George Meriton (or Meryton) (died 1624) was an English churchman,

Dean of Peterborough The Dean of Peterborough is the head of the chapter at Peterborough Cathedral. On the Dissolution of Peterborough Abbey in 1539 and the abbey-church's refoundation as a cathedral for the new bishop and diocese of Peterborough, care for the abbey ...

in 1612 and

Dean of York Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

in 1617.

Life

He was born in

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

, probably at

Braughing Braughing is a village and civil parish, between the rivers Quin and Rib, in the non-metropolitan district of East Hertfordshire, part of the English county of Hertfordshire. Braughing gave its name to a county division in Hertfordshire, known ...

. His father was a tenant of

Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk, (24 August 156128 May 1626) of Audley End House in the parish of Saffron Walden in Essex, and of Suffolk House near Westminster, a member of the House of Howard, was the second son of Thomas Howard, 4th ...

, who inherited estates in Hertfordshire from his mother, and Meriton himself was born under the Earl's roof. He was educated at

St. John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corporation established by a charter dated 9 April 1511. The ...

, graduated B.A. in 1585, M.A. in 1588, and was on 4 July 1589 elected fellow of

Queens' College 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 ...

. There he filled the post of junior

bursar A bursar (derived from "bursa", Latin for '' purse'') is a professional administrator in a school or university often with a predominantly financial role. In the United States, bursars usually hold office only at the level of higher education (f ...

, 1596, senior bursar 1597, and proceeded B.D. in 1596, and D.D. in 1601. Grave of George Meriton 1

During his residence at Cambridge he made known his adherence to church establishment by frequent discussions on ceremonies which he held with

Thomas Brightman Thomas Brightman (1562–1607) was an English clergyman and biblical commentator. His exegesis of the Book of Revelation, published posthumously, proved influential. According to William M. Lamont, Brightman and Joseph Mede were the two most impor ...

in the chapel of Queens'. He was collated to the rectory of Hadleigh in

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 ...

by Archbishop

John Whitgift John Whitgift (c. 1530 – 29 February 1604) was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1583 to his death. Noted for his hospitality, he was somewhat ostentatious in his habits, sometimes visiting Canterbury and other towns attended by a retinue of 8 ...

in 1599, and was appointed to the deanery of Bocking (usually held in conjunction with the rectory) on 24 May 1599. He was made Dean of Peterborough on 12 June 1612, was chaplain to

Anne of Denmark Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I; as such, she was Queen of Scotland The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional fo ...

, Dean of York on 27 March 1617, and prebendary of Tockerington in

York Cathedral The Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York, commonly known as York Minster, is the cathedral of York, North Yorkshire, England, and is one of the largest of its kind in Northern Europe. The minster is the seat of the Archbis ...

on 5 March 1617. He resigned Hadleigh in 1618, died on 23 December 1624, and was buried in

Works

He published: * ''A Sermon of Nobilitie'', London, 1607. * ''A Sermon of Repentance'', London, 1607. * ''A Sermon preached before the General Assembly at Glasgow'', London, 1611. * ''The Christian Man's Assuring House, and a Sinner's Conversion'', London, 1614.

Family

Meriton married Mary Rands, granddaughter of Henry Rands,

bishop of Lincoln The Bishop of Lincoln is the ordinary (diocesan bishop) of the Church of England Diocese of Lincoln in the Province of Canterbury. The present diocese covers the county of Lincolnshire and the unitary authority areas of North Lincolnshire and ...

, by whom he had several children, whose baptisms are recorded in the registers of Hadleigh.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Meriton, George Year of birth missing 1624 deaths Fellows of Queens' College, Cambridge Deans of Peterborough Deans of York Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge People from Braughing Burials at York Minster