Thomas Hatfield or Thomas de Hatfield (died 1381) was

Bishop of Durham The Bishop of Durham is the Anglican bishop responsible for the Diocese of Durham in the Province of York. The diocese is one of the oldest in England and its bishop is a member of the House of Lords. Paul Butler has been the Bishop of Durham ...

from 1345 to 1381 under

King Edward III Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring ro ...

. He was one of the last warrior-bishops in England. He was born around 1310, presumably in one of the several British towns named Hatfield. He entered the employment of the king (Edward III) on 26 October 1337. Hatfield was

Receiver of the Chamber The Treasurer of the Chamber was at various points a position in the British royal household. 13th century The post of Treasurer of the Chamber first arose in the early 13th century. As part of the evolutionary changes that saw the Treasurer of the ...

when he was selected to be

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 late 1344. He relinquished that office to his successor in July 1345.Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 94 Hatfield was elected on 8 May 1345 in succession to

Richard de Bury Richard de Bury (24 January 1287 – 14 April 1345), also known as Richard Aungerville or Aungervyle, was an English priest, teacher, bishop, writer, and bibliophile. He was a patron of learning and one of the first English collectors of books. ...

, and was consecrated on 7 August 1345. Thomas fought in King Edward's division at the

Battle of Crécy The Battle of Crécy took place on 26 August 1346 in northern France between a French army commanded by King PhilipVI and an English army led by King EdwardIII. The French attacked the English while they were traversing northern France du ...

on 26 August 1346.Wrottesley. ''Crecy and Calais'' p. 34 In 1380, he drew up a covenant to leave £3000 to endow

Durham College, Oxford Durham College was a college of the University of Oxford, founded by the monks of Durham Priory in the late 13th century. It was closed at the dissolution of the monasteries in the mid 16th century, and its buildings were subsequently used to fo ...

, which was the primary endowment of the college and enabled the construction of its quadrangle, chapel and surviving library. He died on 8 May 1381.Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 242 He is buried near the choir stalls in

Durham Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Christ, Blessed Mary the Virgin and St Cuthbert of Durham, commonly known as Durham Cathedral and home of the Shrine of St Cuthbert, is a cathedral in the city of Durham, County Durham, England. It is the seat of t ...

beneath the Bishop's Chair. Due to his endowment of Durham College, Hatfield's arms appear in the canton of the arms of the

University of Durham Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by royal charte ...

Hatfield College , motto_English = Either the first or with the first , scarf = , named_for = Thomas Hatfield , established = , senior_tutor = , master = Ann MacLarnon (2017–) , undergraduates = 1010 (2017/18) , postgradu ...

, a constituent

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...

of the university, is named after him.

Citations

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hatfield, Thomas Bishops of Durham 14th-century English Roman Catholic bishops 1381 deaths Lords Privy Seal Year of birth unknown