John Bridges (1536–1618) was an English bishop.

Life

Born in 1536, he graduated M.A. at Pembroke Hall, Cambridge in 1560, having been a Fellow there since 1556. He became

Dean of Salisbury The Dean of Salisbury is the primus inter pares, head of the cathedral chapter, chapter of Salisbury Cathedral in the Church of England. The Dean assists the archdeacon of Sarum and bishop of Ramsbury in the diocese of Salisbury. List of deans ...

in 1577.''Concise Dictionary of National Biography'' He was appointed

Bishop of Oxford The Bishop of Oxford is the diocesan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Oxford in the Province of Canterbury; his seat is at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford. The current bishop is Steven Croft (bishop), Steven Croft, following the Confirm ...

on the accession of

James I of England James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 unti ...

, and took part in the

Hampton Court Conference The Hampton Court Conference was a meeting in January 1604, convened at Hampton Court Palace, for discussion between King James I of England and representatives of the Church of England, including leading English Puritans. The conference resulted ...

, in 1604.

Works

''A Defence of the Government Established in the Church of England for Ecclesiastical Matters'' (1587) was a controversial work, expanded to 1400 pages from a Paul's Cross sermon, aimed at the theories of church polity of Thomas Cartwright, Laurence Chaderton and Walter Travers in defence of the current Church of England settlement. It brought replies by Dudley Fenner and Travers. It also provoked the first of the tracts by Martin Marprelate, ''Oh read over D. John Bridges ... Printed at the cost and charges of M. Marprelate gentleman'' (1588). He was formerly considered a possible author of '' Gammer Gurton's Needle'', now attributed to William Stevenson.

Quotes

He is known to have coined the phrase, "a fool and his money are soon parted," originally written in the 1587 ''Defence'' treatise.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bridges, John 1536 births 1618 deaths Deans of Salisbury Bishops of Oxford Alumni of Pembroke College, Cambridge Fellows of Pembroke College, Cambridge 17th-century Church of England bishops 17th-century Anglican theologians 16th-century Anglican theologians