Robert Lougher (died 1585) was a Welsh clergyman, lawyer and politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

in 1572. He was twice Principal of

New Inn Hall, Oxford New Inn Hall was one of the earliest medieval halls of the University of Oxford. It was located in New Inn Hall Street, Oxford. History Trilleck's Inn The original building on the site was Trilleck's Inn, a medieval hall or hostel for st ...

Life and career

Lougher was born in

Tenby Tenby () is a seaside town and community (Wales), community in the county of Pembrokeshire, Wales. It lies within Carmarthen Bay. Notable features include of sandy beaches and the Pembrokeshire Coast Path, the 13th-century Tenby Town Walls, me ...

Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and otherwise by the sea. Haverfordwest is the largest town and ...

, Wales, the youngest son of Thomas Lougher, alderman of Tenby.W R Williams ''Parliamentary History of the Principality of Wales''
/ref> He became a fellow of

All Souls College, Oxford All Souls College (official name: The College of All Souls of the Faithful Departed, of Oxford) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full me ...

in 1553, obtaining degrees of BCL in 1558 and DCL in 1565. He was ordained priest, and was appointed

Archdeacon of Totnes The Archdeacon of Totnes or Totton is the senior ecclesiastical officer in charge of one of the oldest archdeaconries in England. It is an administrative division of the Church of England Diocese of Exeter and under the oversight of the Bishop su ...

in 1562. Lougher was appointed Principal of

in 1564, admitted to

Doctors' Commons Doctors' Commons, also called the College of Civilians, was a society of lawyers practising civil law (legal system), civil (as opposed to common) law in London, namely ecclesiastical and admiralty law. Like the Inns of Court of the common lawye ...

in 1565 and then became Regius Professor of Civil Law at

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 ...

in 1566. He resigned his position at New Inn Hall in 1570. He was named in the 1571 foundation charter of

Jesus College, Oxford Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship ...

as one of the original eight fellows. In 1572, although a cleric, he was elected member of parliament for Pembroke. He was again Principal of New Inn Hall from 1575 to 1580, after his successor, Dr Felix Lewes, had been removed for non-residence.Aston, T.H. (ed.), ''The History of the University of Oxford, Volume III: The Collegiate University'', pp. 264-265 In 1577, he was appointed official of the consistory and vicar-general in spirituals to

Edwin Sandys, Archbishop of York Edwin Sandys (; 1519 – 10 July 1588) was an English prelate. He was Anglican Bishop of Worcester (1559–1570), London (1570–1576) and Archbishop of York (1576–1588) during the reign of Elizabeth I of England. He was one of the translators ...

. Lougher avoided repeating the offence of Felix Lewes, even though he simultaneously served also as Chancellor of the

Diocese of Exeter The Diocese of Exeter is a Church of England diocese covering the county of Devon. It is one of the largest dioceses in England. The Cathedral Church of St Peter in Exeter is the seat of the diocesan Bishop of Exeter. It is part of the Provinc ...

, and Rector of three parishes in the county of

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

. Lougher died in 1585 and was buried in Tenby. Lougher married Elizabeth Rastall, daughter John Rastall at Tenby on 3 June 1583 or 1585. His son

John Lougher John Lougher (died 8 January 1636) was a Welsh politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1601. Lougher was the son of Robert Lougher of Tenby, Pembrokeshire and was educated at St Mary Hall, Oxford, where he graduated BA in 1594. He became a ...

also sat as MP for Pembroke.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lougher, Robert 1585 deaths Fellows of All Souls College, Oxford Fellows of Jesus College, Oxford People from Tenby 16th-century Welsh Anglican priests Archdeacons of Totnes Welsh lawyers Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for constituencies in Wales Principals of New Inn Hall, Oxford Year of birth unknown Members of Doctors' Commons English MPs 1572–1583 Regius Professors of Civil Law (University of Oxford)