Ralph Stratford ( c. 1300–1354), also known as Ralph Hatton of Stratford, was a medieval

Bishop of London The bishop of London is the Ordinary (church officer), ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury. By custom the Bishop is also Dean of the Chapel Royal since 1723. The diocese covers of 17 boroughs o ...

Early life

Born in

Stratford-on-Avon Stratford-upon-Avon ( ), commonly known as Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It is situated on the River Avon, north-west of ...

at the beginning of the fourteenth century, Stratford's parents may have been Thomas Hatton (of Warwickshire) and a sister of the bishops

John de Stratford John de Stratford ( – 1348) was Archbishop of Canterbury, Bishop of Winchester, Lord High Treasurer, Treasurer and Lord Chancellor, Chancellor of England. Early life Stratford was born into the landed Stratford (family), Stratford family of ...

and Robert Stratford. He is also related, through them, to

Henry de Stratford Henry de Stratford was a Greater Clerk of the Royal Chancery under Edward III, and member of the Noble House of Stratford. Life He was born into the wealthy Stratford Family of Stratford-on-Avon, and was related to Ralph Stratford (Bishop of Lon ...

, Sir Andrew de Stratford and the Archdeacon

Thomas de Stratford Thomas de Stratford (also called Thomas Stratford) was a medieval Archdeacon of Gloucester of the Noble House of Stratford. Early life Stratford attended Oxford University and in 1348 and 1349 held the position of Senior Proctor. He was born into ...

. He attended

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

and was regent MA in 1329.Roy Martin Haines, ‘Stratford , Ralph (c.1300–1354)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 200
accessed 28 May 2014
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Career

Stratford's career was closely defined by and linked with his uncles John and Robert. He was elected 26 January 1340 and consecrated on 12 March 1340.Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 258 In 1350 the king nominated him for the cardinalate.

Death

Stratford died at Stepney, on 7 or 17 April 1354, and on 28 April his uncle Robert Stratford, bishop of Chichester, granted forty days' indulgence to those who prayed for his soul. He was buried in St Paul's Cathedral.

Citations

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stratford, Ralph

Ralph Ralph (pronounced or ) is a male name of English origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Old High German ''Radulf'', cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms are: * Ra ...

Bishops of London 1354 deaths Year of birth unknown 1300 births Burials at St Paul's Cathedral 14th-century English Roman Catholic bishops