He was a fellow of
All Souls' College, Oxford, in 1520. He devoted himself to
civil law, and graduated B.Can.L. on 2 July 1526 and D.Can.L. on 17 February 1527 – 1528. In 1529 he became an advocate in
Doctors' Commons. He was connected with the
diocese of Lichfield, where he held preferments, first under Bishop
Geoffrey Blyth, and then under Bishop
Rowland Lee. He was made
prebendary of Tachbrook in
Lichfield Cathedral on 11 April 1531,
archdeacon of Salop in April 1536, and
archdeacon of Derby on 8 January 1543. He received the appointment of
dean of the arches and
vicar-general of the
archbishop of Canterbury on 14 November 1540. A conscientious adherent of the Roman Catholic faith, he occupied several positions of importance during
Queen Mary's reign. In her first year he acted as vicar-general of the bishop of Lichfield,
Richard Sampson, and commissioner for the deprivation of married priests, and in his capacity of archdeacon he sat on the commission for the deprivation of
Thomas Cranmer,
Nicholas Ridley, and
Hugh Latimer, and the restoration of
Edmund Bonner and other deprived bishops. He stood high in the favour of
Cardinal Pole, said to have been a relative, who appointed him his vicar-general. During the vacancy of the see of Lichfield on Bishop Sampson's death in 1554, he was appointed commissary for the diocese. In the early part of the same year he took part in the condemnation of
John Hooper and
Rowland Taylor. On 25 April 1556 he was appointed on the commission to inquire after
heretics, and to proceed against them. On the death of
John Chambers, the first bishop of the newly formed
diocese of Peterborough, the queen sent letters commendatory to
Pope Paul IV in Pole's favour. He was consecrated at
Chiswick on 15 August 1557 by
Nicholas Heath,
archbishop of York. He shortly sanctioned the execution of
John Kurde, a Protestant shoemaker, who was burnt at
Northampton on 20 September 1557. On the accession of Elizabeth, he was on the first abortive commission for the consecration of
Matthew Parker as archbishop, 9 September 1559. In the same year he, with Bonner and two other prelates, signed Archbishop Heath's letter of remonstrance to Elizabeth, begging her to return to the Catholic faith. His refusal to take the oath under the
act of supremacy was followed by his deprivation; but he was treated leniently by the queen. Allowed to live on parole in London or its suburbs, he died on one of his farms in May or June 1568. His property he left to his friends, and his books on law and theology to his college, All Souls'. ==Footnotes==