Richard Bancroft (1544 - 1610)

Born 1544 in Farnworth, Lancashire, England

Died 2 Nov 1610 at about age 66 in Lambeth, Surrey, England

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Biography

Richard Bancroft was christened at Farnworth (Widnes), Lancashire, on 19 September 1544.^[1] His parents were John Bancroft, gentleman, and Mary née Curwen, niece of Hugh Curwen, Bishop of Oxford.^[2]

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Richard Bancroft, "by the providence of God Archbishop of Canterbury", made his will on 28 October 1610. His Anglican faith is attested by his opening remarks that Jesus Christ is his "onelie Saviour and Redeemer in whome I steadfastlie beleeve pointe by pointe as it is contayned in the Ap[ost]les Creede beinge a breefe compendium of the holie Evangelistes". He desired "to be buried in Lambeth Chancell forbiddinge any other Monnument then a playne stone to be laide uppon my grave" and gave instructions for there to be no unnecessary funeral ceremony, but for a sermon to be preached a month or so later. He left all of his books and writings to his successors in office for ever, or else to be given to the public library of the University of Cambridge.

He made bequests to relatives:

• his sister Elizabeth Wenland, and her youngest daughter
• his nephew John Gough
• his nephew Dr Tigh and his wife (his niece)
• his nephew Thomas Hunt
• his nephew Richard Bancroft of Willesden, residual beneficiary and sole executor.

The will was proved in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury on 12 November 1610; with a further grant of administration on 4 March 1634, after the death of his nephew Richard Bancroft.^[3]

His books were given to Cambridge University in 1647.^[4]

Sources

1. ↑ Ancestry.com. England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538-1975 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014. Original data: England, Births and Christenings, 1538-1975. Salt Lake City, Utah: FamilySearch, 2013. Ancestry uk Record 9841 #13008104
2. ↑ Ancestry.com. Dictionary of National Biography, Volumes 1-22 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. This collection was indexed by Ancestry World Archives Project contributors. Original data: Stephen, Sir Leslie, ed. Dictionary of National Biography, 1921–1922. Volumes 1–22. London, England: Oxford University Press, 1921–1922. Vol 01; Page: 1028. Ancestry uk Record 1981 #7776
3. ↑ Ancestry.com. England & Wales, Prerogative Court of Canterbury Wills, 1384-1858 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013. Original data: Prerogative Court of Canterbury and Related Probate Jurisdictions: Will Registers. The National Archives; Kew, Surrey, England; Records of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, Series PROB 11; Class: PROB 11; Piece: 116. Ancestry uk Record 5111 #864819
4. ↑ Whereas Richard Bancroft, Archbishop of Canterbury, did by his last Will and Testament, bearing Date the 28th Day of October, in the Year of our Lord 1610, give and bequeath all the Books in his Study over the Cloisters in Lambeth House unto his Successors the Archbishops of Canterbury successively for ever, if his next Successor would yield to such Assurances as should be devised by such Learned Counsel as his Supervisor and Executor should make Choice of, for the Continuance of all the said Books unto the said Archbishops successively; otherwise he bequeathed them all to His Majesty's College to be erected at Chelsey, if it were erected within Six years; or otherwise he gave them all to the Public Library of the University of Cambridge: And whereas, by Authority of Parliament, the Jurisdiction, Power, and Authority of Archbishops and Bishops are totally abolished and taken away, and their Houses, Lands, and Possessions, to be disposed of as the Lords and Commons in Parliament assembled shall think fit and appoint; and for that no such College at Chelsey hath been erected: Be it therehereby Ordered, Ordained, and Declared, by the Lords and Commons in Parliament assembled, That all the said Books belonging to the said Richard Bancroft Archbishop of Canterbury, bequeathed as aforesaid, shall be, and are hereby, given, granted, and confirmed, to the Chancellor, Masters, and Scholars, of the University of Cambridge, and their Successors for ever, to remain in the Public Library of the University of Cambridge, for Public Use, according to the true Intent and meaning of the Testator, expressed in the said last Will and Testament. 'February 1647: Ordinance to grant Archbishop Bancroft's Books to Cambridge University.', in Acts and Ordinances of the Interregnum, 1642-1660, ed. C H Firth and R S Rait (London, 1911), p. 915. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/no-series/acts-ordinances-interregnum/p915 [accessed 7 February 2021].

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Bancroft
• Remains of five 'lost' Archbishops of Canterbury found (BBC News, 16 April 2017)
• Remains of Five Archbishops of Canterbury Discovered Under London Museum (NBC News, April 16, 2017)
• Edward Hasted, 'The archbishops: John Whitgift to William Juxon', in The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent: Volume 12 (Canterbury, 1801), pp. 462-484. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol12/pp462-484 [accessed 7 February 2021].