Edward Hawford D.D. (died 1582) was an English churchman and academic, Master of

Christ's College, Cambridge Christ's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college includes the Master, the Fellows of the College, and about 450 undergraduate and 170 graduate students. The college was founded by William Byngham in 1437 as ...

from 1559. While Hawford was a somewhat conservative and administrative-minded academic politician head of house, no friend of religious enthusiasm and suspected of covert Catholicism. Christ's became a

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Catholic Church, Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become m ...

centre under his mastership.

Life

Edward Hawford illustrationsofm00camb 0198

He was son of Thomas Hawford and his wife Margaret Wade of

Clipston, Northamptonshire Clipston is a village and civil parish that is administered as part of West Northamptonshire in England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 643. The town of Market Harborough is much nearer, about north-east and so the v ...

. He was a student of

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's full name is The College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and the glorious Virgin Saint Radegund, near Cambridge. Its common name comes fr ...

, graduated B.A. in 1543, was elected fellow of Christ's College, and commenced M.A. in 1545. Hawford was proctor in 1552. In 1553 he became rector of

Glemsford Glemsford is a village in the Babergh district in Suffolk, England, near the town of Sudbury. Glemsford is located near the River Glem and the River Stour also flows nearby. Glemsford is surrounded by arable farmland and is not far from his ...

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

. On 12 June 1554 he was instituted rector of two-thirds of the rectory of Clipston, and subscribed the Roman Catholic articles in 1555. He was elected master of Christ's College in 1559, and on 14 February 1561 was collated to a prebend in

Chester Cathedral Chester Cathedral is a Church of England cathedral and the mother church of the Diocese of Chester. It is located in the city of Chester, Cheshire, England. The cathedral, formerly the abbey church of a Benedictine monastery dedicated to Sain ...

. In 1563 Hawford was made vice-chancellor of the university, and, having taken the degree of D.D. in 1564, was still in office when Queen Elizabeth visited Cambridge on 5 August Hawford did his share in receiving her, and took part in the divinity act held in her presence. The dean and chapter of

Norwich Cathedral Norwich Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Norwich, Norfolk, dedicated to the Holy and Undivided Trinity. It is the cathedral church for the Church of England Diocese of Norwich and is one of the Norwich 12 heritage sites. The cathedral ...

sent him £100 in 1569 as an acknowledgment of the help which he had given them in the matter of their charter, and he bestowed the money on his college. He also made an addition to the college garden. He was one of the heads mainly responsible for the new university statutes drawn up in 1570: they displeased the Puritan party at Cambridge, who decried their supporters, and Hawford was accused of having dragged his feet in removing Catholic books and vestments from his college. On 11 December he was one of the assessors of the vice-chancellor in the proceedings against Thomas Cartwright. Hawford was appointed one of the visitors of St John's College and helped to revise its statutes in 1575–6. The majority of the fellows of Christ's College were unhappy at his ejection of the Puritan

Hugh Broughton Hugh Broughton (1549 – 4 August 1612) was an English scholar and theologian. Early life He was born at Owlbury, Bishop's Castle, Shropshire. He called himself a Cambrian, implying Welsh blood in his veins. He was educated by Bernard Gilpin ...

from his fellowship in 1579, and wrote to the chancellor and to

Sir Walter Mildmay Sir Walter Mildmay (bef. 1523 – 31 May 1589) was a statesman who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer to Queen Elizabeth I, and founded Emmanuel College, Cambridge. Origins He was born at Moulsham in Essex, the fourth and youngest son of Tho ...

against his action. Hawford refused to give way, but his decision was reversed in 1581. Hawford died on 14 February 1582, as is stated on the brass placed to his memory in the college chapel. He left money to the college in his will.

Notes

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Hawford, Edward Year of birth missing 1582 deaths 16th-century English Anglican priests 16th-century English Roman Catholic priests Masters of Christ's College, Cambridge Vice-Chancellors of the University of Cambridge Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge