Hannibal Potter (1592–1664) was an English clergyman and college head in Oxford during the

First English Civil War The First English Civil War took place in England and Wales from 1642 to 1646, and forms part of the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. They include the Bishops' Wars, the Irish Confederate Wars, the Second English Civil War, the Anglo ...

. He was removed as President of

Trinity College, Oxford (That which you wish to be secret, tell to nobody) , named_for = The Holy Trinity , established = , sister_college = Churchill College, Cambridge , president = Dame Hilary Boulding , location = Broad Street, Oxford OX1 3BH , coordinates ...

in 1648 by the Parliamentary visitors, regaining the position in 1660.

Life

The son Richard Potter, a prebendary of

Worcester Cathedral Worcester Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Worcester, in Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified ...

, Hannibal Potter was educated at the

King's School, Worcester The King's School, Worcester is an English independent day school refounded by Henry VIII in 1541. It occupies a site adjacent to Worcester Cathedral on the banks of the River Severn in the centre of the city of Worcester. It offers mixed-sex ma ...

under Henry Bright. He matriculated from Trinity College, Oxford, in 1607, was elected scholar in 1609, graduated B.A. in 1611, M.A. in 1614, B.D. in 1621, and D.D. in 1630; in 1613 he was elected Fellow of Trinity. He was presented to the livings of

Over Worton Over Worton is a hamlet in Oxfordshire, about south of Banbury and east of Chipping Norton. Over Worton was a separate civil parish until 1932, when it was merged with Nether Worton to form the current civil parish of Worton. Archaeology Jus ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

, and

Wootton, Northamptonshire Wootton is a former village about south of Northampton town centre that is now part of Northampton. Wootton is separated from Hardingstone by the Newport Pagnell Road the B526, formerly part of the A50 road. Part of Wootton is alongside the ...

, in 1620, and was preacher at

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

from 1635. He was tutor to Henry Gellibrand. On 8 August 1643 he was admitted president of Trinity by the visitor, Walter Curle as

Bishop of Winchester The Bishop of Winchester is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Winchester in the Church of England. The bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire. The Bishop of Winchester has always held ''ex officio'' (except dur ...

, after a contested election, in which

William Chillingworth William Chillingworth (12 October 160230 January 1644) was a controversial English churchman. Early life He was born in Oxford, where his father served as mayor; William Laud was his godfather. In June 1618 he became a scholar of Trinity Coll ...

is said to have had a majority of votes; Potter had been a chaplain to Curle. During most of his tenure Oxford was the headquarters of the royalist forces; the college was almost empty and close to bankruptcy. College life was far from normal, with admissions of only a very few students, but the first child of Ann Fanshawe and

Sir Richard Fanshawe Sir Richard Fanshawe, 1st Baronet PC (June 1608 – 16 June 1666) was an English poet and translator. He was a diplomat and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1661 to 1666. During the English Civil War he supported the Royalist cau ...

was born there. Potter was pro-vice-chancellor during the parliamentary visitation of 1647, and showed some ingenuity in obstructing the visitors. On 13 April he was deprived of the office of president by the parliamentary chancellor of Oxford,

Philip Herbert, 4th Earl of Pembroke Philip Herbert, 4th Earl of Pembroke and 1st Earl of Montgomery, (10 October 158423 January 1650) was an English courtier, nobleman, and politician active during the reigns of James I and Charles I. Philip and his older brother William were ...

. At the same time he was deprived of

Garsington Garsington is a village and civil parish about southeast of Oxford in Oxfordshire. "A History of the County of Oxfordshire" provides a detailed history of the parish from 1082. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 1,689. The vi ...

, a benefice attached to the presidency, and subsequently endured financial hardship. He obtained the

curacy A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...

Broomfield, Somerset Broomfield is a village and civil parish in the Sedgemoor district of Somerset, England, situated about five miles north of Taunton. According to the 2011 census it had a population of 249. The village is the highest village on the Quantock Hill ...

, but he was soon turned out, for reading

The Book of Common Prayer The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the name given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christianity, Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The original book, published in 1549 ...

. He was restored to his offices in 1660, and died on 1 September 1664, being buried in the chapel of Trinity College.

Family

His brother

Francis Francis may refer to: People *Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Francis (surname) Places * Rural M ...

was an experimentalist, numerologist and clergyman. During Hannibal's presidency, Francis was at work in his rooms in Trinity with

William Harvey William Harvey (1 April 1578 – 3 June 1657) was an English physician who made influential contributions in anatomy and physiology. He was the first known physician to describe completely, and in detail, the systemic circulation and proper ...

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Potter, Hannibal 1592 births 1664 deaths People educated at King's School, Worcester Alumni of Trinity College, Oxford 17th-century English Anglican priests Presidents of Trinity College, Oxford