Morley was born in London, England, in February 1598, to Francis Morley and Sarah Denham (
Sir John Denham was a cousin
Edmund Gosse writes that Morley "in these early days ... was secular and humanistic in his proclivities, and it is said ... that it was mainly due to him that Waller seriously undertook to cultivate poetry." Morley would spend the next ten years alternatively living with the Wallers and as domestic chaplain to
Robert Dormer, 1st Earl of Carnarvon. 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 Hartfield for the rectory of
Mildenhall, Wiltshire. He preached before the
House of Commons in 1642, but his sermon gave offence, and when in 1647 he took a prominent part in resisting the
parliamentary visitation of Oxford University he was deprived of his canonry and living. Leaving England, he joined the court of
Charles II, and became one of the leading clergy at
The Hague. Shortly before the
Restoration he came to England on a highly successful mission to gain for Charles the support of the
Presbyterians. In 1660, he regained his canonry, and soon became
Dean of Christ Church. In the same year, he became
Bishop of Worcester. He was
elected to the See on 9 October,
confirmed 23 October, and consecrated a bishop on 28 October. At the
Savoy Conference of 1661 he was chief representative of the bishops. He was translated to the
See of Winchester in 1662 and made
Dean of the Chapel Royal in 1663, a position he held until dismissed by Charles II in 1668. ==Works==