John Barkham, D.D. (1572?–1642) was an English clergyman, antiquary and historian. Highly reputed in his time as an authority, he published relatively little. He supported the efforts of

John Speed John Speed (1551 or 1552 – 28 July 1629) was an English cartographer, chronologer and historian of Cheshire origins.S. Bendall, 'Speed, John (1551/2–1629), historian and cartographer', ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (OUP 2004/ ...

, and may have been a source for the ''Display of Heraldry'' of

John Guillim John Guillim (c. 1565 – 7 May 1621) of Minsterworth, Gloucestershire, was an antiquarian and officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. He is best remembered for his monumental work on heraldry, ''A Display of Heraldry'', first pub ...

(the book was attributed to him as a publication under Guillim's name, for some time). Barkham made a very extensive collection of coins, which he gave to

William Laud William Laud (; 7 October 1573 – 10 January 1645) was a bishop in the Church of England. Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury by Charles I in 1633, Laud was a key advocate of Charles I's religious reforms, he was arrested by Parliament in 1640 ...

; who presented them to the

Bodleian library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second- ...

. He left also a treatise on coins in manuscript, which was never published.

Life

Barkham was born in the parish of St. Mary-the-Moor,

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

, about 1572. He entered

Exeter College, Oxford Exeter College (in full: The Rector and Scholars of Exeter College in the University of Oxford) is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England and the fourth-oldest college of the un ...

in 1587, and in the following year was admitted scholar of

Corpus Christi College, Oxford Corpus Christi College (formally, Corpus Christi College in the University of Oxford; informally abbreviated as Corpus or CCC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1517, it is the 12th ...

. He became B.A, in February 1591, M.A. in 1594, and probationer fellow of Corpus Christi College in 1596. In 1603 he took the degree of B.D., and some time after he was made chaplain to Dr. John Bancroft,

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...

, an office which he also held under his successor, George Abbot. In June 1608 he was collated to the rectory of

Finchley Finchley () is a large district of north London, England, in the London Borough of Barnet. Finchley is on high ground, north of Charing Cross. Nearby districts include: Golders Green, Muswell Hill, Friern Barnet, Whetstone, Mill Hill and H ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

. He was then given livings in

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

: in March 1615 the rectory of Packlesham; in May following the rectory of Lackington; and in December 1616 the rectory and deanery of Bocking. In 1615 he resigned the rectory of Finchley and in 1617 that of Packlesham. At Bocking he had as curate in the period 1627 to 1631 Nathaniel Rogers, who later emigrated to

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

as pastor of

Ipswich, Massachusetts Ipswich is a coastal town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 13,785 at the 2020 census. Home to Willowdale State Forest and Sandy Point State Reservation, Ipswich includes the southern part of Plum Island. A reside ...

. He died at Bocking on 25 March 1642, and was buried in the chancel of the church there. He married Anne, daughter of Robert Rogers, of

Dartford Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames estuary, is Thurrock in ...

, Kent, by whom he had one son.

Works

Barkham had a reputation as an accomplished linguist, an able divine, and an erudite antiquary and historian; but he published comparatively little. John Speed, the author of the ''History of Britain'', received assistance from him, and Barkham wrote for that work the ''Life and Reign of King John'', and the ''Life and Reign of Henry II''. According to

Anthony à Wood Anthony Wood (17 December 1632 – 28 November 1695), who styled himself Anthony à Wood in his later writings, was an English antiquary. He was responsible for a celebrated ''Hist. and Antiq. of the Universitie of Oxon''. Early life Anthony W ...

he composed in his younger days a book on heraldry, which he gave to Guillim, who published it in 1610, with the author's sanction, under his own name. There is reason to suppose that the material he gave to Guillim was notes.See note by

Philip Bliss (academic) Philip Bliss (21 December 1787 – 18 November 1857) was a British book collector who served as Registrar of the University of Oxford from 1824 to 1853, and as Principal of St Mary Hall, Oxford, from 1848 until his death. Life Philip Bliss was b ...

, to his edition of Wood's ''Athenae Oxonienses'', ii, 299. In 1625 Barkham published, with a preface, the posthumous volume of Richard Crakanthorpe, ''Defensio Ecclesiae Anglicanae contra M. Antonii de Dominis injurias'', a reply to Marc'Antonio de Dominis.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Barkham, John 1570s births 1642 deaths 17th-century English Anglican priests English antiquarians 16th-century English historians 16th-century antiquarians 16th-century male writers 17th-century English historians 17th-century antiquarians Deans of Bocking 17th-century English male writers 17th-century English writers 16th-century Anglican theologians 17th-century Anglican theologians