John Chambers (bishop)
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John Chambers (died 1556) was an English
Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...
, the last Abbot of Peterborough and first Bishop of Peterborough.


Life

He was born in Peterborough and was sometimes called Burgh or Borowe. He became a monk in the abbey there, and was elected its abbot in 1528. He was studied both at
Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
and Cambridge Universities; he took a Cambridge M.A. in 1505, and was B.D. in 1539. In 1530 Chambers as Abbot received Thomas Wolsey, then on his last progress to the Province of York. The cardinal kept Easter at Peterborough with great state. After Wolsey's fall Chambers maintained his position, with only some external modifications, to the end of his life. When Richard Layton, the agent of Henry VIII in the dissolution of the monasteries, accompanied by
Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'st ...
, the nephew of
Thomas Cromwell Thomas Cromwell (; – 28 July 1540) was an English statesman and lawyer who served as List of English chief ministers, chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false cha ...
, was at Ramsey Abbey, and had marked down Peterborough as his next target, Chambers contacted Sir William Parr, hoping by bribery to save his abbey. Chambers discreetly made no further resistance. The abbey was surrendered to the king in 1539, Chambers being appointed guardian of the temporalities, with an annual pension. He became one of the royal chaplains and proceeded to his degree of B.D. at Cambridge the same year (1539). Chambers had support from Lord Russell in the direction of Cromwell. On 4 September 1541 letters patent were issued converting the abbey church of Peterborough into a cathedral church, with a dean and chapter and ecclesiastical staff. King Henry also erected a monument to
Catherine of Aragon Catherine of Aragon (also spelt as Katherine, historical Spanish: , now: ; 16 December 1485 – 7 January 1536) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England as the Wives of Henry VIII, first wife of King Henry VIII from their marr ...
, who had been buried in the abbey church in January 1536. Chambers now became the first bishop of the new see, with a residence on the site, and the prior of St Andrew's at Northampton became the dean. The new bishop was consecrated in his former abbey church 23 October 1541, by Bishop Thomas Goodrich of Ely, assisted by his suffragan, Robert Blyth, bishop of Dover, and the suffragan of the bishop of Lincoln, Thomas Hallam, titular bishop of Philadelphia. According to Thomas Fuller, Chambers was appointed by the convocation of 1542, in conjunction with John Wakeman of Gloucester, to revise the translation of the Apocalypse for the proposed new edition of the Great Bible. He died on 7 February 1556 and was buried in the choir of his cathedral on 6 March. There were formerly two monuments to him, both destroyed during the
English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...
. Chambers has been erroneously identified with John Chambre, a doctor of physic, of
Merton College, Oxford Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 126 ...
, who became dean of St Stephen's, Westminster, and died in 1549.


References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chambers, John 1556 deaths English Benedictines 16th-century English abbots Bishops of Peterborough People associated with the Dissolution of the Monasteries People from Marlborough, Wiltshire 16th-century English bishops Year of birth unknown Burials at Peterborough Cathedral 16th-century Christian abbots