Henry Morgan (died 23 December 1559) was a Welsh lawyer and churchman,

Bishop of St Davids The Bishop of St Davids is the ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of St Davids. The succession of bishops stretches back to Saint David who in the 6th century established his seat in what is today the city of St Davids in Pembrokeshire, f ...

during the reign of Mary I of England.

Life

He was born in

Dewisland 250px, The cantref of Pebidiog in ancient Dyfed The Hundred of Dewisland (often written "Dewsland") was a hundred in northwest Pembrokeshire, Wales. Formerly the pre- Norman cantref of Pebidiog, it included the city and the peninsula of St Davids ...

, Pembrokeshire, and became a student in the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

in 1515. He proceeded B.C.L. 10 July 1522, and D.C.L. 17 July 1525, and soon after became principal of St. Edward's Hall, which was then a hostel for civilians. He was admitted at

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 ...

27 October 1528, and for several years acted as moderator of those who performed exercises for their degrees in civil law at Oxford. Taking holy orders, he obtained rapid preferment. He became rector of

Walwyn's Castle Walwyn's Castle ( Welsh: ''Castell Gwalchmai'') is a village, parish and community in the county of Pembrokeshire, Wales, and is from Cardiff and from London. In 2011 the community's population was 361. Community The community of Walwyn's Ca ...

, Pembrokeshire, 12 February 1530; canon of Bristol, 4 June 1542; prebendary of the collegiate church St Carantoc's Church, Crantock in Cornwall, 1547; canon of Exeter, 1548; rector of Mawgan, Cornwall, 1549, and of St. Columb Major, Cornwall, 1550. On the deprivation of

Robert Ferrar Robert Ferrar (died 30 March 1555) was a Bishop of St David's in Wales. He was prior of Nostell Priory, embraced the English Reformation, and was made Bishop of St. David's by Edward VI. He suffered martyrdom during the Marian persecutions. ...

he was appointed by Queen Mary bishop of St. David's in 1554. He held the see until he was deprived of it, on the accession of

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...

, about midsummer 1559. He then retired to

Wolvercote Wolvercote is a village that is part of the City of Oxford, England. It is about northwest of the city centre, on the northern edge of Wolvercote Common, which is itself north of Port Meadow and adjoins the River Thames. History The Domesday B ...

, near Oxford, where some relatives, including the Owens of Godstow House, resided. He died at

on 23 December 1559, and was buried in the church there. John Foxe in his '' Acts and Monuments of the Church'' and

Thomas Beard Thomas Beard (died 1632) was an English clergyman and theologian, of Puritan views. He is known as the author of ''The Theatre of Gods Judgements'', and the schoolmaster of Oliver Cromwell at Huntingdon. Life He was, it is believed, a native of ...

in his ''Theatre of God's Judgments'' state that Morgan was 'stricken by God's hand' with a malady; Foxe gives some gruesome details; but

Anthony à Wood Anthony Wood (17 December 1632 – 28 November 1695), who styled himself Anthony à Wood in his later writings, was an English antiquary. He was responsible for a celebrated ''Hist. and Antiq. of the Universitie of Oxon''. Early life Anthony W ...

could find no tradition to that effect among the inhabitants of Wolvercote.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan, Henry Year of birth missing 1559 deaths Welsh lawyers Bishops of St Davids People from Pembrokeshire 16th-century English Roman Catholic bishops 16th-century Welsh clergy Members of Doctors' Commons