Robert King LL.D. (1600 – 6 November 1676) was an English jurist and Master of

Trinity Hall, Cambridge Trinity Hall (formally The College or Hall of the Holy Trinity in the University of Cambridge) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. It is the fifth-oldest surviving college of the university, having been founded in 1350 by ...

Life

He was a native of

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

. He matriculated as a pensioner of

Christ's College, Cambridge Christ's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college includes the Master, the Fellows of the College, and about 450 undergraduate and 170 graduate students. The college was founded by William Byngham in 1437 as ...

, 5 July 1617, graduated B.A. in 1620–1, and proceeded M.A. in 1624. In 1625 he was elected to a fellowship at Trinity Hall, which he held till 1636. On 16 June 1628 he was sworn and admitted a proctor in the

Bishop of Ely The Bishop of Ely is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Ely in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese roughly covers the county of Cambridgeshire (with the exception of the Soke of Peterborough), together with a section of nort ...

's consistorial court by Dr. Thomas Eden. In 1636 he took the degree of LL.D., and on 10 October 1641 was admitted an advocate of the

court of arches The Arches Court, presided over by the Dean of Arches, is an ecclesiastical court of the Church of England covering the Province of Canterbury. Its equivalent in the Province of York is the Chancery Court. It takes its name from the street-level ...

Doctors' Commons Doctors' Commons, also called the College of Civilians, was a society of lawyers practising civil (as opposed to common) law in London, namely ecclesiastical and admiralty law. Like the Inns of Court of the common lawyers, the society had buildi ...

. From 1641 to 1662 he was official to the

Archdeacon of Suffolk The Archdeacon of Suffolk is a senior cleric in the Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich. The archdeacon is responsible for the disciplinary supervision of the clergy in the territory of the archdeaconry. History Originally in the Dioceses of No ...

, and from 1642 to 1646 commissary of the Suffolk archdeaconry. He was commissary of Sudbury archdeaconry for 1645 only, and official to the

archdeacon of Sudbury The Archdeacon of Sudbury is a senior cleric in the Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich. The archdeacon is responsible for the disciplinary supervision of the clergy in its five rural deaneries; Clare, Ixworth, Lavenham, Sudbury and Thingoe. ...

, 1645 to 1674.''Dictionary of National Biography''; :s:King, Robert (1600-1676) (DNB00). On the death of Thomas Eden (18 July 1645), Parliament (30 August) ordered the Fellows of Trinity Hall to suspend the election of any master until the university regulations had been carried out; but the fellows on 28 September petitioned for leave to elect in consequence of various inconveniences. Their prayer being granted, they elected

John Selden John Selden (16 December 1584 – 30 November 1654) was an English jurist, a scholar of England's ancient laws and constitution and scholar of Jewish law. He was known as a polymath; John Milton hailed Selden in 1644 as "the chief of learned ...

(23 July), and upon his refusal to act King was chosen on 28 October and his election approved by the House of Lords on 6 November; but the Commons objecting, he was constrained to resign, and the fellows proceeded on 7 March 1646 to elect John Bond. This election received the approval of both houses on 26 March. At the

Restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...

of 1660 King was re-elected and admitted to the mastership, 20 August 1660. In 1661 he was made vicar-general and principal official to

Matthew Wren Matthew Wren (3 December 1585 – 24 April 1667) was an influential English clergyman, bishop and scholar. Life He was the eldest son of Francis Wren (born 18 January 1552 at Newbold Revell), citizen and mercer of London, only son of Cuth ...

, Bishop of Ely, and on 30 June 1662 the bishop placed him at the head of a commission to visit the diocese. He retained his chancellorship of Ely under Benjamin Laney, and was one of the commissioners for visiting the diocese in 1674. King died on 6 November 1676, aged 76, and was buried in the chapel of Trinity Hall. A black marble slab to his memory, with a Latin inscription and coat of arms, is placed near the altar. His arms also appear on a window in the Master's Lodge. King married Frances, daughter of Jasper Wareyn of Great Thurlow, Suffolk. By her he had a son and daughter, who both predeceased him. Land which he had purchased at

Great Thurlow Great Thurlow is a village and civil parish in the West Suffolk (district), West Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England. It is situated in the far south-west of Suffolk, with the River Stour, Suffolk, River Stour passing through the centre ...

he left by will to three grandsons, Robert, Henry, and Thomas King.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:King, Robert 1600 births 1676 deaths English legal professionals Masters of Trinity Hall, Cambridge Members of Doctors' Commons