Guy Carleton (1605–1685) was an

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

clergyman. He was

Dean of Carlisle The Dean of Carlisle is based in Carlisle, United Kingdom, and is the head of the Chapter of Carlisle Cathedral in the Church of England's Diocese of Carlisle. There have been 41 previous incumbents. The current dean is Jonathan Brewster; he took ...

from 1660 to 1671,

Bishop of Bristol The Bishop of Bristol heads the Church of England Diocese of Bristol in the Province of Canterbury, in England. The present diocese covers parts of the counties of Somerset and Gloucestershire together with a small area of Wiltshire. The see ...

from 1672 to 1679 and

Bishop of Chichester The Bishop of Chichester is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chichester in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers the counties of East Sussex, East and West Sussex. The Episcopal see, see is based in t ...

from 1678 to 1685.

Life

He is said by

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''. He meticulously rese ...

to have been a kinsman of George Carleton. He was a native of Brampton Foot, in

Gilsland Gilsland is a village in northern England about west of Hexham, and about east of Carlisle, which straddles the border between Cumbria and Northumberland. The village provides an amenity centre for visitors touring Hadrian's Wall and other f ...

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...

. He was educated at the free school in

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from ) is a city in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. Carlisle's early history is marked by the establishment of a settlement called Luguvalium to serve forts along Hadrian's Wall in Roman Britain. Due to its pro ...

, and was sent as a servitor to

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 ...

, where he later became a Fellow. In 1635 he was made a

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 ...

to the university. When 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. An estimated 15% to 20% of adult males in England and Wales served in the military at some point b ...

broke out, he followed the royal army, although he had been ordained and held two livings. In an engagement with the enemy he was taken prisoner and confined in

Lambeth House Lambeth Palace is the official London residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury. It is situated in north Lambeth, London, on the south bank of the River Thames, south-east of the Palace of Westminster, which houses Parliament, on the opposite b ...

. He managed to escape by the help of his wife, who conveyed a cord to him, by which he was to let himself down from a window, and then make for a boat on the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

. The rope was too short, and in dropping to the ground he broke one of his bones, but succeeded in getting to the boat. His wife had to sell some of her clothes and work for their daily food, but they contrived to get out of the country, and joined the exiled king

Charles II of England Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651 and King of England, Scotland, and King of Ireland, Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685. Charles II was the eldest su ...

. Immediately after the Restoration of 1660, Carleton was made dean of Carlisle. In 1671 he was promoted to the bishopric of Bristol, and in 1678 translated to the see of Chichester, but he was unpopular, and had his palace stoned during a 1679 visit by the

Duke of Monmouth Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they ar ...

References

Attribution

Deans of Carlisle 1605 births 1685 deaths Bishops of Bristol Bishops of Chichester 17th-century Church of England bishops People from Gilsland {{ChurchofEngland-bishop-stub