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John Stafford (died 25 May 1452) was a medieval English prelate and statesman who served as
Lord Chancellor
The lord chancellor, formally the lord high chancellor of Great Britain, is the highest-ranking traditional minister among the Great Officers of State in Scotland and England in the United Kingdom, nominally outranking the prime minister. The ...
(1432–1450) and as
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 ...
(1443–1452).
Early life and education
Stafford was the illegitimate son of Sir
Humphrey Stafford of Southwick, a
Wiltshire
Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...
squire, and required papal permission before he became the rector of
Farmborough
Farmborough is a small village and civil parish, south west of Bath in Somerset, England. It straddles both the A39 and A368 roads. The parish has a population of 1,035.
History
The Farmborough Hoard of Iron Age coins was found in the ...
, vicar of
Bathampton
Bathampton () is a village and civil parish east of Bath, England on the south bank of the River Avon. The parish has a population of 1,603.
The Kennet and Avon Canal passes through the village and a toll bridge links Bathampton to Batheast ...
and
prebendary
A prebendary is a member of the Roman Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of the ...
of
Wells
Wells most commonly refers to:
* Wells, Somerset, a cathedral city in Somerset, England
* Well, an excavation or structure created in the ground
* Wells (name)
Wells may also refer to:
Places Canada
*Wells, British Columbia
England
* Wells ...
.
He was educated at the
University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
.
Career
Stafford was appointed
Dean of Arches
The Dean of the Arches is the judge who presides in the provincial ecclesiastical court of the Archbishop of Canterbury. This court is called the Arches Court of Canterbury. It hears appeals from consistory courts and bishop's disciplinary trib ...
in 1419 and served as
Archdeacon of Salisbury
The Archdeacon of Sarum is a senior ecclesiastical officer within the Diocese of Salisbury, England. He or she is responsible for the disciplinary supervision of the clergy within the five Rural Dean, area deaneries of the Sarum archdeaconry, which ...
from 1419 to 1421. From 1423 to 1424 he was
Dean of Wells
The Dean of Wells is the head of the Chapter of Wells Cathedral in the Mendip district of Somerset, England. The dean's residence is The Dean's Lodging, 25 The Liberty, Wells.
List of deans
High Medieval
*1140–1164: Ivo
*1164–1189: Rich ...
.
He came to note under
Henry VI, becoming
Lord Privy Seal
The Lord Privy Seal (or, more formally, the Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal) is the fifth of the Great Officers of State (United Kingdom), Great Officers of State in the United Kingdom, ranking beneath the Lord President of the Council and abov ...
in 1421
[Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 95] and
Lord High Treasurer
The post of Lord High Treasurer or Lord Treasurer was an English government position and has been a British government position since the Acts of Union of 1707. A holder of the post would be the third-highest-ranked Great Officer of State in ...
the following year.
[Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 106] He was
Lord Chancellor
The lord chancellor, formally the lord high chancellor of Great Britain, is the highest-ranking traditional minister among the Great Officers of State in Scotland and England in the United Kingdom, nominally outranking the prime minister. The ...
from 1432 to 1450.
[Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 87]
On 18 December 1424
Pope Martin V
Pope Martin V ( la, Martinus V; it, Martino V; January/February 1369 – 20 February 1431), born Otto (or Oddone) Colonna, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 November 1417 to his death in February 1431. Hi ...
made him
Bishop of Bath and Wells
The Bishop of Bath and Wells heads the Church of England Diocese of Bath and Wells in the Province of Canterbury in England.
The present diocese covers the overwhelmingly greater part of the (ceremonial) county of Somerset and a small area of Do ...
, and he was consecrated on 27 May 1425.
[Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 228] Pope Eugene IV
Pope Eugene IV ( la, Eugenius IV; it, Eugenio IV; 1383 – 23 February 1447), born Gabriele Condulmer, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 3 March 1431 to his death in February 1447. Condulmer was a Venetian, and ...
made him Archbishop of Canterbury in May 1443, a position he held until his death on 25 May 1452.
[Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 233] He steered an even course between parties as a moderate man and useful official.
His grand nephew
Humphrey Stafford of Hooke rose in prominence in the King's party thereafter.
Further reading
*
Rogers, William Henry Hamilton, ''Strife of the Roses and Days of the Tudors in the West'', Exeter, 1890, Chapter 5, ''"With the Silver Hand", Stafford of Suthwyke, Archbishop and Earl
(Detailed discussion of the Bishop's origins).
Citations
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stafford, John
Year of birth unknown
Archdeacons of Salisbury
Lords Privy Seal
Lord chancellors of England
Lord High Treasurers of England
Deans of Wells
Bishops of Bath and Wells
Archbishops of Canterbury
15th-century English Roman Catholic archbishops
1452 deaths
Burials at Canterbury Cathedral
Alumni of the University of Oxford