Robert Aldridge (1544 – 1616) was an English clergyman.

Life

Born at

Burnham Burnham may refer to: Places Canada *Burnham, Saskatchewan England *Burnham, Buckinghamshire ** Burnham railway station ** Burnham Grammar School *Burnham Green, Hertfordshire, location of The White Horse * Burnham, Lincolnshire **High Burnham, ...

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 ...

in 1544, Robert Aldridge was educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

and King's College, Cambridge, where he was a Fellow from 1564 to 1567. From 1576 to 1616 he was Rector of Wollaton 1576–1616, and from 1 May 1578 to 1616 Vicar of

St Mary's Church, Nottingham The Church of St Mary the Virgin is the oldest parish churchDomesday Book: A Complete Translation (Penguin Classics) of Nottingham, in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest church after the Cathedral in the city of Nottingham. The church ...

. He was the last Vicar of St Mary's Nottingham to have the Crown as patron until 1973. It was in 1598, during the incumbency of Robert Aldridge, that the Crown sold the patronage of St Mary's to Sir Henry Pierrepont. On 26 July 1592, Thomas Clerke, of Nottingham, faced a charge in the Archdeaconry court, And then the judge, accepting this confession, as he was and is bound, pronounced the said Clerke to have ''ipso facto'' incurred the sentence of excommunication by virtue of the statue in that case provided. Then Mr Gymney, by virtue of order of the judge, absolved the said Thomas Clarke from the sentence of excommunication pronounced on account of his contempt of court. John Darrell, of

Queens' College, Cambridge Queens' College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the oldest colleges of the university, founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. The college spans the River Cam, colloquially referred to as the "light s ...

, was appointed by Robert Aldridge as curate. Darrell already had a reputation for being involved in cases of exorcism. Before long, he was involved again, this time in the case of William Sommers, who suffered from fits, or, as Darrell claimed, demonic possession. Darrell was accused of fraudulent exorcism and removed from his position by

John Whitgift John Whitgift (c. 1530 – 29 February 1604) was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1583 to his death. Noted for his hospitality, he was somewhat ostentatious in his habits, sometimes visiting Canterbury and other towns attended by a retinue of 8 ...

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 ...

. From the archdeaconry court records for 2 August 1606, William Little Feere and Marmaduke Gregorie, churchwardens of

''were warned to see that the church of St. Mary, Nottingham was duly decorated in due form with the sentences of the Holy Scriptures before Michaelmas.'' The churchwardens were also under pressure to repair the chancel, damaged by a storm in 1588. The repairs seem to still be outstanding as late as 1632. There are frequent entries in the Archdeaconry Records and include charges against the Vicar. From the Churchwardens' Presentment Bills for April 21, 1612. St. Maries in Nott. * * * On the same day in the Archdeaconry Court, a licence was granted to John Sherot to read prayers in St. Mary, Nottingham and to teach children the alphabet (). The Register shows that Robert Aldridge was buried in the church, but his memorial has perished.

References

Muriel Clara Bradbrook Muriel Clara Bradbrook (1909–1993), usually cited as M. C. Bradbrook, was a British literary scholar and authority on Shakespeare. She was Professor of English at Cambridge University, and Mistress of Girton College, Cambridge. Biography ...

, ''Shakespeare: the poet in his world'', Taylor & Francis, 1980, , p. 195 * Benjamin Brook, ''The lives of the Puritans: containing a biographical account of those divines who distinguished themselves in the cause of religious liberty, from the reformation under Queen Elizabeth, to the Act of uniformity in 1662, Volume 2'', J. Black, 1813, pp. 117–122 {{DEFAULTSORT:Aldridge, Robert 16th-century births 1616 deaths Vicars of St Mary's Church, Nottingham People educated at Eton College Fellows of King's College, Cambridge 16th-century English Anglican priests 17th-century English Anglican priests People from Burnham, Buckinghamshire 1544 births