William Roberts (1585–1665) was a Welsh

bishop of Bangor The Bishop of Bangor is the ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of Bangor. The see is based in the city of Bangor where the bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is at Cathedral Church of Saint Deiniol. The ''Report of the Commissioners appointed ...

. A royalist, he suffered deprivation of his benefices after the

First English Civil War The First English Civil War took place in England and Wales from 1642 to 1646, and forms part of the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. They include the Bishops' Wars, the Irish Confederate Wars, the Second English Civil War, the Anglo ...

Life

According to local tradition he was born at Plas Bennett, in the parish of

Llandyrnog Llandyrnog is a large village and community in Denbighshire, Wales lying in the valley of the River Clwyd, about from Denbigh and from Ruthin. The village has good road links to Denbigh and the main A541 road at Bodfari, and is served by bus ...

Denbighshire Denbighshire ( ; cy, Sir Ddinbych; ) is a county in the north-east of Wales. Its borders differ from the historic county of the same name. This part of Wales contains the country's oldest known evidence of habitation – Pontnewydd (Bontnewy ...

, and belonged to the Roberts family that long resided there. He was educated at Queens' College, Cambridge, of which he became a fellow, and in 1619 he held the office of proctor of the university. In 1629 he was appointed to the sub-deanery of Wells, which he resigned on his promotion, through the interest of

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 ...

, to the see of Bangor. His consecration took place in September 1637. He held, '' in commendam'' with his bishopric, the rectory of

and the sinecure rectory of Llanrhaiadr in Cimmerch (both of which continued to be so held by his successors until 1859), together with the archdeaconries of Bangor and Anglesea (which were held by occupants of the see between 1574 and 1685). He was deprived of his See by Parliament on 9 October 1646, as episcopacy was abolished for the duration of the Commonwealth and the

Protectorate A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over most of its int ...

. He is said to have suffered much for his adherence to the king during the civil war. In 1649 his temporal estates were sequestrated, and the manor of

Gogarth The Great Orme ( cy, Y Gogarth) is a limestone headland on the north coast of Wales, north-west of the town of Llandudno. Referred to as ''Cyngreawdr Fynydd'' by the 12th-century poet Gwalchmai ap Meilyr, its English name derives from the Old ...

was sold on 18 July 1650. He is mentioned in a list of those whose estates were declared forfeited for treason by an act of 18 October 1652; but all his property was restored to him in 1660. In the following year he recommenced services in the cathedral and settled the orders of preaching. He died on 12 August 1665 at the rectory, Llandyrnog, near Denbigh, and was buried in the chancel of that church. By his will he made bequests to Bangor Cathedral, Queens' College, Cambridge,

Jesus College, Oxford Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship S ...

, and the poor of Westminster and St. Giles's, London, which were visited by the bubonic plague.

References

;Attribution * {{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, William 1585 births 1665 deaths Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge Bishops of Bangor 17th-century Welsh Anglican bishops