negotiations; but this is also doubted, as more likely his brother John, at the end of 1527. He was also chaplain to George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford
George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford
George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford was an English courtier and nobleman, and the brother of queen consort Anne Boleyn...
, and owed advancement to the Boleyn interest at court. There is a further confused story about presentation to the living of Sundridge, Kent
Sundridge, Kent
Sundridge is a village within the civil parish of Sundridge with Ide Hill, in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. The village is located on the A25 road to the east of WesterhamIts church is dedicated to St Mary....
, and a verbal muddle with Tonbridge
Tonbridge
Tonbridge is a market town in the English county of Kent, with a population of 30,340 in 2007. It is located on the River Medway, approximately 4 miles north of Tunbridge Wells, 12 miles south west of Maidstone and 29 miles south east of London...
.
What is apparent is that William Barlow was later appointed as prior of Haverfordwest Priory
Haverfordwest Priory
Haverfordwest Priory was a house of Augustinian Canons Regular on the banks of the Western Cleddau at Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, Wales. It was founded around 1200 on land given by Robert Fitztancard, the lord of Haverfordwest...
, in 1534; the position was in the gift of Anne Boleyn as Marchioness of Pembroke. He was also suggested as a suffragan bishop
Suffragan bishop
A suffragan bishop is a bishop subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop. He or she may be assigned to an area which does not have a cathedral of its own.-Anglican Communion:...
in the diocese of St David's, but the bishop Richard Rawlins
Richard Rawlins
Richard Rawlins was Bishop of St David's between the years 1523 and 1536. He had previously been Warden of Merton College, Oxford, where he was known for selling land designated for the completion of a cruciform chapel for the establishment of Corpus Christi College...
, soon to be a troublesome opponent, rejected him.
Haverfordwest Priory was soon suppressed, and Barlow was made prior of Bisham Priory, with the support of Thomas Cromwell. This he handed over to the king in 1536; but it was briefly a candidate to be upgraded to an abbey. His brothers Roger and Thomas Barlow were purchasers or grantees of Haverfordwest Priory in 1546, after its dissolution in 1536. They founded a Barlow family in Slebech
Slebech
Slebech is a parish in Pembrokeshire, West Wales. The community of Slebech is a sparsely populated on the northern shore of the Eastern River Cleddau. It shares common land boundaries with the Communities of Uzmaston and Boulston, Wiston and Llawhaden and mainly consists of farmland and woodland...
. Roger Barlow was a merchant and a companion of Sebastian Cabot
Sebastian Cabot (explorer)
Sebastian Cabot was an explorer, born in the Venetian Republic.-Origins:...
voyaging to South America; Thomas Barlow was rector of Catfield
Catfield
Catfield is a village and a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The village is south-east of Cromer, north-east of Norwich and north-east of London. The village lies south-south-east of the nearby town of Stalham. The nearest railway station is at Worstead for the Bittern Line which...
.
Missions to Scotland
William Barlow, then Prior of the Monastery of BishamBisham Abbey
Bisham Abbey is a Grade I listed manor house at Bisham in the English county of Berkshire. The name is taken from the now lost monastery which once stood alongside. Bisham Abbey was previously named Bisham Priory, and was the traditional resting place of many Earls of Salisbury...
, was sent to Scotland in October 1534. He went again to James V of Scotland
James V of Scotland
James V was King of Scots from 9 September 1513 until his death, which followed the Scottish defeat at the Battle of Solway Moss...
with Sir William Howard
William Howard, 1st Baron Howard of Effingham
William Howard, 1st Baron Howard of Effingham , was the eldest son of Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk by his second wife, Agnes Tilney...
in February 1536. Barlow wrote to Cromwell discussing the miseries of the English border people
Scottish Marches
Scottish Marches was the term used for the Anglo-Scottish border during the late medieval and early modern eras—from the late 13th century, with the creation by Edward I of England of the first Lord Warden of the Marches to the early 17th century and the creation of the Middle Shires, promulgated...
who were not well served by the judiciary, and compared their situation to the rule of a corrupt Abbot whose officers live in luxury and support his power whilst the brothers live in grievous wretchedness. At Holyroodhouse they presented the King with the ornaments of the Order of the Garter
Order of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, is the highest order of chivalry, or knighthood, existing in England. The order is dedicated to the image and arms of St...
. In Edinburgh, Barlow encountered the suspicions of the King's Catholic advisors, who feared he had come to preach or take away Henry VIII' sister Margaret Tudor
Margaret Tudor
Margaret Tudor was the elder of the two surviving daughters of Henry VII of England and Elizabeth of York, and the elder sister of Henry VIII. In 1503, she married James IV, King of Scots. James died in 1513, and their son became King James V. She married secondly Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of...
. Howard in his letter of 25 April 1536 referred to Barlow as 'My Lord of Saint David,' and regretted that Barlow could not advise him during his meeting with James V at Stirling Castle
Stirling Castle
Stirling Castle, located in Stirling, is one of the largest and most important castles, both historically and architecturally, in Scotland. The castle sits atop Castle Hill, an intrusive crag, which forms part of the Stirling Sill geological formation. It is surrounded on three sides by steep...
on Good Friday
Good Friday
Good Friday , is a religious holiday observed primarily by Christians commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary. The holiday is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum on the Friday preceding Easter Sunday, and may coincide with the Jewish observance of...
.
Howard and Barlow were in Edinburgh in May 1536, and learnt of a plan for James V to marry his mistress Margaret Erskine
Margaret Erskine
Lady Margaret Erskine was a mistress of King James V of Scotland.She was a daughter of John Erskine, 5th Lord Erskine and Margaret Campbell.James V had a number of mistresses in his time, but some accounts describe her as his favourite...
although they thought it was 'against the heart of all his nobles.' They heard that James had sent a messenger to the Pope
Pope Paul III
Pope Paul III , born Alessandro Farnese, was Pope of the Roman Catholic Church from 1534 to his death in 1549. He came to the papal throne in an era following the sack of Rome in 1527 and rife with uncertainties in the Catholic Church following the Protestant Reformation...
asking him to forbid James to meet Henry VIII. Barlow stayed in Scotland some days after Howard's return at request of Margaret Tudor, and he joked to Cromwell that it would be no more unpleasant to leave Edinburgh than for Lot
Lot (Bible)
Lot is a man from the Book of Genesis chapters 11-14 and 19, in the Hebrew Bible. Notable episodes in his life include his travels with his uncle Abram ; his flight from the destruction of Sodom, in the course of which Lot's wife looked back and became a pillar of salt; and the seduction by his...
to pass out of Sodom
Sodom and Gomorrah
Sodom and Gomorrah were cities mentioned in the Book of Genesis and later expounded upon throughout the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and Deuterocanonical sources....
.
Bishop in Wales
He was successively Bishop of St AsaphBishop of St Asaph
The Bishop of St Asaph heads the Church in Wales diocese of St Asaph.The diocese covers the counties of Conwy and Flintshire, Wrexham county borough, the eastern part of Merioneth in Gwynedd and part of northern Powys. The Episcopal seat is located in the Cathedral Church of St Asaph in the town of...
in 1536, and Bishop of St David's
Bishop of St David's
The Bishop of St David's is the ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of St David's.The succession of bishops stretches back to Saint David who in the 6th century established his seat in what is today the city of St David's in Pembrokeshire, founding St David's Cathedral. The current Bishop of St...
. His appointment at St Asaph was made during his absence on a diplomatic mission to James V of Scotland, with William Howard and Robert Ferrar
Robert Ferrar
Robert Ferrar was a Bishop of St David's in Wales.He was prior of Nostell Priory, embraced the English Reformation, and was made Bishop of St. David's by Edward VI...
. Some historians have argued that he must not have been consecrated because there is no direct reference to it in the Archbishop's register. However, that Register does record his election as Bishop, the royal assent to it and his confirmation. Moreover, "the (separate) record of his consecration may easily have been lost or stolen", as clearly happened on other occasions. His consecration as Bishop is important in the issue of apostolic succession
Apostolic Succession
Apostolic succession is a doctrine, held by some Christian denominations, which asserts that the chosen successors of the Twelve Apostles, from the first century to the present day, have inherited the spiritual, ecclesiastical and sacramental authority, power, and responsibility that were...
, his own consecration of Matthew Parker
Matthew Parker
Matthew Parker was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1559 until his death in 1575. He was also an influential theologian and arguably the co-founder of Anglican theological thought....
holds an important place in the question of the validity of Anglican orders, from the Catholic perspective.
He was involved in quarrels with his chapter, who sent up a series of articles addressed to the President of the Council of Wales, denouncing him as a heretic. Nevertheless he carried on a campaign against relic
Relic
In religion, a relic is a part of the body of a saint or a venerated person, or else another type of ancient religious object, carefully preserved for purposes of veneration or as a tangible memorial...
s, pilgrimage
Pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey or search of great moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a person's beliefs and faith...
s, saint-worship, and other Catholic practices. He tried to suppress the cult of St David, in St David's Cathedral
St David's Cathedral
St David's Cathedral is situated in St David's in the county of Pembrokeshire, on the most westerly point of Wales.-Early history:The monastic community was founded by Saint David, Abbot of Menevia, who died in AD589...
. The statue of Our Lady of Cardigan
Our Lady of Cardigan
Our Lady of Cardigan , also known as Our Lady of the Taper, the national Catholic shrine of Wales, is a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary located in a chapel in Cardigan, Ceredigion, Wales.-History:...
, at St Dogmaels Abbey was a particular target, mentioned in his correspondence with Cromwell; the abbey was suppressed in 1536.
In despair of the western district around St David's
St David's
St Davids , is a city and community in Pembrokeshire, Wales. Lying on the River Alun on St David's Peninsula, it is Britain's smallest city in terms of both size and population, the final resting place of Saint David, the country's patron saint, and the de facto ecclesiastical capital of...
, he sought to transfer his see to relatively central Carmarthen
Carmarthen
Carmarthen is a community in, and the county town of, Carmarthenshire, Wales. It is sited on the River Towy north of its mouth at Carmarthen Bay. In 2001, the population was 14,648....
. He established the later custom of the bishops residing at Abergwili
Abergwili
Abergwili is a village in Carmarthenshire, West Wales, lying near to the junction of River Towy and River Gwili.- Bishop's Palace :It is known for its Bishop's Palace, home to the Bishop of St David's since 1542, when Bishop William Barlow transferred his palace from St David's to Abergwili,...
, a village within two miles of Carmarthen, and stripped the lead from the episcopal palace at St. David's; but the see did not move. He alienated the rich manor of Lamphey
Lamphey
Lamphey is a village near the south coast of Pembrokeshire, Wales, two miles east of Pembroke.-History:Lamphey is a small village with an estimated population of 250 to 300 people, being located a short distance from the historic town of Pembroke, the birth place of Henry VII, father of Henry...
from the see. He tried to maintain a free grammar school at Carmarthen, and succeeded in obtaining the grant of some suppressed religious houses for the foundation of Christ College, Brecon
Christ College, Brecon
Christ College, Brecon is a co-educational, boarding and day independent school, located in the market town of Brecon in mid-Wales. It caters for pupils from eleven to eighteen.Christ College was founded by Royal Charter in 1541 by King Henry VIII...
, and of a grammar school there (19 January 1542).
Barlow also took part in general ecclesiastical politics. He signed the articles drawn up in 1536. He shared in composing the Institution of the Christian Man, and supported the translation of the Bible. He vainly tried to substitute a milder policy for the Six Articles of 1530. Extreme Erastianism, which maintained that simple appointment by the monarch was enough, without episcopal consecration, to constitute a lawful bisbop, he shared with Thomas Cranmer
Thomas Cranmer
Thomas Cranmer was a leader of the English Reformation and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI and, for a short time, Mary I. He helped build a favourable case for Henry's divorce from Catherine of Aragon which resulted in the separation of the English Church from...
. But the other opinions he maintained—that confession was not enjoined by Scripture; that there were just three sacraments; that laymen were as competent to excommunicate heretics as bishops or priests; that purgatory was a delusion—were extreme and incautious for the end of Henry VIII's reign. At this period he was one of Cranmer's few close allies on the evangelical wing of the bishops: they two with 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...
were the main clerical supporters of humanist education, and with Thomas Goodrich
Thomas Goodrich
Thomas Goodrich was an English ecclesiastic and statesman.-Life:He was a son of Edward Goodrich of East Kirkby, Lincolnshire and brother of Henry Goodricke of Ribston Hall, North Yorkshire....
were the most advanced reformers on some matters of doctrine. In 1547 he supported Cranmer's Homilies campaign, preaching at St Paul's Cross, early in the new reign.
Bath and Wells
Early in the reign of Edward VI Barlow commended himself to Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of SomersetEdward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset
Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, 1st Earl of Hertford, 1st Viscount Beauchamp of Hache, KG, Earl Marshal was Lord Protector of England in the period between the death of Henry VIII in 1547 and his own indictment in 1549....
by preaching against images. In 1548, he was translated to become Bishop of Bath and Wells
Bishop of Bath and Wells
The Bishop of Bath and Wells heads the Church of England Diocese of Bath and Wells in the Province of Canterbury in England.The present diocese covers the vast majority of the county of Somerset and a small area of Dorset. The Episcopal seat is located in the Cathedral Church of Saint Andrew in...
. On 20 May of the same year he sold to the Duke seven manors, together with the palace at Wells
Wells
Wells is a cathedral city and civil parish in the Mendip district of Somerset, England, on the southern edge of the Mendip Hills. Although the population recorded in the 2001 census is 10,406, it has had city status since 1205...
, and other estates and profits of jurisdiction belonging to the see, for, it is said, £2000; of this he appears to have received £400. Bath Place and the Minories
Minories
The Minories is the name of both an area and street in the City of London close to the Tower of London. The street called Minories runs north-south between Aldgate and Tower Hill underground stations...
went to the Duke's brother, Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley
Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley
Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley, KG was an English politician.Thomas spent his childhood in Wulfhall, outside Savernake Forest, in Wiltshire. Historian David Starkey describes Thomas thus: 'tall, well-built and with a dashing beard and auburn hair, he was irresistible to women'...
. Barlow himself was lodged in the deanery. Finding that Dean Goodman had annexed the prebend of Wiveliscombe
Wiveliscombe
Wiveliscombe is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated west of Taunton in the Taunton Deane district. The town has a population of 2,670. The parish includes the nearby hamlet of Maundown.-History:...
, Barlow deprived him. The dean in return attempted to prove him guilty of praemunire
Praemunire
In English history, Praemunire or Praemunire facias was a law that prohibited the assertion or maintenance of papal jurisdiction, imperial or foreign, or some other alien jurisdiction or claim of supremacy in England, against the supremacy of the Monarch...
, the deanery being a royal donative. Barlow had to accept the king's pardon, but the deprivation stood. Barlow was in complete sympathy with the rulers and reformers of the time, but Cranmer did not trust him.
He was now married to Agatha Wellesbourne. This marriage or relationship apparently anticipated the formal lifting of the requirement of clerical celibacy
Clerical celibacy
Clerical celibacy is the discipline by which some or all members of the clergy in certain religions are required to be unmarried. Since these religions consider deliberate sexual thoughts, feelings, and behavior outside of marriage to be sinful, clerical celibacy also requires abstension from these...
; the subsequent tradition around the large family of the Barlows has been attributed to compensatory apologetics.
Later life
When Mary I of EnglandMary I of England
Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
came to the throne he resigned his bishopric, because he was married. He was a Marian exile in Germany, and Poland, after imprisonment in the Tower of London
Tower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
. He travelled with Catherine Willoughby, 12th Baroness Willoughby de Eresby and Richard Bertie
Richard Bertie (courtier)
Richard Bertie was an English landowner and religious evangelical. He was the second husband of Catherine Willoughby, 12th Baroness Willoughby de Eresby, Duchess Dowager of Suffolk and a woman who Henry VIII was considering as his seventh wife shortly before his death; she also received a proposal...
. He also had an English congregation at Emden
Emden
Emden is a city and seaport in the northwest of Germany, on the river Ems. It is the main city of the region of East Frisia; in 2006, the city had a total population of 51,692.-History:...
.
Under Elizabeth I he was bishop of Chichester
Bishop of Chichester
The Bishop of Chichester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chichester in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers the Counties of East and West Sussex. The see is in the City of Chichester where the seat is located at the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity...
. Almost immediately she compelled him by Act of Parliament to give up manors, including Selsey
Selsey
Selsey is a seaside town and civil parish, about seven miles south of Chichester, in the Chichester District of West Sussex, England. Selsey lies at the southernmost point of the Manhood Peninsula, almost cut off from mainland Sussex by the sea...
.
Works
It has been argued that heretical pamphlets by Friar Jerome Barlow (or Barlowe) were by William Barlow. Scholarship now attributes these works, hostile to Wolsey, from 1528-9, to a FranciscanFranciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
.
A work A dialogue describing the originall ground of these Lutheran faccions, and many of their abuses from 1531, printed by William Rastell
William Rastell
-Life:He was born in London. At the age of seventeen he went to the University of Oxford, but did not take a degree, being probably called home to superintend the printing business of his father John Rastell....
, was reissued in 1553. It takes Martin Luther
Martin Luther
Martin Luther was a German priest, professor of theology and iconic figure of the Protestant Reformation. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment for sin could be purchased with money. He confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel with his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517...
to be a heretic, and in it Barlow explains that contact with Lutherans had led into a temporary apostasy. George Joye
George Joye
George Joye was a 16th-century Bible translator who produced the first printed translation of several books of the Old Testament into English , as well as the first English Primer .-Education:...
accused Thomas More of being the real author.
Family
His five daughters each married clergymen who were to become bishops:- Anne to Herbert WestfalingHerbert WestfalingHerbert Westfaling , 1531/2–1602, was Anglican Bishop of Hereford and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford....
, Bishop of HerefordBishop of HerefordThe Bishop of Hereford is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Hereford in the Province of Canterbury.The see is in the City of Hereford where the seat is located at the Cathedral Church of Saint Mary and Saint Ethelbert which was founded as a cathedral in 676.The Bishop's residence is...
; - Elizabeth to William DayWilliam Day (bishop)William Day was an English clergyman, Provost of Eton College for many years, and at the end of his life Bishop of Winchester.-Life:...
, Bishop of WinchesterBishop of WinchesterThe Bishop of Winchester is the head of the Church of England diocese of Winchester, with his cathedra at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire.The bishop is one of five Church of England bishops to be among the Lords Spiritual regardless of their length of service. His diocese is one of the oldest and...
; - Margaret to William OvertonWilliam Overton (bishop)-Life:He became a Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford in 1551, and rector of Balcombe and vicar of Eccleshall in 1553. He was also made a prebendary at Chichester, Winchester, and Salisbury....
, Bishop of LichfieldBishop of LichfieldThe Bishop of Lichfield is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Lichfield in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers 4,516 km² of the counties of Staffordshire, Shropshire, Warwickshire and West Midlands. The bishop's seat is located in the Cathedral Church of the Blessed...
; - Frances, after her first husband Parker's death, to Tobias MatthewTobias MatthewTobias Matthew was Archbishop of York.-Life:He was the son of Sir John Matthew of Ross in Herefordshire, England, and of his wife Eleanor Crofton of Ludlow. He was born at Bristol and was educated at Wells, Somerset, and then in succession at University College and Christ Church, Oxford...
, Archbishop of YorkArchbishop of YorkThe Archbishop of York is a high-ranking cleric in the Church of England, second only to the Archbishop of Canterbury. He is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and metropolitan of the Province of York, which covers the northern portion of England as well as the Isle of Man...
; and - Antonia to William WickhamWilliam Wickham (bishop)-Life:He was educated at Eton College and King's College, Cambridge, where he was a Fellow in 1559, and M.A. 1564. He was a fellow of Eton in 1568, and vice-provost there around c. 1570...
, Bishop of Winchester.
William Barlow (1544–1629), writer on magnetism, was his son.
His wife Agatha died in 1595; there is a memorial to her in Easton, Hampshire
Easton, Hampshire
Easton is a village in Hampshire, England, situated on the River Itchen, 2¾ miles north east of Winchester.In 1870-72, John Goring's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Easton like this:...
.
Further reading
- John Robert Lunn (1897), Bishop Barlowe's Dialogue
- Arthur Stapylton Barnes (1922), Bishop Barlow and Anglican Orders: A Study of the Original Documents
- Andrew M. McLean, "Detestynge Thabomynacyon" : William Barlow, Thomas More and the Anglican Episcopacy, Moreana, XLIX, 1976, 67-77
- Andrew M. McLean (editor) (1981), The work of William Barlowe: including Bishop Barlowe's "Dialogue on the Lutheran factions"