Alan Percy (c.1480-1560) was an English churchman and academic, Master of

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College, formally the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge, is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch L ...

, and later Master of Trinity College, Arundel which he surrendered to

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

in 1545.

Life

He was third son of

Henry Percy, 4th Earl of Northumberland Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainme ...

and Maud, daughter of William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke. He is not known to have been educated at a university, but was vicar of

Giggleswick Giggleswick, a village and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, lies on the B6480 road, less than north-west of the town of Settle and divided from it by the River Ribble. It is the site of Giggleswick School. Until 1974 it was part ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

, from 1508 to 1517. On 6 May 1515 he received the rectory of St. Anne, Aldersgate, London, which he held till 1518. The new foundation of St. John's College, Cambridge, chose him as their second master on 29 July 1516, probably with an eye to his Lancastrian connections and family influence, But he resigned the mastership two years later on 1 November 1518; the college granted him a small pension and some residence privileges. On 2 April 1520 Henry VIII gave him a house and garden at

Stepney Stepney is an area in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in the East End of London. Stepney is no longer officially defined, and is usually used to refer to a relatively small area. However, for much of its history the place name was applied to ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

, and he gave up claims on the college the following year. With other preferments he pursued a clerical career. On 25 October 1521 he became rector of St. Mary-at-Hill, London, which he held for the rest of his life. In 1526 Thomas Boleyn, Viscount Rochford presented him to the rectory of Mulbarton,

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

. He became Master of the collegiate church of the Holy Trinity at Arundel, where he succeeded the musician Edward Hygons at some point between 1535 and 1539. The college might have escaped the Dissolution of the Monasteries, since in the early 1540s it had been granted property from Hayling Priory, and other land from the dissolved St John's Priory at nearby Poling and Shipley. But an eventual dissolution of the college was prompted at court by Henry Lord Maltravers; and a late stage Percy joined with the two fellows in surrendering it to the king on 12 December 1545.

Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, (10 March 1536 or 1538 2 June 1572), was an English nobleman and politician. He was a second cousin of Queen Elizabeth I and held many high offices during the earlier part of her reign. Norfolk was the s ...

gave him the rectory of

Earsham Earsham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. Earsham is located west of Bungay and south-east of Norwich. The village is located close to the border between Norfolk and Suffolk, and the River Waveney. History Ear ...

, Norfolk, in 1558; he had also been rector of Stanley Regis,

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

from 1551. Percy died in May 1560, and was buried in the old chapel of St. John's College, where there were a brass and a marble tomb to his memory.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Percy, Alan 1480 births 1560 deaths 16th-century English Anglican priests Masters of St John's College, Cambridge People associated with the Dissolution of the Monasteries Younger sons of earls

Alan Alan may refer to: People *Alan (surname), an English and Kurdish surname * Alan (given name), an English given name ** List of people with given name Alan ''Following are people commonly referred to solely by "Alan" or by a homonymous name.'' * ...

16th-century English scholars 16th-century English educators