George Stradling (1620 or 1621 – 19 April 1688) was Dean of Chichester Cathedral from 1672 until his death.

Life

Stradling was born at St Donat's Castle, Wales to Sir John Stradling, Baronet and travelled to France and Italy before studying at the University of Oxford. He entered Jesus College, Oxford in 1638 when he was 17 years old and obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1640. He was noted as a talented

lute A lute ( or ) is any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. It may be either fretted or unfretted. More specifically, the term "lute" can ref ...

nist. In 1641, he was made a Fellow of

All Souls' College, Oxford All Souls College (official name: College of the Souls of All the Faithful Departed) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full members of t ...

, where Gilbert Sheldon was Warden, and he later obtained his Master of Arts (1647) and

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity. In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ran ...

(1661) degrees. He was also a Fellow of Jesus College from 1641 to 1642. He fought on the Royalist side during the English Civil War as a cornet of horse in his brother's regiment. He returned to Oxford when the fighting was over, and survived the threat of ejection by the Parliamentary Visitors in control of the university with the help of Edmund Ludlow, a prominent Parliamentarian and his nephew by marriage. He was ordained deacon and priest by the Bishop of Oxford, Robert Skinner, on 7 November 1660 and became Sheldon's chaplain in London (Sheldon having become Bishop of London by this time) rather than become Principal of Jesus College. With Sheldon's influence, Stradling was able to obtain many

benefice A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...

s, which he held at the same time (as a pluralist). He held positions, at one time or another, at parishes in

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

and St Bride's Church, Fleet Street (London), Hanwell ( Middlesex),

Cliffe-at-Hoo Cliffe is a village on the Hoo Peninsula in Kent, England, reached from the Medway Towns by a three-mile (4.8 km) journey along the B2000 road. Situated upon a low chalk escarpment overlooking the Thames marshes, Cliffe offers views of So ...

and

Sutton-at-Hone Sutton-at-Hone is a village in the civil parish of Sutton-at-Hone and Hawley in the Borough of Dartford in Kent, England. It is located 3.5 miles south of Dartford & 3.6 miles north east of Swanley. History The place-name 'Sutton-at-Hone' is f ...

( Kent). He was also canon of

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grad ...

and of Westminster Abbey: appointed to both in 1660, he was still holding these posts when he died. In 1671, he became precentor of Chichester Cathedral and was made dean in 1672, again holding both posts until his death. Despite being a pluralist, Stradling presided at meetings of the

cathedral chapter According to both Catholic and Anglican canon law, a cathedral chapter is a college of clerics ( chapter) formed to advise a bishop and, in the case of a vacancy of the episcopal see in some countries, to govern the diocese during the vacancy. In ...

at least once in every year and also helped to repair and improve the cathedral after the effects of the Civil War. However, he clashed with the Bishop of Chichester, Guy Carleton, who regarded Stradling as lukewarm and indifferent. Stradling died on 19 April 1688 and was buried at Westminster Abbey. He published one sermon during his lifetime, with others being published after his death.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stradling, George 1620s births 1688 deaths Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford Fellows of Jesus College, Oxford Fellows of All Souls College, Oxford Deans of Chichester Burials at Westminster Abbey Younger sons of baronets Canons of Westminster