The history of the See of Canterbury may be said to have begun with the coming of Augustine, for there can be no doubt that it is owing to its being the settling-place of the first messengers of the gospel in Saxon England that Canterbury has been the metropolis of the English Church. Pope Gregory, with his usual thoroughness, sent to Augustine, soon after his arrival here, an elaborate scheme for the division of our island into sees, which were to be gradually developed as Christianity spread. According to his arrangement, there were to be two archbishops, one at London and one at York. But we cannot regret that this scheme was not carried out, as an archiepiscopal see is much more picturesquely framed by the hills which encircle Canterbury than it could have been by the dingy vastness of the political and social capital.

Augustine reached England in 597, and found that his path had been made easy by the fact that Bertha, wife of Ethelbert, King of Kent, was a Christian. He soon effected the conversion of the king himself, and his labours were so rapidly successful that at Christmas, 597, no less than ten thousand Saxons were baptized at the mouth of the Medway. The archiepiscopal pall, and a papal Bull, creating Augustine first English archbishop, were duly sent from Rome, and the royal palace in Canterbury, with an old church Roman or British close by, were handed over to him by Ethelbert. The first archbishop died in 605, and was buried, according to the old Roman custom, by the side of the high road which had brought him to Canterbury. A few years later, however, his remains were transferred to the Abbey of SS. Peter and Paul, which had then just been completed.

Augustine was succeeded by one of the monks who had originally come with him from Rome. The new archbishop’s name was Lawrence; he had been already consecrated by Augustine in his lifetime.  This unusual measure was thought to be necessary, as the Church had hardly yet established itself in a strong position.  Indeed, so weak was its hold over its rapidly acquired converts, that when Ethelberts son, who succeeded his father in 616, backslid into the path of heathendom, the great majority of the people followed the royal example, and Lawrence, together with the Bishops of London and Rochester, prepared to leave England altogether, as a country hopelessly abandoned to paganism.  However, the archbishop determined to make one more attempt to maintain his position, and succeeded in terrifying the king, by a pretended miracle, into becoming a Christian.  He then recalled the two bishops who had already crossed to France, and on his death, in 619, was succeeded by the Bishop of London, Mellitus. Mellitus only held the Primacy till 624, when his place was filled by Justin, who also had a brief archiepiscopal life, being succeeded in 627 by Honorius. This archbishop held the see for twenty-six years, till 653, and it was not until 655 that his successor was appointed.

So far the archbishops had all been foreigners who had come over either with Augustine or with the second company of missionaries who were despatched by Gregory soon after Ethelbert’s conversion. In 655, however, a native Englishman, named Frithona, was consecrated by the Saxon Bishop of Rochester, and adopted the name of Deus Dedit. He ruled at Canterbury till 664, and after his death the see remained vacant for four years, probably owing to the plague which was then wasting all Europe, and caused the death of Wighard, a Saxon, who had started for Rome to receive his consecration there. But in 668, Theodore, a native of Tarsus in Cecilia, was appointed, and was welcomed by the members of the torn and divided English Church.  He devoted all his energy to centralizing and consolidating the power of the archbishop, which had been hitherto largely nominal.  He journeyed all over England, correcting the prevalent laxity of discipline and establishing the control of the metropolitan authority.  He went so far as to interfere with the Archbishopric of York, and with the help of the king attempted to divide it into three sees.  He was, moreover, an enthusiastic scholar, and first diffused the study of Greek in England.  He had brought a copy of Homer with him, and is said to have established a school of Greek in Canterbury.  He died in 690, and after his death there was no archbishop for three years.  In 693, one Brethwald, an English monk, some time Abbot of Reculver, was appointed to the see. The Saxon Church shows that it had benefited by Theodore’s rigorous discipline, in that it was henceforth able to supply its own archbishops; it had now securely established itself all over the country, and the last home of paganism, which, curiously enough, held its own longest in Sussex, had been finally converted in Theodore’s time. Brethwald ruled till 731, and was followed by Tatwin (731-734) and Nothelm (734-740). In 740 Cuthbert became archbishop. He seems to have been an interesting personage with a good deal of zeal for reform; he is recorded to have assembled a synod at Cliff to discuss measures for the improvement of the lives and behaviour both of clergy and laity.  Probably at his instigation the synod ordained that the Lords Prayer and the Creed should be taught in the vulgar tongue; he was the first archbishop buried in the cathedral.  He was succeeded by Bregwin, who held the see from 759 to 765.  He was an exception among the series of English primates, being of German origin.  During the rule of the next archbishop, Jaenbert, an attempt was made to transfer the primacy from Canterbury. Offa, the King of Mercia, had established himself in a position of commanding power, and wishing that the seat of the chief ecclesiastical authority should be within his own dominion, obtained a Bull from Pope Adrian I. by which an Archbishop of Lichfield was created, with a larger see than that of Canterbury. Jaenbert seems to have acquiesced, though doubtless most unwillingly, in this arrangement, but in spite of the central situation of Lichfield, the traditional claims of Canterbury were too strong, and Adulf was the first and last Archbishop of Lichfield. Athelard, who succeeded Jaenbert in 790, had the primacy restored to him. The Northmen began their raids on the English coasts at this time, and their ravages probably continued through the days of his successors, Wulfred, Feologild, Ceolnoth, and Ethelred (805-889).

In 889 the learned Plegmund, formerly tutor of Alfred, was by his quondam pupil’s influence made Archbishop of Canterbury. It was during his time that the sees of Wells for Somerset and Crediton for Devonshire were established.

Athelm (914-923).

Wulfhelm (923-942).

Odo (942-959), called “the severe,” was born a pagan Dane of East Anglia, but having been received into a noble Saxon family, was duly baptized into the faith. He was appointed to the Wiltshire bishopric by Athelstane, and combined in his person the characters of the warlike Dane and the Christian churchman. Like his successor Dunstan, Odo made his chief objects in life the maintenance of the Church’s supremacy and the reformation of the married clergy. He bore his archbishopric with much pomp and dignity through the reigns of Edmund, Edred, and Edwy. He was responsible for Dunstan’s conduct on the occasion of King Edwy’s coronation, though it is not known how far he sanctioned the cruelties subsequently practised on Elgiva. Odo reconstructed and enlarged the cathedral.

His immediate successor was Elsi, Bishop of Winchester, but this archbishop died while on his way to Rome to receive his pall from the Pope.

Dunstan (960-988), the next archbishop, continued Odo’s crusade against the married clergy, which he conducted relentlessly. In many cases the secular clergy were turned out of their livings to make room for members of the regular monkish orders. Even with these harsh measures and the employment of miracles the archbishop does not seem to have succeeded in enforcing celibacy among the clergy. Dunstan was born in Somersetshire of noble parents, and educated at the Abbey of Glastonbury. He became abbot of that place, and Bishop of Worcester and London. At the coronation of Edwy he intruded himself into the king’s presence, and was afterwards obliged to retire to Ghent. He held the See of Canterbury for twenty-seven years, and on his death was buried in the cathedral, where countless miracles are said to have been worked at his tomb.

Ethelgar (988-989).

Siricius (990-994).

AElfric (995-1005).

Alphege (1005-1012), Prior of Glastonbury, migrated thence to Bath, where he founded the great abbey, afterwards united to the See of Wells. After holding the See of Winchester for twenty-two years, he was translated to Canterbury. When in 1011 Canterbury was sacked by the Danes, he was carried off a prisoner, and on his refusal to ransom himself, was barbarously murdered by his captors. His body was ransomed by the people of London and buried at St. Paul’s Cathedral, whence it was removed to Canterbury by Canute. Subsequently, in the time of Lanfranc, he was canonized.

Living (1013-1020) also suffered much from the Danes, who from this time continued their incursions until the reign of Canute.

Egelnoth (1020-1038) is described as the first dean of the Canterbury canons who seem to have acquired an ascendancy over the monks ever since the massacre of the latter by the Danes in 1011. He restored the cathedral after the damages inflicted by the invaders.

Eadsi (1038-1050).

Robert of Jumieges (1051-1052) was one of the many Normans who were brought over into England by King Edward the Confessor; he took an active part in the king’s quarrel with the great Earl Godwin, and in the reaction which followed against the Normans retired to Jumieges, where he remained till his death.

Stigand (1052-1070), Bishop of Winchester, held this see conjointly with that of Canterbury. He was remarkable for his avarice. His espousal of the cause of Edgar the Atheling led the Conqueror to regard him with suspicion. William took the archbishop with him when he returned into Normandy, and eventually dispossessed him, along with some other bishops and abbots, at a synod held at Winchester in the year 1070. Stigand was imprisoned at Winchester, where he eventually died, resisting to the last the attempts made by the king to elicit information as to the whereabouts of the vast treasures which he had accumulated and hidden.

Lanfranc (1070-1089) was the first Norman Archbishop of Canterbury. He was born at Pavia, and educated at the monastery of Bec, in Normandy, then the most remarkable seat of learning existing in Europe. His conspicuous abilities raised him to the position of prior of the monastery. He was subsequently abbot of the new monastery which William of Normandy founded at Caen, and on the deposition of Stigand was called over by that king to complete the subjection and reform of the Anglo-Saxon Church, which task he undertook with much zeal and not a little high-handed procedure. He assisted the king in the removal of the Saxon bishops and the substitution of Normans in their places, as also in the reformation of the great English monasteries which appear to have fallen into considerable disorder. Lanfranc’s character was remarkable for its firmness, and brought him into frequent collision with the imperious temper of his royal master. On one occasion Lanfranc insisted on the restoration of twenty-five manors which belonged to the archiepiscopal see, and which had been appropriated by Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, William’s half-brother. William, however, continued to honour his able servant, and during the king’s absence in Normandy, Lanfranc held the office of chief justiciary and vice-regent within the realm, and maintained his independent attitude against all the world, refusing to go to Rome at the summons of the pope. Lanfranc crowned William II., and as long as he lived did much to moderate that monarch’s rapacious attacks on the wealth of the Church. He rebuilt the cathedral which had fallen into ruin, and founded the great monastery of Christ Church. He was the author of a celebrated treatise in refutation of the doctrine of Berengarius of Tours, on the subject of the Real Presence, and was present at the council held in Rome by Leo IX., in which Berengarius was condemned. He lies buried in the nave of his cathedral, but the exact spot is not known.

Anselm (1093-1109) was born at Aosta, and studied under Lanfranc at Bec, when he succeeded him as Prior of the Convent, and subsequently became abbot. He visited England on the invitation of Hugh the Fat, Earl of Chester, and while there was called in by the king and made Archbishop of Canterbury. Rufus had kept the see vacant, and appropriated the revenues of this and many other Church properties, and was only induced by the fear of impending death to appoint Anselm to the see. Anselm was with difficulty persuaded to accept the post, but from that hour posed as the firm champion of the rights of the Church, and the opponent and denouncer of the king’s exactions and the general immorality of the times. He refused to receive his pall at the hands of the king, but eventually agreed to take it himself from the high altar of the cathedral at Canterbury. Though deserted by his bishops he held his own against the king until an accusation of failing in his duty to supply troops for the king’s Welsh expedition drove him into exile and he made his way to Rome, when his learning created much sensation and was enlisted against the errors of the Greek Church on the subject of the procession of the Holy Ghost. On his accession to the throne, Henry I., as part of his reversal of his brother’s ecclesiastical policy recalled Anselm from banishment and filled up the vacant see. But Anselm remained firm on the subject of the rights of the church in the matter of the investiture of the clergy, and refused to consecrate the bishops who had received their investiture from the king, or to do homage or swear fealty to Henry. The king, on his side, was determined to uphold the rights of the crown and the matter was referred to the pope. Anselm had to visit Rome in person, and meeting with but lukewarm support from the pope agreed at last to a compromise, at Bec, in 1106, by which the king surrendered the symbols of the ring and crozier, while retaining his right to the oaths of fealty and homage. Anselm returned to England and spent the last two years of his life in comparative repose: he died at Canterbury, and was buried near Lanfranc, but his remains were afterwards removed to the tower that bears his name. After his death the see was again vacant for five years, and was managed by Ralf, Bishop of Rochester, who was however made archbishop later; he was a disciple of Lanfranc, but as an archbishop was unimportant.

William de Corbeuil (1123-1136) was the first archbishop who received the title of Papal Legate. He crowned King Stephen after solemnly swearing to support the cause of Matilda, and is said to have died of remorse for his conduct in the matter. He completed the restoration of the cathedral and dedicated it with much pomp and display.

Theobald (1139-1161), the next archbishop, had been Abbot of Bec, and was a Benedictine. His importance as archbishop was much overshadowed by Henry of Blois, Bishop of Winchester, and brother of King Stephen. The pope granted him the title of “Legatus natus,” which was retained by his successors until the Reformation. The life of this prelate was one of varying fortunes, and he was twice in exile. He eventually, along with Henry of Blois, took an important part in the final compromise which was effected between the factions of Stephen and Matilda. On his death the see remained vacant for more than a year.

Thomas Becket (1162-1170) was the son of a London merchant, and was educated among the Augustinian canons of Merton, in Surrey. He came under the patronage of Archbishop Theobald whom he accompanied when the latter visited Rome. While still only a deacon Becket received many ecclesiastical bénéfices, including the Archdeaconry of Canterbury. About 1155 he was appointed Chancellor, through the influence of Theobald, and thenceforward, until he became archbishop enjoyed the most intimate friendship and confidence of King Henry II. His magnificence and authority during this period of his career exceeded that of the most powerful nobles, and created much sensation in France whither he was dispatched to demand the hand of the Princess Margaret for the king’s infant son. When offered the Archbishopric of Canterbury he is said to have warned the king that his acceptance of the office would entail his devotion to God and his order in preference to the interests of the king. He was however persuaded to accept the primacy, and after being duly ordained priest was consecrated archbishop by Henry of Blois, the Bishop of Winchester.

From this moment onwards the entire character and attitude of Becket was changed. He gave up his old pomp and magnificence and devoted himself to monastic severity and works of charity: he furthermore insisted on resigning his temporal offices, including that of chancellor, and engaged on his lifelong struggle with the king on the subject of the privileges of the clergy.

Since the separation of the bishops from the secular courts by the Conqueror, a gross system of abuse had arisen under which all persons who could read and write could claim exemption from the jurisdiction of the ordinary secular courts, and insist on being tried only before their own ecclesiastical tribunal. The spiritual courts could inflict no corporal punishment, and the result was that many guilty persons escaped punishment at their hands, and the benefit of clergy came to mean a practical licence to commit crimes. This was naturally in radical opposition to the judicial policy of Henry II., and matters were brought to a climax by the scandalous case of Philip Brois, a murderer, whom Becket rescued from the king’s justice and condemned to a totally inadequate sentence. The king determined to clear the question of all doubt, and to this end drew up the famous constitutions of Clarendon in which the clergy was subjected equally with the laity to the common laws of the land. The archbishop took the oath, but refused to sign the constitution, as he insisted on the immunity of the clergy from all secular jurisdiction. On retiring from the council he sought and obtained absolution from his oath at the hands of the pope Alexander III. who, insecure in his own position, and unable to dispense with the friendship of the King of England, maintained a vacillating attitude in the quarrel between Becket and Henry. The king now began a systematic persecution of the archbishop. He was pressed with various charges, and finally was ordered to account for the moneys which he had received from the vacant See of Canterbury and other ecclesiastical properties in his capacity as Chancellor. There seems small reason to doubt that the charge was an unjust one, and was merely employed by the king as an instrument of offence against his political adversary. The archbishop came before the council in all the pomp and panoply of his office, and bearing his own cross, as he had been deserted by most of his bishops. After an exciting scene he escaped before any definite judgment was pronounced, and took refuge in France, where he was hospitably and honourably received by King Louis VII. Here he continued his struggle with the King of England. Henry seized upon the revenues of the See of Canterbury, and banished all Becket’s kinsmen, dependants, and friends. Becket replied by solemnly denouncing the constitution of Clarendon, and excommunicating all who should enforce them. After further contentions and fruitless negotiations Henry issued a proclamation withdrawing his subjects’ obedience to the archbishop, enforced by an oath from all freemen. This oath many of the bishops refused to take. The pope, under temporary pressure from Becket’s enemies, authorized the Archbishop of York to crown the young prince Henry: and the supremacy of the See of Canterbury over all England, being thus called in question, became thenceforward one of the principal subjects of dispute between Becket and the king. The action of the king was unpopular, and Henry, seeing that he had gone too far, consented to enter on some sort of reconciliation with Becket, who ventured to return to England. In spite of the manifest danger in which he found himself, Becket, on his return to England, continued his high-handed policy, excommunicating the Archbishop of York and others of his enemies. On hearing of this conduct Henry’s fury got the better of him, and his famous exclamation led to the departure of the four knights to Canterbury. They demanded the immediate removal of the excommunication. Becket was hurried into the cathedral by the monks and murdered at the altar.

On his death he was immediately canonized, and many miracles occurred at his tomb. Henry himself was ordered to do penance for his death. The fame of his shrine brought countless pilgrims to Canterbury, which was thus for the first time raised to a position of importance throughout the whole of Europe.

Richard (1174-1184), Prior of Dover, was the next archbishop: he had been present at Becket’s murder and helped to convey his body to the crypt. He was somewhat indifferent to spiritual matters, and was chiefly occupied in supporting the supremacy of the See of Canterbury over that of York, a question which led to at least one scene of unseemly disturbance in which the Archbishop of York nearly lost his life. One result of the quarrel was the conferring of the title of “Primate of England,” and “Primate of all England,” on the Archbishops of York and Canterbury respectively, by the pope.

Baldwin (1185-1190) was the first monk of the Cistercian order who held the See of Canterbury. He came into collision with the Benedictine monks with whom the election to the primacy had always rested, and whom he attempted in vain to deprive of that privilege in favour of a body of canons at Lambeth, which he purchased for the see. He accompanied Richard Coeur de Lion to the Holy Land, and died in camp before Acre.

Reginald Fitz Jocelyn, Bishop of Bath and Wells, was next elected, but died before receiving the pall.

Hubert Walter (1193-1205) was born at West Derham, in Norfolk, and educated by Ranulph de Glanville: he was made Bishop of Salisbury, and accompanied Richard I. to the Holy Land. When archbishop he held the office of Justiciary, but was removed from the latter by a Papal Bull since it compelled him to judge “causes of blood.” He became chancellor, and conducted the duties of his high offices in an admirable manner. The laws enacted under Richard I. are said to have been drawn up by him, and he completed the house of regular canons at Lambeth. He was buried in his own cathedral where his effigy still remains.

After some disputes on the subject of election, the Pope, Innocent III., was appealed to and decided in favour of

Stephen Langton (1207-1228) who was an Englishman of spotless character and profound theological learning: he was consecrated at Peterborough by Innocent III. The “fury of King John knew no bounds,” he drove the monks of Canterbury to Flanders, and refused to allow Langton to set foot in England. The result of this conduct was the publication of the celebrated Interdict, followed soon after by the personal excommunication of the king and the absolution of his subjects from their oath of allegiance by the pope. Philip of France was ordered to depose the English king, whose crown was declared forfeited. Hard pressed by his enemies, and having alienated his people from his cause, King John was driven to humiliating submission: he promised to receive Langton and to restore the Church property, and finally, formally resigned his crown into the hands of Pandulph, the Papal Legate. Archbishop Langton was received with honour, and King John threw himself at his feet and reconciled himself with the Church. He also ordered a great council to meet at St. Alban’s to settle finally the restitution of the church property. Here, however, he was met by an open declaration of the complaints of all classes. Langton, though elevated to the primacy, entirely through the influence of the pope, proved himself a staunch Englishman, and posed as the champion of national liberty against the claims of both pope and king. It was he who produced to the malcontents the Coronation Charter of Henry I., which the barons accepted as a declaration of the views and demands of their party. He was at the head of the barons in their struggle with the king, and his name appears as that of the first witness to the famous Magna Charta. John at once applied to the pope, and obtained from him the abrogation of the charter and a papal order to Langton to excommunicate the king’s enemies. This he refused to do. John overran the country with foreign mercenaries, and his cruelties eventually resulted in the barons summoning Louis of France to their assistance. Langton was summoned to Rome to attend the Lateran Council, and was detained there until the deaths of Innocent III. and King John, after which he was permitted to return to his see and passed the remainder of his life in comparative tranquillity, siding strongly with the national party under Hubert de Burgh. He presided at the translation of Becket’s remains from the crypt to Trinity Chapel; he rebuilt much of the archiepiscopal palace at Canterbury and he lies buried in his own cathedral. He was the first who divided the Bible into chapters.

Richard de Wethershed (1229-1231), Chancellor of Lincoln, was next appointed, but died on his way back from Italy. After three more elections by the monks which were all set aside by the pope, Honorius III., the monks consented to accept

Edmund Rich (1234-1240), treasurer of Salisbury: he was the son of a merchant of Abingdon, and was educated at Oxford University. He had a great reputation for learning and piety. He came into disfavour with the king by his opposition to the marriage of his sister Eleanor to Simon de Montfort. His sympathies were all on the side of the national party: he procured the downfall of Des Roches and maintained the struggle against the foreign favourites and papal exactions for which the reign of Henry III. is notorious. At length he retired to the Cistercian Abbey at Pontigny, which had formerly sheltered Becket and Langton, in despair at the condition of England and of her Church. It was during his time that the great movements of the Dominican and Franciscan friars reached England and though the archbishop never actually joined their ranks, he was doubtless much influenced by their teaching and example, and was himself an itinerant preacher after leaving Oxford. He was canonized six years after his death. He was succeeded by

Boniface of Savoy (1241-1270), one of the king’s uncles, whose violence and warlike bearing made him a strange contrast to his predecessor. His term of office was one long history of papal exactions from the English clergy, and of the tyranny of foreigners, creatures of Henry III., over the rights of the nation. The revenues of the See of Canterbury and the enormous sums wrung from the clergy were squandered on foreign wars, and the archbishop himself resided abroad. Boniface took a leading part in the spoliation of the English Church: he was one of the king’s council at the so-called “Mad Parliament.”

Robert Kilwardby (1273-1278) was nominated by the pope, after a fruitless election of their subprior by the monks. He was a very learned Dominican, educated at Oxford and Paris.

John Peckam (1279-1292) was, like his predecessor, nominated by the pope after an education at Oxford and Paris; he also was a Franciscan. He was at first a staunch supporter of King Edward I., whom he accompanied to Wales. It is to be regretted that he supported the king in his cruelties to the conquered Welsh and in the expulsion of the Jews. He firmly defended the privileges of his see against first, the Archbishop of York, and secondly, the king. It was in his time (1279) that the famous Statute of Mortmain was passed. The exactions of the papacy had been considerably lessened, and the Church was beginning to recover its wealth and national character. Peckam died at Mortlake, and was buried in the transept of the martyrdom at Canterbury, where his tomb and effigy still remain.

Robert Winchelsea (1292-1313) was next nominated, king and clergy being unanimous on this occasion, and at once proceeded to Rome, where he remained some time before returning to England. Meanwhile, Edward I. had demanded the enormous subsidy of one half their annual revenue from the clergy. Winchelsea is said to have been responsible for the celebrated Bull Clericis laicis issued by Boniface VIII. in defence of the property of the Church. On his return home the archbishop continued to lead the clergy in their opposition to the king’s demands, and paid the penalty in the seizure of his whole estate for the king’s use. He retired with a single chaplain to a country parsonage, discharged the humble duties of a priest, and lived on the alms of his flocks. When the war broke out Edward sought to propitiate the clergy by restoring the archbishop to his barony, and summoning him to a parliament at Westminster, where the clergy abandoned their own ground of ecclesiastical immunity from taxation and took shelter under the liberties of the realm, thus identifying themselves with the popular cause in their opposition to the exactions of the king. On his return from Flanders Edward accused Winchelsea of conspiring against him in his absence, and the archbishop was again deprived of all his possessions, and, after many privations, escaped to France.

On the accession of Edward II. he was recalled and restored to his honour, but subsequently became again the centre of revolution, and himself excommunicated the king’s favourite, Gaveston. He nevertheless continued undisturbed in the discharge of his office until his death. During his prosperous years Winchelsea was famous for his charities and liberality. After his death he was regarded as a saint, and his shrine in the south-east transept was removed by the commissioners of Henry VIII. at the same time as that of Saint Thomas a Becket.

Walter Reynolds (1313-1327) was appointed by the pope at the request of the king, who had set aside an election of the monks. He was tutor and subsequently Chancellor to Edward II. After Gaveston’s death he became Keeper of the Great Seal. He obtained many bulls of privilege from Rome. In spite of the favour he had received from Edward II. he deserted him in his troubles. His tomb remains in the south aisle of the choir.

Simon Mepeham (1328-1333) was elected by the monks and consecrated at Avignon. He was opposed in his visitation by Grandisson, the powerful Bishop of Exeter, who refused him admission to his cathedral by force. He was unsupported by the pope, and is said to have died of a broken heart in consequence. His tomb forms the screen of St. Anselm’s Chapel.

John Stratford (1333-1348) was appointed by the pope at the request of Edward III. He was educated at Merton College, Oxford, and became Archdeacon of Lincoln and Bishop of Winchester. He was made Lord Treasurer by Edward II., to whose cause he remained faithful during the short-lived triumph of Isabella and the desertion of the archbishop. Edward III. made him Lord Chancellor, in which office he was succeeded by his own brother, Robert. Stratford had endeavoured to dissuade the king from entering on the French war, and the king, hard pressed for money, had the archbishop arraigned for high treason. Stratford fled from Lambeth to Canterbury, where he excommunicated his accusers. He subsequently returned to London and sheltered himself, not under his ecclesiastical immunity, but under his privileges of parliament as a member of the House of Peers, a significant landmark in the history of the English Church. The quarrel between the king and the archbishop was amicably settled.

Stratford held exalted opinions on the subject of clerical superiority, and his arraignment, without the support of the pope, was a decisive blow against the power of the Church. In his time, also, a layman was for the first time appointed to the office of Chancellor, and Edward III. wrote a letter to the pope protesting against the frequent papal nominations to vacant English sees, which was followed up by the Statute of Provisors in 1350. Stratford died at Mayfield in Sussex, and was buried in his own cathedral, where his monument still remains.

Thomas Bradwardine (1349) was consecrated after election by the monks of Christ Church after the death of John Ufford, the king’s nominee, who died of the Black Death before consecration. Bradwardine had been the king’s confessor. He was educated at Merton College, and was one of the best geometers of his time, besides being the author of an important tract against Pelagianism.

Simon Islip (1349-1366), the king’s secretary, built most of the palace at Mayfield, and completed that at Maidstone. He founded and endowed Canterbury Hall, now forming one of the quadrangles of Christ Church, Oxford, in which he endeavoured to bring together the monastic and secular priests.

Simon Langham (1366-1368) had been Bishop of Ely, Treasurer of England, and Lord Chancellor, and also Prior and Abbot of Westminster. On being appointed a cardinal by the Pope Urban V., he resigned his archbishopric, the temporal powers and revenues of which had been seized by the king, and died at Avignon.

William Whittlesea (1368-1374), a nephew of Islip, was translated from Worcester.

Simon of Sudbury (1375-1381) was Chancellor of Salisbury and Bishop of London, whence he was transferred to Canterbury. As chancellor he proposed the famous poll tax, which supplied the motive for Wat Tyler’s rebellion, and, as archbishop, caused to be imprisoned the priest, John Ball. He was captured in the tower, and beheaded during Wat Tyler’s rebellion; his body was eventually removed to Canterbury, and buried in the south aisle of the choir. He built the west gate at Canterbury, and a great part of the city walls.

William Courtenay (1381-1396) was, like his predecessor, translated from the See of London. In a synod he condemned twenty-four articles in the writing of Wycliffe, who was unjustly held responsible for the recent rebellion. Much persecution of Wycliffe’s followers ensued. Courtenay succeeded in establishing his right to visit his province, although opposed by the Bishops of Exeter and Salisbury. His monument adjoins that of the Black Prince.

Thomas Arundel (1396-1414) was translated from the See of York. He was involved in the conspiracy for which his brother, the Earl of Arundel, was executed, and was himself exiled. He was restored after Bolingbroke’s success, and received the abdication of Richard II. In 1400 the statute De haeretico comburendo was enacted, and Arundel began to put it in force against the Lollards. He condemned Sawtree, the first English Protestant martyr, to be burnt, and took a prominent part in the attack upon Sir John Oldcastle. In the parliament of 1407 he defended the clergy against the attempts of the Commons to shift the burden of taxation upon the wealth of the Church.

Henry Chichele (1414-1443) was educated at New College, Oxford. He became successively Archdeacon of Dorset and of Salisbury, and Bishop of St. David’s. He supported Henry V. in his unjust claim to the crown of France, and promised large subsidies from the Church for its support. There is no doubt that this was a successful attempt at diverting the popular attention from threatened attempts on the wealth of the Church. He was reproached by the Pope Martin V. with lack of zeal in the interests of the papacy in not procuring the reversal of the statutes of provisors and of praemunire by which, amongst others, the papal power was held in check in England. Among his foundations are the colleges of St. Bernard (afterwards St. John’s), and All Souls, at Oxford, and a library at Canterbury for the monks of Christ Church. In his old age he was stricken with remorse for his sin in instigating the French war, and applied to the pope for permission to resign his see. Before a reply was received the archbishop died, after holding the see for nearly thirty years, a longer time than any of his predecessors. His tomb, constructed by himself during his lifetime, is in the north aisle of the choir, and is kept in repair by the Fellows of All Souls.

John Stafford (1443-1452), Bishop of Bath and Wells, was nominated by the pope with the king’s consent on the recommendation of Chichele. He also held the office of chancellor for ten years, but was undistinguished in either office. He lies in the south aisle of the choir.

John Kemp (1452-1454), Archbishop of York, succeeded. He was educated at Merton College, and was Archdeacon of Durham and Bishop of Rochester, Chichester, and London. He died at an advanced age, after a very brief primacy, and was buried in the north choir aisle.

Thomas Bourchier (1454-1486), Bishop of Ely, was next elected by the monks. He was a great-grandson of Edward III. He was educated at Oxford, of which university he became chancellor; he subsequently held the sees of Worcester and Ely. His lot fell upon difficult times, and he endeavoured to maintain a position of neutrality in the struggle between the two Roses, and at last effected their union by performing the marriage of Henry VII. with Elizabeth of York. He died soon after, and his tomb remains at Canterbury. He was bishop for fifty-one years, out of which he held the primacy for thirty-two years. He actively encouraged education, and helped to introduce printing into this country.

John Morton (1486-1500) was, like his predecessor, translated from Ely. He was educated at Balliol College. Richard of Gloucester, after making vain overtures to him, removed him from his office and committed him to the Tower, and afterwards to Brecknock Castle, whence he escaped and joined the Earl of Richmond on the Continent. After Bosworth he was recalled, and on Bourchier’s death was made archbishop. In 1493 he obtained a cardinal’s hat. In 1487 he was made Lord Chancellor, and continued for thirteen years, until his death, in this office and in the confidence of the king, whom he assisted in his system for controlling the great feudal barons and in the exaction of “benevolence.” His famous dilemma propounded to the merchants was known as “Morton’s fork.” It was he who prevailed upon the Pope to canonize Archbishop Anselm. His tomb, constructed during his lifetime, may be seen in the crypt of his cathedral.

Henry Dean (1501-1503) was translated from Salisbury; he held the Great Seal, with the title of Lord Keeper, after the death of Morton.

William Warham (1503-1532) was born of a good Hampshire family, and educated at Winchester and New College. He was sent to Burgundy on a mission to protest against the support of Perkin Warbeck by the Duchess Margaret. He held the offices of Lord Keeper, Lord Chancellor, Master of the Rolls, and Bishop of London. He crowned King Henry VIII., and protested from the first against his marriage with Catherine. He was a great rival of Wolsey, and retired from the court until the fall of the cardinal. In the disputes of the time he embraced the side of the old religion, and gave some countenance to Elizabeth Barton, the Nun of Kent. The last part of his life was devoted to the cares of his diocese and to letters, which he cultivated diligently. He was a personal friend of Erasmus, whom he induced to visit England. His tomb remains in the Transept of the Martyrdom.

Thomas Cranmer (1533-1556) may be considered the first Protestant archbishop. From the first he would only accept the archbishopric as coming from the king without intervention of the pope. He was born of a good family in Nottinghamshire, and was educated at Cambridge, where he became fellow of Jesus. He was first brought to the king’s notice by his suggestion that the question of Catherine’s divorce might be settled without reference to the pope. The king set him to write on the subject, and he was rewarded with the Archdeaconry of Taunton. In 1530 he accompanied the Earl of Wiltshire to the papal court, and was there offered preferment by the pope. He married the niece of Osiander, who had himself written on the subject of the divorce. On Warham’s death he succeeded him in the primacy, and returned to England. As archbishop, Cranmer pronounced the divorce against Catherine and crowned Anne Boleyn, and was sponsor to the Princess Elizabeth, whom he baptized. After Anne Boleyn’s trial he pronounced her marriage void, and acted as her confessor in the Tower. Throughout his primacy Cranmer actively supported the reforming party. In 1539 he was one of the commissioners for inspecting into the matter of religion. In 1545 he was accused of heresy by the opposite party led by Gardiner, and would have fallen but for the support of the king, who befriended Cranmer throughout his life, and sent for him to attend his death-bed. Great changes had occurred at Canterbury. Becket’s shrine had been destroyed, and a dean and twelve canons were established in place of the old monastery of Christ Church, which was dissolved. Under Henry’s will Cranmer was appointed one of the Regents of the Kingdom and Executors of the Will, and it was he who crowned Edward VI. who, like Elizabeth, was his godchild. Throughout the reign of Edward, Cranmer earnestly supported the cause of the Reformation. The Six Articles were repealed and the first Book of Common Prayer was issued. On the death-bed of Edward, Cranmer signed the king’s will, in which he appointed Lady Jane Grey his successor. On the accession of Queen Mary he was at once ordered to appear before the council and within a month was committed to the Tower. In November, 1553, he was pronounced guilty of high treason, but was pardoned on this count, and it was decided to proceed against him as a heretic. In 1554 he was sent to Oxford, with Latimer and Ridley, where he remained two years in prison and was condemned as a heretic by two successive commissions. After the death of Latimer and Ridley, Cranmer was degraded and deprived. It was after this that, in the hopes of saving his life, he made his famous recantation. He was brought into St. Mary’s, and in his address to the people withdrew his recantation and declared that his right hand which had signed it should be the first to burn. He was hurried to the place of execution opposite Balliol College, and, when the pyre was lighted, held his right hand in the flames till it was consumed, and died, calling on the Lord Jesus to receive his spirit.

Reginald Pole (1556-1558) a near connection of Henry VIII. then succeeded. He was born in Worcestershire and was educated by the Carthusians at Shene and at Magdalen College, Oxford. He was early advanced to the Deanery of Exeter and other preferments. On leaving Oxford he visited the universities of France and Italy and returned to England in 1525. Henry attempted in vain to secure Pole’s support on the divorce question, and on the appearance of his book, “Pro Unitate Ecclesiastica,” he was sent for by the king, and when he refused to come, an act of attainder was passed against him. In 1537 Pole was induced to accept a cardinal’s hat. It is said that he was most unwilling to do so on the ground that he contemplated marrying the Princess Mary and seating himself on the English throne. He took an active part in promoting the Pilgrimage of Grace and the second rising in 1541. He remained in Italy until the death of Edward VI. On the accession of Mary he returned to England as papal legate after the question of his marriage with Mary had been again discussed and set aside through the influence of the Emperor Charles V. On Cranmer’s execution Pole was consecrated Archbishop of Canterbury. As legate he absolved the Parliament and made a solemn entry into London. For the next three years Pole was in sole management of the ecclesiastical affairs of England, and was consenting to the persécutions which disgraced the reign of Mary. He was at one time deprived of his legatine authority by Pope Paul IV. who had wished for the elevation of Gardiner to the primacy. The archbishop submitted to the pope and was again appointed legate shortly before his death which occurred about the same time as that of Mary. He was buried in the corona at Canterbury, where his tomb yet remains. He was the last Archbishop of Canterbury to be buried in his own cathedral, until the recent interment of Dr. Benson.

Matthew Parker (1559-1575) was born of an old Norfolk family and educated at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. Wolsey invited him to become a fellow of Christ Church, his new foundation at Oxford, but this he declined. After various other offices he was appointed to the Deanery of Lincoln by Edward VI. On the accession of Mary he was deprived of all his offices as a married priest, and lived privately until the accession of Elizabeth, who made him archbishop. He was duly elected by the new Chapter of Canterbury, and held his post during a most difficult time with marvellous tact and judgment. Religious toleration for its own sake was an idea yet unknown, but Parker directed that great caution should be observed in administering the oath of supremacy to those of the clergy who still favoured the old religion. It is much to his credit that he managed to preserve such good relations with the queen in face of Elizabeth’s prejudice against the marriage of the clergy. He was an enlightened patron of learning, and did much to encourage all branches of art.

Edmund Grindall (1576-1583) was born at St. Bees and educated at Cambridge, where he became Master of Pembroke Hall. He was Chaplain to Edward VI. During the troubles of Mary’s reign he lived in Germany, and on Elizabeth’s accession became the first Protestant Bishop of London. Thence he was removed to York and in 1575 was appointed as archbishop. He was inclined to view the Puritans with more leniency than his predecessor and always refused to forbid the prophesyings, or meetings of the clergy for discussing the meaning of scripture, which Elizabeth disliked so much, and was in consequence deprived of his jurisdiction. He went blind before his death and was buried at Croydon.

John Whitgift (1583-1604) was born at Great Grimsby and educated at Cambridge, where John Bradford was his tutor: he became one of Elizabeth’s chaplains and Master of Pembroke Hall and of Trinity. He wrote an answer to Cartwright’s “Admonition” and was preferred to the Deanery of Lincoln and Bishopric of Worcester. After Grindall’s death he was translated to Canterbury. From this date his severity towards the Puritans increased. He insisted that every minister of the Church should subscribe to three points: the queen’s supremacy, the Common Prayer, and the Thirty-nine Articles, and enforced his principle with much vigour, contrary to the advice of the more enlightened Lord Burleigh. The severity of these measures called into existence the “Martin Marprelate” libels and produced much dissatisfaction and suffering among the more Puritanical clergy, which was by no means lessened by the accession of James, who, on his way to London rejected a petition signed by more than one thousand Puritan ministers. Whitgift was buried at Croydon where he founded a school and hospital.

Richard Bancroft (1604-1610) was born near Manchester and educated at Jesus College, Oxford. He became one of Elizabeth’s chaplains, and Bishop of London, whence he was translated to Canterbury. He was even more severe than his predecessor against the Puritans, and was a most stern champion of conformity. He advocated the king’s absolute power beyond the law and attempted to establish episcopacy in Scotland. He died at Lambeth and was buried in the parish church there.

George Abbot (1610-1633) was born at Guildford and educated at Balliol College. He assisted in establishing union between the Scotch and English Churches and was rewarded with the Bishopric of Lichfield and Coventry. Thence he was translated to London, and on the death of Bancroft was appointed to the primacy. In contrast to his predecessor he connived at some irregularities of discipline in the Puritanical clergy. At the same time he was a zealous Calvinist and hater of popery, and disapproved of those who preached up the arbitrary power of the king. These latter views rendered him unpopular with the courtiers and the party of Laud. The accidental death of a keeper at the hands of the archbishop was utilized against him by his enemies and he was with difficulty restored to his archiepiscopal functions. On refusing to licence a sermon by Dr. Sibthorpe, asserting the king’s right to tax his subjects without their consent, he was obliged to retire to his palace of Ford, near Canterbury. He assisted at the coronation of Charles I., but never managed to win the favour of that monarch. He died at Croydon, and was buried at Guildford, where his tomb and effigy still remain.

William Laud (1633-1645) was born at Reading, and educated at St. John’s College, Oxford. At the university he soon became conspicuous for his hatred of the Puritans and his devotion to High Church doctrines. He became President of St. John’s in spite of the opposition of Archbishop Abbot. He became successively one of the royal chaplains, Dean of Gloucester, Bishop of St. David’s, Bath and Wells, and London. He acted as Dean of Westminster at Charles I.’s coronation. He was made Dean of the Chapel Royal, Chancellor of Oxford, and a Privy Councillor of Scotland. On Abbot’s death he was elevated to the primacy, and is said to have refused the offer of a cardinal’s hat. As archbishop he was responsible for the general Church persecution which produced his own unpopularity and downfall, and was one of the main causes of the Civil War. Prosecutions for non-conformity were enforced with the utmost severity. The courts of Star Chamber and High Commission were brought to bear on the Puritans, and Laud became universally detested. The superiority of the king over the law was openly preached, and the Irish and Scotch Puritans were alienated by the severity of the measures taken against them. On the common idea of popular government, the Puritans were driven into coalition and identification with the national party, while the king, court, bishops, and judges represented the High Church movement and the doctrine of the king’s absolute authority. In 1639 the palace at Lambeth was attacked, but the archbishop was removed to Whitehall and escaped for the time. In 1640, however, he was impeached for high treason, and confined in the Tower. Various charges were brought against him and fines inflicted, and his property was seized and sold or destroyed for the use of the commonwealth. The charge of high treason could not be legally established, and a bill of attainder was passed against him in 1645. He was eventually beheaded on Tower Hill, at the age of seventy-one years; his remains were interred at Barking, but subsequently removed to the chapel of St. John’s College at Oxford. His conduct has been differently judged by his friends and enemies. He built the greater part of the inner quadrangle of St. John’s, and presented a large collection of important manuscripts to the university. In his time the archiepiscopal palace at Canterbury was ruined by the Puritans, and on the Restoration an Act was passed dispensing the archbishops from restoring it. From this time they have had no official residence in Canterbury.

William Juxon (1660-1663) was born at Chichester, and educated, like his predecessor, at St. John’s College, Oxford, where he attracted the attention of Laud. He became successively President of St. John’s, Dean of Worcester, Bishop of Hereford, and Bishop of London. He also became Lord Treasurer, a post which had been held by no churchman since the days of Henry VII., and was the last instance of any of the great offices of State being filled by an ecclesiastic. He attended Charles I. on the occasion of his execution. On the Restoration he became Archbishop of Canterbury, and died three years afterwards. He lies in the chapel of St. John’s College.

Gilbert Sheldon (1663-1677) was educated at Oxford, and became Fellow and Warden of All Souls’ College. He was a strong supporter of the king during the Civil War. He was deprived of his wardenship and imprisoned by the Parliamentarian commissioners when they visited Oxford. He retired to Derbyshire until the Restoration, when he was restored to his wardenship; he was made Dean of the Chapel Royal, and succeeded Juxon in the See of London. In 1661 he assisted at the discussion of the liturgy between the Presbyterian and Episcopal divines known as the Savoy Conference. In 1663 he succeeded Juxon in the primacy, and in 1667 was elected Chancellor of Oxford. He built the Sheldonian Theatre at Oxford, which building is an early work of Sir Christopher Wren’s. He offended the court party by his open disapproval of the king’s morals, and retired in 1669 to his palace at Croydon, where he spent most of the remainder of his life. He was buried at the parish church at Croydon, where his tomb and effigy still remain.

William Sancroft (1678-1691) was born at Fresingfield, in Suffolk, and educated at St. Edmundsbury and at Cambridge, where he became Fellow of Emmanuel College. He was deprived of his fellowship in 1649, and retired to the Continent, where he remained until the restoration of Charles II. He then returned to England, and subsequently became Master of Emmanuel College, and Dean of York, and of St. Paul’s, and Archdeacon of Canterbury, and was raised to the primacy by Charles II., whose death-bed he attended. In the reign of James he was at the head of the seven bishops who presented the famous petition against the Declaration of Indulgence, for which they were committed to the Tower, tried, and acquitted amidst immense popular excitement. After James’s flight, Sancroft acted as the head of the council of peers who took upon themselves the administration of the government of the country. His plan was to retain James nominally on the throne, while placing the reins of government in the hands of a regent. He refused to take the oath of allegiance to William and Mary, considering himself bound by his former oath to James II. He was accordingly suspended and deprived, and when ejected by law from Lambeth he retired to his small ancestral property at Fresingfield, where he died and was buried.

John Tillotson (1691-1694) was born of Puritan parents at Sowerby, in Yorkshire, and was educated at Cambridge. During the Protectorate he had followed the teachings of the Presbyterians, but on the Restoration he submitted to the Act of Uniformity. He held among other posts those of Preacher at Lincoln’s Inn and Dean of Canterbury, and enjoyed the intimate confidence of William and Mary. On the deprivation of Sancroft he was reluctantly induced to accept the primacy, which he was destined to hold only for some three years. He died at Lambeth after this short term of office, and was buried in the Church of St. Lawrence, Jewry. As a theologian Tillotson was remarkable for his latitudinarianism, and he was one of the finest preachers who have ever lived.

Thomas Tenison was born at Cottenham, in Cambridgeshire, and educated at Cambridge. His fame as a preacher procured him the Archdeaconry of London and the Bishopric of Lincoln, in which diocese he did admirable work. He died at Lambeth, and lies buried in the parish church there.

William Wake (1716-1737) was educated at Christ Church, Oxford, and became Dean of Exeter and Bishop of Lincoln. He was gifted with great learning, and took an active part in the controversy with Atterbury on the subject of the rights of convocation.

John Potter (1737-1747) was the son of a linendraper at Wakefield, in Yorkshire, and was educated at University College, Oxford, becoming Fellow of Lincoln and afterwards Bishop of Oxford. He was a learned divine and writer. Like his predecessor he was buried in the parish church at Croydon.

Thomas Herring (1747-1757) and

Matthew Hutton (1757-1758) were both translated to Canterbury from York.

Thomas Secker (1758-1768) was born of dissenting parents near Newark. At the instance of Butler, afterwards the famous Bishop of Durham, he joined the Church of England and abandoned the study of medicine, and took holy orders. He held many posts in succession, including the Bishoprics of Bristol and Oxford. He died and was buried at Lambeth, where his portrait, by Sir Joshua Reynolds, still remains.

Frederick Cornwallis (1768-1783) was the seventh son of Charles, 4th Lord Cornwallis. He was consecrated Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry in 1750, and in 1766 became Dean of St. Paul’s. On October 6th, 1768, he was enthroned Archbishop of Canterbury. In Hasted’s “Kent” we find him commended highly for having abolished that “disagreeable distinction of his chaplains dining at a separate table.” More renowned for his affability and courteous behaviour than for learning, he entertained at times with semi-regal state; but once fell into some disfavour because “his lady was in the habit of holding routs on Sundays.”

John Moore (1783-1805) became Dean of Canterbury in 1771. He was consecrated Bishop of Bangor in 1775, and thence translated to the archiepiscopal see in 1783. Although a promoter of Sunday-schools and foreign missions, he did not escape reproach for paying undue regard to the interests of his family. It has been well said that during his tenure of office and that of his immediate successor, the sinécures and pluralities held by the highest clergy were worthy of the mediaeval period.

Charles Manners-Sutton (1805-1828) was grandson of John, 3rd Duke of Rutland. In 1791 he was made Dean of Peterborough, and Bishop of Norwich in 1792. In 1794 he was appointed Dean of Windsor, and became Archbishop of Canterbury in 1805 owing to Court influence, which outweighed the hostility of Pitt, who wished to appoint his own nominee. As a prelate he was distinguished for many virtues and qualities befitting his office. He was president at the foundation of the National Society, and worked strenuously to advance the cause of education which it represents. While he held the primacy a fund which had been accumulated from the sale of Croydon Palace was applied to the purchase of Addington, where he lies buried.

William Howley (1828-1848) was tutor to the Prince of Orange (afterwards William II. of Holland) then successively Regius Professor of Divinity of Oxford, Bishop of London, 1813, and archbishop, 1823. He played a prominent part in politics and state cérémonials and marked the transition between the new regime, and the old princely days of the archbishoprics.

John Bird Sumner (1848-1862) was brother of Dr. C. Sumner, Bishop of Winchester. In 1823 he was appointed Bishop of Chester, and in 1848 was promoted to the See of Canterbury. He published a large number of works, and by his activity and simplicity of life is remembered everywhere as realizing that ideal of the Apostolic ministry which he had traced in his earliest and most popular work."

Charles Thomas Longley (1862-1868) was the son of a Recorder of Rochester. In 1836 he was consecrated the first bishop of the newly founded See of Ripon, translated to Durham in 1856, became Archbishop of York in 1860, and in 1862 was transferred to Canterbury. Perhaps the most memorable incidents in a memorable career are the Pan-Anglican Synod held at Lambeth in 1867, and his establishment of the Diocesan Society for Church Building.

Archibald Campbell Tait (1868-1882) was son of Craufurd Tait, Esq., a Scots attorney. He succeeded Arnold as Master of Rugby in 1842, and became Dean of Carlisle in 1850. He presided over the Pan-Anglican Synod in 1867, and in 1868 succeeded to the archbishopric. “Memorials of Catherine and Craufurd Tait” is a book so well known that even the barest sketch of his career here would be superfluous.

Edward White Benson (1882-1896), son of Edward White Benson, Esq., of Birmingham Heath, was a master of Rugby. He was Head Master of Wellington from 1858 to 1872, Prebendary and Chancellor of Lincoln in 1872, was consecrated the first bishop of the newly created See of Truro in 1877, and translated to Canterbury in 1883. He was buried in the Cathedral on October 16th, 1896, in a secluded corner of the north aisle, immediately under the north-west tower, the first archbishop who was interred in the cathedral of the metropolitan see since Reginald Pole in 1558.

Frederick Temple (1896- ), the present archbishop, is son of the late Major Octavius Temple. He was Head Master of Rugby, 1858 to 1869, consecrated the sixty-first Bishop of Exeter in 1869, translated to London in 1885, and to Canterbury in 1896. His share in the famous “Essays and Reviews,” and the many active works he has instituted, are too well known to need comment.