Edward Leeds (died 1589), was an English clergyman who became Master of

Clare College, Cambridge Clare College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the University after Peterhouse. It was refounded ...

. Leeds, the second son of William Leeds, by Elizabeth Vinall, was born in Benenden,

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

. He was educated at

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

, graduated B.A. 1542-3, proceeded M.A. 1545, and in 1569 was created LL.D. The date of his first degree sufficiently disproves the statement that he was a monk of

Ely Ely or ELY may refer to: Places Ireland * Éile, a medieval kingdom commonly anglicised Ely * Ely Place, Dublin, a street United Kingdom * Ely, Cambridgeshire, a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, England ** Ely Cathedral Ely Cathedral, formal ...

. On 20 June 1548 Bishop Goodrich collated him to the rectory of

Little Gransden Little Gransden is a civil parish and village in South Cambridgeshire, England. In 2001 the population was 262 people, including Waresley and increasing to 296 at the 2011 Census. It is 11 miles (18 km) from Cambridge, on the border with ...

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...

, and in the same year he became prebendary of Ely. In 1550 he was commissary and vicar-general to the bishop, and was engaged in destroying altars and other things deemed superstitious in the diocese. In 1551 he was made rector of Newton, Ely, and served the chapelry of St Mary-by-the-Sea; and on 12 February 1551-2 he obtained the rectory of

Elm Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the flowering plant genus ''Ulmus'' in the plant family Ulmaceae. They are distributed over most of the Northern Hemisphere, inhabiting the temperate and tropical-montane regions of North ...

in the Isle of Ely-cum- Emneth,

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

. He was also chancellor to Bishop Goodrich. In 1553 he resigned Little Gransden and Newton. When Bishop Goodrich died in 1554 Leeds was one of his executors. Probably he lost his prebend during Mary's reign. On 28 February 1558-9 he was appointed to the eighth stall in

Ely Cathedral Ely Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, is an Anglican cathedral in the city of Ely, Cambridgeshire, England. The cathedral has its origins in AD 672 when St Etheldreda built an abbey church. The presen ...

. About the same time he was requested by William Cecil to join with Pory and

Matthew Parker Matthew Parker (6 August 1504 – 17 May 1575) was an English bishop. He was the Archbishop of Canterbury in the Church of England from 1559 until his death in 1575. He was also an influential theologian and arguably the co-founder (with a p ...

in settling a dispute between the president and fellows of

Queens' College, Cambridge Queens' College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the oldest colleges of the university, founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. The college spans the River Cam, colloquially referred to as the "light s ...

. In 1559 he was one of Parker's chaplains, and at Parker's appointment to the archbishopric his name was appended to an opinion by certain civilians, added to what was known as the supplentes clause of the letters patent, affirming the validity of the confirmation and consecration. At various times he visited the dioceses of Canterbury, Rochester, Peterborough, and Ely. In 1560 he became an advocate of Doctors' Commons, and afterwards was made a master in chancery. In 1560 also he became precentor of Canterbury and master of

Clare Hall, Cambridge Clare Hall is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. Founded in 1966 by Clare College, Clare Hall is a college for advanced study, admitting only postgraduate students alongside postdoctoral researchers and fellows. It ...

. On 20 June 1560 he was made precentor of Lichfield, but he resigned this appointment before 16 May in the following year. He also appears to have been rector of Cottenham,

Snailwell Snailwell is a small village and civil parish in East Cambridgeshire, England around north of Newmarket. History The parish of Snailwell covers an area of in the extension of eastern Cambridgeshire that surrounds the town of Newmarket in Suff ...

, and

Littleport Littleport is a large village in East Cambridgeshire, in the Isle of Ely, Cambridgeshire, England. It lies about north-east of Ely and south-east of Welney, on the Bedford Level South section of the River Great Ouse, close to Burnt Fen and ...

in Cambridgeshire, and master of St John's Hospital, Ely. Parker employed him with Dr Perne in 1568 to compose the differences which had arisen in Corpus Christi College. In 1570, Leeds, who had probably acquired a fortune by his practice in Doctors' Commons, purchased from Sir Richard Sackville the manor of Croxton in

. He rebuilt the manor-house, and in 1571 ceased to be master of Clare. On 14 July 1573 he became rector of Croxton. In 1580 he resigned his prebend at Ely. He died 17 February 1589, and was buried at Croxton, where a little figure of him in brass was placed in the church with an epitaph. He founded ten scholarships at Clare, and gave one thousand marks towards the building of Emmanuel College.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leeds, Edward Year of birth missing 1590 deaths People from Benenden 16th-century English Anglican priests Alumni of the University of Cambridge English Christian religious leaders Masters of Clare College, Cambridge