William Lancaster (Queen's)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

William Lancaster D.D. (1650–1717) was an English churchman and academic, Provost of
The Queen's College, Oxford The Queen's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, England. The college was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Philippa of Hainault, queen of England. It is distinguished by its predominantly neoclassi ...
.


Life

He was son of William Lancaster of Sockbridge in Barton parish, Westmoreland, born there in 1650. He kept for some time the parish school of Barton, and at his death he added an increase to the master's salary. The school is near
Lowther Castle Lowther Castle is a ruined country house in Lowther, Cumbria, Lowther, Cumbria, England. The estate has belonged to the Lowther family, latterly the earls of Lonsdale, since the Middle Ages. The house was largely built between 1806 and 1814 for ...
, and when Sir John Lowther's son John, afterwards
John Lowther, 1st Viscount Lonsdale John Lowther, 1st Viscount Lonsdale, PC FRS (25 April 165510 July 1700), known as Sir John Lowther, 2nd Baronet, from 1675 to 1696, was an English politician. Early life He was born at Hackthorpe Hall, Lowther, Westmorland, the son of Col. ...
, went to Queen's College, Oxford, he was attended by Lancaster, who entered as batler on 23 June 1670, and
matriculated Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term ''matriculation'' is seldom used now ...
on 1 July aged 20. He graduated with a
B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...
on 6 February 1675 and M.A. on 1 July 1678 (after his degree had been stopped for some words against John Clerke, of
All Souls College All Souls College (official name: The College of All Souls of the Faithful Departed, of Oxford) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full me ...
, the
proctor Proctor (a variant of ''wikt:procurator, procurator'') is a person who takes charge of, or acts for, another. The title is used in England and some other English-speaking countries in three principal contexts: # In law, a proctor is a historica ...
, but was carried in congregation), B.D. 12 April 1690, and D.D. 8 July 1692. On 20 December 1674, he was elected tabarder of his college, and on 15 March 1679 was both elected and admitted
fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...
. About 1676, he was sent to
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
with a state grant on the recommendation of Sir Joseph Williamson (who believed in training promising university young men for public life), and later resumed his career at Oxford. He acted when junior fellow as
chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...
to
William Feilding, 3rd Earl of Denbigh William Feilding, 3rd Earl of Denbigh, 2nd Earl of Desmond (29 December 1640 – 23 August 1685) was an English nobleman. He was the son of George Feilding, 1st Earl of Desmond, and his wife, the former Bridget Stanhope, daughter of Sir Michae ...
, and was collated on 1 September 1682 to the vicarage of Oakley, Buckinghamshire, which he held until 1690. In college, he became celebrated as
tutor Tutoring is private academic help, usually provided by an expert teacher; someone with deep knowledge or defined expertise in a particular subject or set of subjects. A tutor, formally also called an academic tutor, is a person who provides assis ...
. From the beginning of 1686 till 1 August he was junior bursar, for the next four years he held the post of senior bursar, and he retained his fellowship until his marriage, very early in 1696. Lancaster became domestic chaplain to
Henry Compton Henry Compton may refer to: * Henry Compton (bishop) (1632–1713), English bishop and nobleman * Henry Compton, 1st Baron Compton (1544–1589), English peer, MP for Old Sarum * Henry Combe Compton (1789–1866), British Conservative Party polit ...
, bishop of London, on whose nomination he was instituted (22 July 1692) to the vicarage of St. Martin's-in-the-Fields, London. The presentation, however, was claimed by Queen Anne, and judgment was given in her favour in a legal case; she presented Dr. Nicholas Gouge. Lancaster was a popular preacher, and
John Evelyn John Evelyn (31 October 162027 February 1706) was an English writer, landowner, gardener, courtier and minor government official, who is now best known as a diary, diarist. He was a founding Fellow of the Royal Society. John Evelyn's Diary, ...
records a visit to hear him on 20 November 1692. At Gouge's death he was again instituted (31 October 1694). On 15 October 1704, Lancaster was elected Provost of Queen's College, but the election was disputed as against the statutes; the question, which was whether the right of election extended to past as well as present fellows, being argued in an anonymous pamphlet entitled 'A True State of the Case concerning the Election of a Provost of Queen's College, Oxford, 1704,' written by Francis Thompson, senior fellow at the time. An appeal was made to the
Archbishop of York The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers the ...
, as Visitor, but the election was confirmed, on a hearing of the case by Dr. Thomas Bouchier the commissary. Through Compton's favour Lancaster held the archdeaconry of Middlesex from 1705 until his death, and for four years (1706–10) he was
Vice-Chancellor A vice-chancellor (commonly called a VC) serves as the chief executive of a university in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Kenya, other Commonwealth of Nati ...
of
Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...
. In university matters, he showed himself a Whig, if in religion he favoured the views of the
high church A ''high church'' is a Christian Church whose beliefs and practices of Christian ecclesiology, Christian liturgy, liturgy, and Christian theology, theology emphasize "ritual, priestly authority, ndsacraments," and a standard liturgy. Although ...
party and was one of the bail for
Henry Sacheverell Henry Sacheverell (; 8 February 1674 – 5 June 1724) was an English high church Anglican clergyman who achieved nationwide fame in 1709 after preaching an incendiary 5 November sermon. He was subsequently impeached by the House of Commons and ...
. His enemies accused him of trimming and of intriguing for a bishopric. The see of St. Davids was offered to him, but he declined it. Through his diplomacy with the corporation of
Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
, a plot of land in the
High Street High Street is a common street name for the primary business street of a city, town, or village, especially in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. It implies that it is the focal point for business, especially shopping. It is also a metonym fo ...
was leased to the college for a thousand years without charge and the first stone of a new court was laid by him on Queen Anne's birthday (6 February 1710). His arms are conspicuous in many places in the college. He died at Oxford, 4 February 1717 and was buried in the old church of St Martin's-in-the-Fields. His wife, a kinswoman of Bishop Compton, was a daughter of Mr Wilmer of
Sywell Sywell is a village and civil parish in North Northamptonshire, England. At the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 Census, the population of the parish was 792. The name Sywell is thought to mean "seven wells". Facilities The facilities found i ...
in
Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...
.


Works

Lancaster was author of: * A Latin speech on the presentation of
William Jane William Jane (1645–1707) was an English academic and clergyman, Regius Professor of Divinity at Oxford from 1680. Life The son of Joseph Jane, he was born at Liskeard, Cornwall, where he was baptised on 22 October 1645. He was educated at Wes ...
as prolocutor of the lower house of convocation, 1689. * A sermon before the House of Commons, 30 January 1697. * A recommendatory preface to the 'Door of the Tabernacle,' 1703. Many of his letters are in the Ballard collection at the Bodleian Library.


Reputation

Lancaster is said to have been the original of 'Slyboots' in the letter from 'Abraham Froth,' a satire on Arthur Charlett printed in ''
The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British political and cultural news magazine. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving magazine in the world. ''The Spectator'' is politically conservative, and its principal subject a ...
'', No. 43, and by Thomas Hearne he is frequently called 'Smoothboots,' 'Northern bear,' and 'old hypocritical, ambitious, drunken sot.'


References


Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lancaster, William 1650 births 1717 deaths Alumni of the Queen's College, Oxford 17th-century English Anglican priests 18th-century English Anglican priests English chaplains Archdeacons of Middlesex Fellows of the Queen's College, Oxford Provosts of the Queen's College, Oxford Vice-chancellors of the University of Oxford