William James (bishop)
William James (1542 – 12 May 1617) was an English academic and bishop.
William James | |
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Bishop of Durham | |
Diocese | Diocese of Durham |
In office | September 1606 (conf.) – 1617 (died) |
Predecessor | Tobias Matthew |
Successor | Richard Neile |
Other posts | Master of University College, Oxford (1572–1584) Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University (1581–1582 & 1590–1592) Dean of Christ Church (2 September 1584–1596) Dean of Durham (5 June 1596 {installed} – 1606) |
Personal details | |
Born | 2090 Sandbach, Cheshire, England |
Died | Durham, County Durham, England | 12 May 1617 (aged 74–75)
Buried | Durham Cathedral |
Nationality | English |
Denomination | Anglican |
Parents | John James & Ellen Bolte |
Spouse | 1. Katherine (née Risby) 2. unknown person 3. Isabel (Atkinson née Rilley) |
Children | at least 2 (a son, Francis, and a daughter who married a Ferdinand Morecroft) |
Profession | academic |
Alma mater | Christ Church, Oxford |
Ordination history of William James | |||||||
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Life
William James graduated with an MA degree at Christ Church, Oxford in 1565.[1] He was Master of University College, Oxford in 1572, and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford in 1581, and again in 1590. He became Dean of Christ Church in 1584.[2]
James became Dean of Durham in 1596, where he was a witness to the decay of agriculture in northeast England.[3][4] He was Bishop of Durham from 1606.[2]
In early 1611, James had custody of Arbella Stuart, with the intention of the King to take her north to Durham. In the event, Arbella was moved from Lambeth to be confined at Barnet, while the bishop travelled north leaving Sir James Croft in charge, and for health reasons did not follow, being moved to East Barnet.[5] When Arbella and her husband William Seymour, 2nd Duke of Somerset (who was in the Tower of London) made simultaneous but badly coordinated escapes on 3 June 1611, she simply walked free.[6]
References
- Alumni Oxonienses 1500-1714, Jablonski-Juxston
- Tillbrook, Michael (September 2004). James, William (1542–1617). Oxford University Press. Online edition, January 2008.
- "Deans of Durham". British History Online]. London: Institute of Historical Research. 2004. pp. 77–81. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
- Richard L. Graves, Society and Religion in Elizabethan England (1981), page 638.
- Sarah Gristwood, Arbella: England's Lost Queen (2003), pp. 359–368.
- Gristwood, pp. 370–371.
Academic offices | ||
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Preceded by Thomas Caius |
Master of University College, Oxford 1572–1584 |
Succeeded by Anthony Gate |
Preceded by Tobias Matthew |
Dean of Christ Church, Oxford 1584–1596 |
Succeeded by Thomas Ravis |
Preceded by Arthur Yeldard |
Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University 1581–1582 |
Succeeded by Robert Hovenden |
Preceded by Nicholas Bond |
Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University 1590–1592 |
Succeeded by Nicholas Bond |
Church of England titles | ||
Preceded by Tobias Matthew |
Bishop of Durham 1606–1617 |
Succeeded by Richard Neile |