Richard Longworth (died 1579) was an English churchman and academic. He served as

master Master, master's or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles In education: *Master (college), head of a college *Master's degree, a postgraduate or sometimes undergraduate degree in the specified discipline *Schoolmaster or master, presiding office ...

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College, formally the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge, is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch L ...

from 1564 to 1569, having been removed for his

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...

views, and then as

Dean of Chester The Dean of Chester is based at Chester Cathedral in the Diocese of Chester and is the head of the Chapter at the cathedral. List of deans Early modern *1541 Thomas Clerk (priest), Thomas Clerk (first Dean of Chester) *1541–1547 Henry Man ( ...

from 1572 until his death.

Life

He was from

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, and matriculated as a pensioner at St John's College in 1549. He graduated B.A. in 1553, M.A. in 1556, B.D. in 1563, and D.D. in 1567. He became a Fellow of

Queens' College, Cambridge Queens' College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the 16 "old colleges" of the university, and was founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. Its buildings span the R ...

for the period 1553 to 1557; and a Fellow of St John's from 1559. He was university preacher in 1561, and Vice-Chancellor from 1567 to 1568. Having been elected Master of St John's in 1564, he was deprived of the position in 1569, by Richard Cox, the

bishop of Ely The Bishop of Ely is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Ely in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese roughly covers the county of Cambridgeshire (with the exception of the Soke of Peterborough), together with ...

, as College Visitor.Churchill Babington, Materials for a history of Cockfield, Suffolk (1880), p. 35. Longworth's religious views were

, and under his leadership St John's had become a major Puritan force in the university. The college's sympathies were manifested in the refusal of the Master and others to wear the

surplice A surplice (; Late Latin ''superpelliceum'', from ''super'', "over" and ''pellicia'', "fur garment") is a liturgical vestment of Western Christianity. The surplice is in the form of a tunic of white linen or cotton fabric, reaching to the kn ...

in chapel, and Longworth was summoned to London to explain himself. Longworth was allied with

William Fulke William Fulke (; 1538buried 28 August 1589) was an English Puritan divine. Life Fulke was born in London. His father was Christopher Fulke, the Common Crier and Serjeant at Arms to the Mayor of the City of London. He had a younger brother cal ...

, and

Richard Curteys Richard Curteys (c.1532?–1582) was an English churchman. A native of Lincolnshire, after his education at St. John's, Cambridge he was ordained and eventually became Chaplain to Queen Elizabeth I. He was made the Dean of Chichester Cathedral ...

laid a complaint against both of them in 1565; later they fell out, and Fulke headed the faction opposed to Longworth. The Visitor's intervention was prompted by the feuding in the college, and Fulke had to pull back, missing his own chance at the mastership. As Dean of Chester, appointed 1573, he was an absentee. He was a non-resident rector of

Cockfield, Suffolk Cockfield is a village and civil parish located approximately from Lavenham in Suffolk, England. The village consists of a central ...

from 1567, and was succeeded by John Knewstub, of similar views.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Longworth, Richard Year of birth missing 1579 deaths Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Masters of St John's College, Cambridge Fellows of Queens' College, Cambridge Deans of Chester Clergy from Lancashire 16th-century English Puritan ministers 16th-century English scholars 16th-century English educators Vice-chancellors of the University of Cambridge