John Harley (died 1558) was an English

bishop of Hereford The Bishop of Hereford is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Hereford in the Province of Canterbury. The episcopal see is centred in the Hereford, City of Hereford where the bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is in the Hereford Cathedr ...

. A strong Protestant, he was praised in verse by John Leland.

Life

He was probably born at

Newport Pagnell Newport Pagnell is a town and civil parish in the City of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The Office for National Statistics records Newport Pagnell as part of the Milton Keynes urban area. It is separated from the rest of the urban ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

, according to Browne Willis. He was educated at

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...

, of which he was probationer-fellow from 1537 to 1542. He graduated B.A. on 5 July 1536, and M.A. on 4 June 1540. :s:Harley, John (DNB00) He was master of

Magdalen School Magdalen College School (MCS) is a public school (English independent day school) in Oxford, England, for boys aged seven to eighteen and for girls in the sixth form. It was founded by William Waynflete about 1480 as part of Magdalen College, ...

from 1542 to August 1548, when he became chaplain to John Dudley, 1st Earl of Warwick, and tutor to his children. During Lent 1547 he preached at St. Peter's-in-the-East, Oxford, a sermon against the pope. It alarmed the university authorities, and Harley was hastily summoned to London to be examined on a charge of heresy; but when the king's views became known he was speedily liberated. He became rector of Upton-upon-Severn, Worcestershire, on 9 May 1550, being then B.D. and vicar of Kidderminster in the same county, and incumbent of Maiden Bradley, Wiltshire, on the following 30 September. Edward VI made him his chaplain in 1551, and sent him, along with five other chaplains known for their preaching, on an evangelising tour throughout England. In 1552 he was considered likely to succeed Owen Oglethorpe as president of Magdalen College, but he lost the election. On 26 May 1553 he was consecrated bishop of Hereford, but was deprived on 19 March 1554 for his Protestantism (DNB), or because he was married, and died in 1558.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Harley, John Year of birth unknown 1558 deaths Bishops of Hereford People from Newport Pagnell 16th-century Church of England bishops