Daniel Gardiner, and William Cole, Masters of Art; and CHAP. John Drury, Clerk, Bachelor of Laws. XII. Glocester John Bullingham, S. Th. P. being appointed Bishop of Anno 1581. Glocester, (having lain some time vacant,) was confirmed Bishop of Friday, Sept. 1. and consecrated Sunday following, by the conse Archbishop, John Bishop of London and John Bishop of Rochester assisting. remove the I find but one thing more the Archbishop did this year, Licence to and that perhaps may be too little to be mentioned, unless to Lord Chesome, who know how to make use even of minuter circum- ny's body. stances. He granted a licence to Henry, Lord Cheny, to remove his father and his ancestors' coffins and bodies, from a little chapel near unto his parish church of Minster, in the county of Kent, and to place them in his church of Minster; the chapel and other lands thereabouts being by him sold to Sir Humphrey Gilbert. The licence bore date October 22, 1581. commends a poor man's case to the diocese of Bath and I find Dr. Aubrey acting again in the Archbishop's stead, Aubrey reabout the recommendation of the condition of a poor man of the town of Chard, in the diocese of Bath and Wells, whose house and goods were destroyed by fire, and that had obtained the Queen's letters for a contribution within the Wells. diocese. The said Aubrey, by virtue of his Vicarship General, sent his letters missive to the custodes of the bishopric of Bath and Wells in the month of February, according to the Queen's letters in that behalf. Which I will here subjoin. 66 "After our hearty commendations, &c. The Queen's Majesty, of her great clemency and goodness, hath granted "unto one Richard Kirford of Chard, letters patents under "her Highness's Great Seal, for the gathering of the charit"able devotion of well-disposed persons, toward the relieving "of the said poor man, being undone, together with his "wife and children, by means of sudden mischance of fire: "I am therefore, both in consideration of my duty towards "her Majesty, pitifully respecting the miserable estate of "the poor man, as also for very conscience sake and Chris"tian charity, very vehemently moved and enforced to seek BOOK some way II. that may help and succour his great extremity "and need; which cannot be well done without your assistAnno 1581," ance and aid. Wherefore seeing the said Richard by rea"son of his gout is not able to travel personally about his “business, I earnestly desire you, that you will take order "with the Ministers and Churchwardens of every parish "within the diocese of Bath and Wells, with as convenient 268" speed as you may, that they will gather the devotions of every the said parish, and write upon the back-side of the copy of her Majesty's said patents the sum of money “which shall be contributed: and that they will send or bring their collections, with the said copies of the said pa66 tents, and deliver the same before Whitsuntide next to your Register; and he to keep the same until the said "Richard Kirford, or his deputy or assign, shall receive "the same money so gathered and received at his hands. 66 66 66 66 66 "The copies of her Majesty's patents are sent unto you by this bringer; so many as shall serve your archdeacon"ries. I pray you be careful that this may be done speedily "and effectually. And in so doing you shall give the poor man, his wife and children, a good cause to pray for you. "And thus I bid you heartily farewell. From London "the 24th of February 1581. 66 "Your loving friend, Besides this, in this month of February, Aubrey (as exercising the office of Vicar General, while the Archbishop by his sequestration was disabled) granted a licence to Tho. Jones, M. A. to preach throughout the whole province: he granted letters dimissory to Henry Rowse, B. A. to be promoted to the order of Deacon and Priest in any church or chapel, or other convenient place, by John, Bishop of Glocester. He granted a licence to Will. Stokes, to perform the office of a Curate in any parish church throughout the whole dioceses of Ely, Bristol, Hereford, Bath and Wells, and St. David's. And lastly, he directed a commission to Bar. Clark, Official of the Court of Arches, to admit Will. Griffith, LL. D. into the number and college of advocates of the CHAP. metropolitical court of Canterbury. XII. commission Yet do I find the Archbishop himself, in his own person, Anno 1581, about this time granting a commission to John Gibson and The Archbishop Steph. Lakes, LL. DD. to take cognizance and proceed in grants a all causes and businesses, suits and complaints, &c. within for the the city and diocese of Cant.and all and singular other commissaryship of matters, quæ ad officium Commissarii Consistorii nostri ibi-Canterbury. dem de jure vel consuetudine ab antiquo spectare dinoscuntur, faciend. exercend. atque expedienda. Dated January 30, 1581. Orders to the Archbishop to certify the dwellings of recu sants. A Bishop of St. David's confirmed. Licenseth a Scotch Divine. Metropolitical visitations. Dr. Aubrey Vicar General. The Archbishop's submission and declaration. His sequestration taken off. His letter to Bishop Whitgift, to decide a controversy, wherein the Bishop of Litchfield was concerned. Dr. Beacon, of St John's college, commended. dwellings fied. LETTERS again came to the Archbishop, in April 1582, Anno 1582. against recusants, who still required more looking after. Recusants' And as their inconformity had been the last year certified to be certiby our Archbishop and all the Bishops, for their respective dioceses; so now it was required of them to certify the place of their residences, in order to their imprisonment in the King's Bench the next Easter, according to the late law. The letter from the Council to our Archbishop ran in this tenor: "After our hearty commendations to your Lordship. The Council "Whereas the Queen's Majesty is given to understand, to the Archbishop for "that notwithstanding many favourable means heretofore the purpose. II. 66 Anno 1582.66 66 BOOK "used for the reducing and retaining her Highness's sub'jects in their due obedience to the same, hath hitherto very little prevailed, but that divers remain still obstinate, "refusing to come to the church, and conform themselves "in matters of religion, according to her Majesty's [laws:] "albeit we doubt not but that according to our former let"ters you have made true and perfect certificate of all such "persons within your diocese unto the Justices, &c. and "that they have thereupon caused them to be proceeded "with according to law: yet to the intent we may particularly understand how things have passed both in your "diocese and elsewhere, we have, for certain good consider"ations, thought meet to require you, as we have done the "like to the rest of the Bishops, to cause in every parish "within your diocese a diligent search and inquiry to be “made of all such persons, as sith the end of the last ses❝sion of Parliament have forborne to come to the church; " and having been thereof lawfully convicted, do neverthe"less not conform themselves as they ought to do: and thereupon to cause a certificate to be made in writing sub"scribed with your hands, and the hands of some of the "Justices of the Peace of the shire, where every such of "fender hath his residence. To the intent the same may "be, according to the meaning of the law, delivered over "into the Court, commonly called the King's Bench, in the "next Easter term. Wherein we pray you to use all such expedition as you may: and to address the said certificates "unto us first in some convenient time, before or at the "beginning of the said term; to the intent that we may "peruse and consider the same, as cause shall require. And 270 66 so on her Majesty's behalf willing and charging you, that "hereof you make no defaults, we bid you right heartily "farewell. From Greenwich, the 1st of April 1582.” Whereupon the Archbishop sent his letters to the officers of his diocese, to have due consideration and regard to the Council's said letters; to see them duly and speedily executed; and to use such care and diligence therein as the tenor of the said letter required. XIII. condition of Marmaduke Middleton, late Bishop of Waterford in Ire- CHAP. land, was December 6 confirmed Bishop of St. David's in England: who was the last Bishop made or confirmed in Anno 1582. this most reverend Prelate's time. What a miserable Bishop of pre- St. David's ferment this Welch bishopric proved to this Irish Prelate, confirmed. (who seemed to have been a grave and good man,) may be The sad perceived by a letter which he wrote to Secretary Walsing- that diocese. ham soon after his going down. For having anno 1583 PaperOffice. visited his diocese, as well in clero as in populo, he signified to him, "that he found great wants in both. In the Clergy very few sufficient men. Their benefices poor; and yet "many of them hardly obtained; as with money, or granted "for leases; and they not having the third penny. In the 66 66 people small Popery, but greatly infected, by want of "Preachers, with atheism, and wonderfully given over to "vicious life. In the confines between his diocese, Hereford "and Landaff, of late, divers obstinate Papists had shewed "themselves daily; converting the people daily in those "parts. For whose apprehension he had sundry times "written to men authorized for the peace, yet could they "not be taken, by reason they had knowledge thereof. "And he himself wanting authority might only wish well, "but could do small good. There were also divers in his “diocese that pretended to be Ministers, and had counter"feited divers Bishops seals, as Glocester, Hereford, Lan"daff, and his predecessor's, being not called at all to the Ministry. Who with divers others of great misdemean"ors had been borne withal: some by the space of eight, "ten, twelve, and some fourteen years. And now being "touched made small account of his jurisdiction, but ex"claimed upon his severity: practising not only to stir up "the ill-will of the people against him, but also the dislike "of his honourable friends. As for his own estate, he came 66 barely into the country, without Chancellor, or any other "assistance. And being a stranger, he was hardly enter"tained; especially in ministering of justice, where corrup"tion had borne so long sway. All his lands, even to his 66 very doors, were in lease by his predecessor. All the spi D d |