Isaac Bargrave (1586 – January 1643) was an English royalist churchman,

Dean of Canterbury The Dean of Canterbury is the head of the Chapter of the Cathedral of Christ Church, Canterbury, England. The current office of Dean originated after the English Reformation, although Deans had also existed before this time; its immediate precur ...

from 1625 to 1643.

Life

Early life

Isaac was the sixth son of Robert Bargrave, of

Bridge, Kent Bridge is a village and civil parish near Canterbury in Kent, South East England. Bridge village is in the Nailbourne valley in a rural setting on the old Roman road, Watling Street, formerly the main road between London and Dover. The village i ...

, and was educated at

Clare Hall, Cambridge Clare Hall is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. Founded in 1966 by Clare College, Clare Hall is a college for advanced study, admitting only postgraduate students alongside postdoctoral researchers and fellows. It ...

, where he graduated B.A. and M.A. On 9 July 1611 he was incorporated M.A. of Oxford, and in the October following became rector of

Eythorne Eythorne is a civil parish and small village located 7.3 miles north-northwest of Dover in Kent, with a combined population of approximately 2,500 residents including nearby villages Barfrestone and Elvington. Although not classed as one of the ...

. In 1612 he held the office of 'taxor' at Cambridge, and he acted in the Latin comedy '' Ignoramus'' performed at the university before James I on 8 March 1615 and written by George Ruggle of his college.

Chaplaincies

Shortly afterwards Bargrave went to Venice as chaplain to Sir Henry Wotton, the English ambassador there, and befriended Paolo Sarpi. In 1618 he returned to England with a letter of introduction from Wotton to the king. In 1622 he received the degree of D.D. at Cambridge, and was appointed a

prebendary A prebendary is a member of the Roman Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of th ...

of Canterbury Cathedral. It was about the same time that he was granted the living of

St. Margaret's, Westminster The Church of St Margaret, Westminster Abbey, is in the grounds of Westminster Abbey on Parliament Square, London, England. It is dedicated to Margaret of Antioch, and forms part of a single World Heritage Site with the Palace of Westminster ...

, and became chaplain to Prince Charles, an office which he retained after the prince ascended the throne in 1625.

Dean

MuralMonument IsaacBargrave CanterburyCathedral

On the death of John Boys of Canterbury, who had married Bargrave's sister, Bargrave succeeded to the deanery, to which he was formally admitted on 16 October 1625. He obtained the vicarage of

Tenterden Tenterden is a town in the borough of Ashford in Kent, England. It stands on the edge of the remnant forest the Weald, overlooking the valley of the River Rother. It was a member of the Cinque Ports Confederation. Its riverside today is not ...

in 1626, and was presented to the benefice of

Lydd Lydd is a town and electoral ward in Kent, England, lying on Romney Marsh. It is one of the larger settlements on the marsh, and the most southerly town in Kent. Lydd reached the height of its prosperity during the 13th century, when it was a c ...

by the king in September 1627, but only held it for a few weeks. On 5 June 1628 he received the vicarage of

Chartham Chartham is a village and civil parish in the Canterbury district of Kent, England. It is situated on the Ashford side of the city, and is in the North Downs area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, south west of Canterbury, England. The Great St ...

, which he continued to hold till his death.

Controversies

In the last years of James I's reign Bargrave had preached a sermon which threw him into disfavour with the court; but as dean of Canterbury he supported the policy of Charles I. A sermon preached by him before Charles I on 27 March 1627 supported the collection of that year's arbitrary loan. In later years Bargrave did not live on good terms with his diocesan

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 ...

, or with the cathedral clergy. In 1634-5 he insisted on the Walloon congregation at Canterbury and the Belgian church of

Sandwich A sandwich is a food typically consisting of vegetables, sliced cheese or meat, placed on or between slices of bread, or more generally any dish wherein bread serves as a container or wrapper for another food type. The sandwich began as a po ...

conforming to the ritual of the church of England; but the archbishop did not approve of these orders. Bargrave claimed precedence over the deans of London and Westminster, and engaged in a dispute with William Somner, the registrar of the diocese. Soon after the opening of the

Long Parliament The Long Parliament was an English Parliament which lasted from 1640 until 1660. It followed the fiasco of the Short Parliament, which had convened for only three weeks during the spring of 1640 after an 11-year parliamentary absence. In Septem ...

Bargrave became an object of attack. When the bill for the abolition of deans and chapters was introduced by Sir Edward Dering, the first cousin of his wife, he was fined £1,000 as a prominent member of convocation. On 12 May 1641 he went to the House of Commons to present petitions from the university of Cambridge and from the officers of Canterbury Cathedral against the bill. Although the bill was ultimately dropped, Bargrave's unpopularity increased.

Imprisonment & death

At the beginning of 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 ...

, in August 1642, Edwin Sandys, a parliamentary colonel who had been on good terms with Bargrave, occupied the deanery. Bargrave was absent, but his wife and children were roughly treated; and Sandys arrested Bargrave at Gravesend, after which he spent time in the Fleet Prison After three weeks' imprisonment Bargrave was released without having been brought to trial. He returned to Canterbury and died there early in January 1643. He was buried in the dean's chapel of the cathedral. In 1679 a memorial was erected above the grave by the dean's nephew,

John Bargrave John Bargrave (1610 – 11 May 1680), was an English author and collector and a canon of Canterbury Cathedral.''Under the Sign: John Bargrave as Collector, Traveler, and Witness'' by Stephen Bann, Michigan, 1995 Early life Bargrave was born in K ...

, with a portrait painted on copper of the dean, attributed to

Cornelius Jansen Cornelius Jansen (, ; Latinized name Cornelius Jansenius; also Corneille Jansen; 28 October 1585 – 6 May 1638) was the Dutch Catholic bishop of Ypres_in_Flanders.html" ;"title="atholic-Hierarchy]/ref> Its seat was Saint Martin's Cathedra ...

Family

Bargrave was married to Elizabeth, the daughter of Sir John Dering, of Pluckley, and first cousin of Sir Edward Dering. Of Bargrave's children one son, Thomas, married a niece of Sir Henry Wotton, and was an executor of Sir Henry's will.

Works

Bargrave published three sermons: one preached from Psalms xxvi. 6 before the House of Commons 28 Feb. 1623–4; another preached from Hosea x. 1 at Whitehall in 1624, and a third preached from 1 Sam. xv. 23 before King Charles 29 March 1627.

References

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Bargrave, Isaac 1586 births 1643 deaths Deans of Canterbury 17th-century English Anglican priests Alumni of Clare College, Cambridge People from Bridge, Kent People from Chartham