John Alcock ( – 1 October 1500) was an English churchman,

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

and

Lord Chancellor The Lord Chancellor, formally titled Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom. The lord chancellor is the minister of justice for England and Wales and the highest-ra ...

Biography

Alcock was born at Beverley in

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 ...

, son of Sir William Alcock, Burgess of

Kingston upon Hull Kingston upon Hull, usually shortened to Hull, is a historic maritime city and unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Est ...

, and was educated at Beverley Grammar School and the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. In 1461 he was made dean of St Stephen's Chapel, Westminster, and his subsequent promotion was rapid in both church and state. In the following year he was made

Master of the Rolls The Keeper or Master of the Rolls and Records of the Chancery of England, known as the Master of the Rolls, is the President of the Court of Appeal (England and Wales)#Civil Division, Civil Division of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales ...

,Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 88 and in 1470 was sent as ambassador to the Crown Court of Castile. He was nominated to the see of Rochester on 8 January 1472, was consecrated

Bishop of Rochester The Bishop of Rochester is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Rochester in the Province of Canterbury. The town of Rochester, Kent, Rochester has the bishop's seat, at the Rochester Cathedral, Cathedral Chur ...

on 15 MarchFryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 268 and was successively translated to the see of Worcester on 15 July 1476Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 280 and the see of Ely on 6 October 1486.Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 245 He was the first president of the Council of the Marches in Wales from 1473 to 1500. He twice held the office of

, once from June 1475 to September 1475 and then again from October 1485 to March 1487. Alcock was one of the leading pre-

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

divines; he was a man of deep learning and also of great proficiency as an architect. Besides founding a charity at Beverley and endowing Hull Grammar School, he restored many churches and colleges; but his greatest achievement was the building of

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Jesus College was established in 1496 on the site of the twelfth-century Benedictine nunnery of St Radegund's Priory, Cambridge, St ...

, which he established on the site of the former Convent of St Radegund. Alcock was appointed to the Council in 1470 and became Master of the Rolls in 1471, soon after being appointed tutor to King Edward IV's eldest son, Prince Edward. After the King's death he was with Prince Edward when he was intercepted by Richard, Duke of Gloucester, at

Stony Stratford Stony Stratford is a market town in Buckinghamshire and a constituent town of Milton Keynes, England. It is located on Watling Street, historically the Roman road from London to Chester. It is also a civil parish with a town council in the Cit ...

. Alcock was arrested and removed from office but soon rejoined the council. He was with King Richard III when he entered

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

in August 1483 and was a member of the English delegation that met the Scots at

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

. Later Alcock was one of several clerics who openly canvassed the proposition that Henry Tudor marry

Elizabeth of York Elizabeth of York (11 February 1466 – 11 February 1503) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England from her marriage to King Henry VII of England, Henry VII on 18 January 1486 until her death in 1503. She was the daughter of King E ...

. Appointed temporary Lord Chancellor he opened King Henry VII's first Parliament on 7 November 1485 and became one of the new king's most trusted servants. Alcock died on 1 October 1500 and lies buried in the Alcock Chantry in

Ely Cathedral Ely Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Ely, is an Church of England, Anglican cathedral in the city of Ely, Cambridgeshire, England. The cathedral can trace its origin to the abbey founded in Ely in 67 ...

Writings

Alcock's published writings, most of which are extremely rare, are: ''Mons Perfectionis, or the Hill of Perfection'' (London, 1497); ''Gallicontus Johannis Alcock episcopi Eliensis ad frates suos curatas in sinodo apud Barnwell'' (1498), a good specimen of early English printing and quaint illustrations; ''The Castle of Labour'', translated from the French (1536), and various other tracts and homilies.See J. Bass Mullinger's ''History of the University of Cambridge'', vol. i.

Citations

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Alcock, John 1430s births 1500 deaths People from Beverley Lord chancellors of England Bishops of Ely Bishops of Worcester Bishops of Rochester 15th-century English Roman Catholic bishops Bishops appointed by Pope Sixtus IV Bishops appointed by Pope Innocent VIII Masters of the Rolls People educated at Beverley Grammar School Deans of St Stephen's Chapel, Westminster Founders of colleges of the University of Cambridge Year of birth uncertain