Thomas Beckington (also spelt Beckynton; c. 139014 January 1465) was the

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

King's Secretary In the Kingdom of England, the title of Secretary of State came into being near the end of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603), the usual title before that having been King's Clerk, King's Secretary, or Principal Secretary. From the ...

in medieval England under Henry VI.

Life

Beckington was born at

Beckington Beckington is a village and civil parish in the Mendip district of Somerset, England, across the River Frome from Lullington about three miles north of Frome. According to the 2011 census the parish, which includes the hamlet of Rudge, which ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, and was educated at

Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...

and

New College, Oxford New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at th ...

. Having entered the Church he held many ecclesiastical appointments, and became

dean of the 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 tribuna ...

in 1423; and

Archdeacon of Buckingham The Archdeacon of Buckingham is the senior ecclesiastical officer in charge of the Church of England in Buckinghamshire. The archdeacon has statutory oversight over the ancient Archdeaconry of Buckingham, which has existed since (at latest) the 11 ...

in 1424. After that he devoted his time to secular affairs and was sent on an embassy to

Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's prefecture is its third-largest city of Arras. Th ...

in 1439 and to

John IV, Count of Armagnac John IV (15 October 1396 – 5 November 1450) was a Count of Armagnac, Fézensac, and Rodez from 1418 to 1450. He was involved in the intrigues related to the Hundred Years' War and in conflicts against the King of France. Biography Born 15 Oc ...

in 1442. At this time Beckington was acting as secretary to Henry VI, and soon after his return in 1443 he was appointed

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 ...

, an office he held until 1444. He was consecrated Bishop of Bath and Wells on 13 October 1443. The bishop erected many buildings in

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 ...

and elsewhere, probably altering the rectory at Sutton Courtenay in

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

(now

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

), an early preferment. The most important results of Beckington's missions to France were one

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

journal, written by himself, referring to the embassy to Calais; and another, written by one of his attendants, relating to the journey to

Armagnac Armagnac (, ) is a distinctive kind of brandy produced in the Armagnac region in Gascony, southwest France. It is distilled from wine usually made from a blend of grapes including Baco 22A, Colombard, Folle blanche and Ugni blanc, traditionally ...

. He died at Wells on 14 January 1465. Beckington is buried at

Wells Cathedral Wells Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Wells, Somerset, England, dedicated to St Andrew the Apostle. It is the seat of the Bishop of Bath and Wells, whose cathedra it holds as mother church of the Diocese of Bath and Wells. Built as a ...

and has an unusual monument there: his effigy is depicted twice; one above the other in a two tier arrangement, the bottom effigy depicting his decaying corpse whilst unwrapped from its shroud, and the effigy above depicting him in what is assumed to be his bishop's attire. When his tomb was opened during Victorian times he was found to be buried very simply (as depicted on his tomb) with just one ornament: his bishop's ring. This was removed and is now in a museum. Beckington played a leading role as architect of the legal aspects of Henry VI's foundation of

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

in 1440; he is commemorated in the name of the school's central dining hall, 'Bekynton'. In a letter from 1449, Beckington remarked of Bath mentioning that the healing waters of Bath has been turned into abuse by the shamelessness of the inhabitants of the city. Further mentioning: Bekynton's architecture is marked with a symbol depicting a barrel and a flame. This is a pun on his name, being "beacon tun". One of the easiest to be viewed is in Penniless Porch Wells.

Works

Beckington's own journal was published in the ''Proceedings of the Privy Council'', vol. v., edited by

Nicholas Harris Nicolas Sir (Nicholas) Harris Nicolas (10 March 1799 – 3 August 1848) was an English antiquary. Life The fourth son of Commander John Harris Nicolas R.N. (1758–1844) and Margaret née Blake, he was born at Dartmouth. He was the brother of Rear Ad ...

(1835); and the other journal in the ''Official Correspondence of Thomas Bekynton'', edited by George Williams for the

Rolls Series ''The Chronicles and Memorials of Great Britain and Ireland during the Middle Ages'' ( la, Rerum Britannicarum medii aevi scriptores), widely known as the is a major collection of British and Irish historical materials and primary sources publish ...

(1872), which contains many interesting letters. This second journal was translated into English by Nicolas (1828).

Citations

References

* * * * * *

External links

Royal Berkshire History: Thomas Beckington (1390–1465)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beckington, Thomas 1390 births 1465 deaths 15th-century English Roman Catholic bishops Alumni of New College, Oxford Archdeacons of Buckingham Bishops of Bath and Wells Medieval English diplomats Lords Privy Seal People educated at Winchester College People from Mendip District People from Sutton Courtenay Burials at Wells Cathedral 15th-century diplomats

Life

Works

See also

Citations

References

External links