Ralph Kettell (1563–1643) was an English college head, the third President of

Trinity College, Oxford (That which you wish to be secret, tell to nobody) , named_for = The Holy Trinity , established = , sister_college = Churchill College, Cambridge , president = Dame Hilary Boulding , location = Broad Street, Oxford OX1 3BH , coordinates ...

. In a long tenure he built up the college both in terms of architecture and its academic reputation.

Life

He was the third son of John Kettell, gentleman, of

King's Langley Kings Langley is a village, former manor and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England, north-west of Westminster in the historic centre of London and to the south of the Chiltern Hills. It now forms part of the London commuter belt. The villa ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

. He was nominated to a scholarship at Trinity in 1578 by Lady Elizabeth Paulet of Tittenhanger, the widow of

Sir Thomas Pope Sir Thomas Pope (c. 150729 January 1559), was a prominent public servant in mid-16th-century England, a Member of Parliament, a wealthy landowner, and the founder of Trinity College, Oxford. Early life Pope was born at Deddington, near Ban ...

, founder of the college. One of his contemporaries and friends at Trinity was

Edward Hoby Sir Edward Hoby (1560 – 1 March 1617) was an English diplomat, Member of Parliament, scholar, and soldier during the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I. He was the son of Thomas Hoby and Elizabeth Cooke, the nephew of William Cecil, Lord Burghl ...

. Kettell was elected Fellow in 1583. He graduated B.A. 1682, M.A. 1586, B.D. 1594, and D.D. 1597, and, after filling various college offices, was elected president in 1599, on the death of Arthur Yeldard. Among those who as students were under his care while he was either tutor or president were the bishops

Gilbert Sheldon Gilbert Sheldon (19 June 1598 – 9 November 1677) was an English religious leader who served as the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1663 until his death. Early life Sheldon was born in Stanton, Staffordshire in the parish of Ellastone, on 19 ...

, Henry Glenham, William Lucy, Gilbert Ironside, and Robert Skinner; also

Sir John Denham Sir John Denham FRS (1614 or 1615 – 19 March 1669) was an Anglo-Irish poet and courtier. He served as Surveyor of the King's Works and is buried in Westminster Abbey. Early life Denham was born in Dublin to Sir John Denham, Chief Baron of t ...

, James Harrington,

Edmund Ludlow Edmund Ludlow (c. 1617–1692) was an English parliamentarian, best known for his involvement in the execution of Charles I, and for his ''Memoirs'', which were published posthumously in a rewritten form and which have become a major source f ...

Henry Ireton Henry Ireton ((baptised) 3 November 1611 – 26 November 1651) was an English general in the Parliamentarian army during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, and the son-in-law of Oliver Cromwell. He died of disease outside Limerick in November 16 ...

George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore (; 1580 – 15 April 1632), was an English politician and colonial administrator. He achieved domestic political success as a member of parliament and later Secretary of State under King James I. He lost mu ...

and

Cecilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore Cecil Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore (8 August 1605 – 30 November 1675), also often known as Cecilius Calvert, was an English nobleman, who was the first Proprietor of the Province of Maryland, ninth Proprietary Governor of the Colony of Newfo ...

, William, Earl of Craven, and

Sir Henry Blount Sir Henry Blount (1602–1682) was a 17th-century English landowner, traveller and author. Life He was the third son of Sir Thomas Pope Blount (1552–1638) of Blount's Hall, Staffordshire and Tyttenhanger, Hertfordshire and was educated at St ...

. He rebuilt the college hall, and added attics or 'cocklofts ' to the old

Durham College Durham College of Applied Arts and Technology is located in the Durham Region The Regional Municipality of Durham (), informally referred to as Durham Region, is a regional municipality in Southern Ontario, Canada. Located east of Toronto a ...

quadrangle, of which the east side still remains. About 1620 he built for the stone house in Broad Street which is still known as Kettell Hall, an investment of his own which later came to the college.''Dictionary of National Biography''; :s:Ralph Kettell (DNB00). Kettell was one of the older heads of houses who disliked

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 ...

's high-handed reforms. He saved the old paintings in the college chapel from the puritan commissioner,

William Fiennes, 1st Viscount Saye and Sele William Fiennes, 1st Viscount Saye and Sele (28 June 158214 April 1662) was an English nobleman and politician, known also for his involvement in several companies for setting up overseas colonies. Early life He was born at the family home of B ...

. Outside Oxford Kettell held the rectory of

Garsington Garsington is a village and civil parish about southeast of Oxford in Oxfordshire. "A History of the County of Oxfordshire" provides a detailed history of the parish from 1082. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 1,689. The v ...

, which was attached to his office of president, and was private chaplain to

Sir Francis Walsingham Sir Francis Walsingham ( – 6 April 1590) was principal secretary to Queen Elizabeth I of England from 20 December 1573 until his death and is popularly remembered as her "spymaster". Born to a well-connected family of gentry, Wals ...

's widow and to

Thomas Bilson Thomas Bilson (1547 – 18 June 1616) was an Anglican Bishop of Worcester and Bishop of Winchester. With Miles Smith, he oversaw the final edit and printing of the King James Bible. Life Years under the Tudors (1547–1603) Thomas Bilson's fa ...

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John Aubrey John Aubrey (12 March 1626 – 7 June 1697) was an English antiquary, natural philosopher and writer. He is perhaps best known as the author of the ''Brief Lives'', his collection of short biographical pieces. He was a pioneer archaeologist, ...

, who was admitted to Trinity in 1642, and knew Kettell in his old age, narrates many anecdotes. Kettell died about 17 July 1643, and was buried at Garsington on 5 August. Aubrey states that "he had two wives, if not three, but no child", and that his second wife was the widow of Edward Villiers of

Hothorpe Hall Hothorpe Hall, in Northamptonshire, is a Georgian manor house near Market Harborough. It lies in the parish of Marston Trussell in Northamptonshire but is close to Theddingworth in Leicestershire. The hall is currently used as a conference centr ...

, Northamptonshire, whose daughter Elizabeth married George Bathurst and was the mother of

Ralph Bathurst Ralph Bathurst, FRS (1620 – 14 June 1704) was an English theologian and physician. Early life He was born in Hothorpe, Northamptonshire in 1620 and educated at King Henry VIII School, Coventry. He graduated with a B.A. degree from Trinity C ...

, president of Trinity College; but there are probably some inaccuracies here. His wife was buried at Garsington in 1624, and an infant daughter in 1606.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kettell, Ralph 1563 births 1643 deaths Presidents of Trinity College, Oxford 16th-century English educators 17th-century English educators 16th-century English Anglican priests 17th-century English Anglican priests People from Kings Langley