Thomas Lancaster
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Thomas Lancaster (died 1583) was an English Protestant clergyman,
Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh The Anglican archbishop of Armagh is the ecclesiastical head of the Church of Ireland, bearing the title Primate of All Ireland, the metropolitan of the Province of Armagh and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Armagh.
from 1568.


Life

He was perhaps a native of
Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...
, and was probably educated 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 ...
. On 11 July 1550 he was consecrated
Bishop of Kildare The Bishop of Kildare was an episcopal title which took its name after the town of Kildare in County Kildare, Ireland. The title is no longer in use by any of the main Christian churches having been united with other bishoprics. In the Roman Cat ...
by George Browne,
Archbishop of Dublin The Archbishop of Dublin () is an Episcopal polity, archiepiscopal title which takes its name from Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Since the Reformation in Ireland, Reformation, there have been parallel apostolic successions to the title: ...
. An evangelical Protestant, he attended the conference in June 1551 which Sir James Croft,
Lord Deputy of Ireland The Lord Deputy was the representative of the monarch and head of the Irish executive (government), executive under English rule, during the Lordship of Ireland and then the Kingdom of Ireland. He deputised prior to 1523 for the Viceroy of Ireland ...
, held at Dublin with
George Dowdall George Dowdall (1487 – 15 August 1558) was a sixteenth-century Irish cleric, who was twice Archbishop of Armagh. Biography Dowdall was born in Drogheda, the son of Edward Dowdall. The Dowdall family came to Ireland from Dovedale in Derbyshire ...
, the
Primate of Ireland The Primacy of Ireland belongs to the diocesan bishop of the Irish diocese with highest Order of precedence, precedence. The Archbishop of Armagh is titled Primate of All Ireland and the Archbishop of Dublin Primate of Ireland, signifying that t ...
and a
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
. In 1552, Lancaster was installed in the deanery of Ossory, which he held ''
in commendam In canon law, commenda (or ''in commendam'') was a form of transferring an ecclesiastical benefice ''in trust'' to the ''custody'' of a patron. The phrase ''in commendam'' was originally applied to the provisional occupation of an ecclesiastica ...
'' with his bishopric. On 2 February 1553, he assisted in the consecration of
John Bale John Bale (21 November 1495 – November 1563) was an English churchman, historian controversialist, and Bishop of Ossory in Ireland. He wrote the oldest known historical verse drama in English (on the subject of King John), and developed and ...
as
Bishop of Ossory . The Bishop of Ossory () is an Episcopal polity, episcopal title which takes its name after the ancient of Kingdom of Ossory in the Provinces of Ireland, Province of Leinster, Ireland. In the Catholic Church it remains a separate title, but i ...
; and about the same time he published a statement of his doctrinal position; it is dedicated to
Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. The only surviving son of Henry VIII by his thi ...
. Lancaster's style of argument resembles Bale's. Lancaster was married, and on that ground, he was deprived of both his preferments by Queen Mary in 1554, and spent the remainder of her reign in retirement. In 1559 he was presented by the Crown to the treasurership of
Salisbury Cathedral Salisbury Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an Church of England, Anglican cathedral in the city of Salisbury, England. The cathedral is regarded as one of the leading examples of Early English architecture, ...
, in succession to
Thomas Harding Thomas Harding (born 1448 in Cambridge, Gloucestershire, England and died at Chesham, Buckinghamshire, England, May 1532) was a sixteenth-century English religious dissident who, while waiting to be burnt at the stake as a Lollard in 1532, wa ...
; and he also became one of the royal chaplains. He was a member of the lower house of the
Convocation of 1563 The Convocation of 1563 was a significant gathering of English and Welsh clerics that consolidated the Elizabethan religious settlement, and brought the '' Thirty-Nine Articles'' close to their final form (which dates from 1571). It was, more acc ...
, and on 5 February 1563 was in the minority of 58 who approved of the proposed six formulas committing the
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
to ultra-Protestant doctrine and practices, as against 59 who opposed the change. In the same year, he signed the petition of the lower house of convocation for reform of church discipline. He acted as suffragan bishop of Marlborough under Bishop
John Jewel John Jewel (''alias'' Jewell) (24 May 1522 – 23 September 1571) of Devon, England was Bishop of Salisbury from 1559 to 1571. Life He was the youngest son of John Jewel of Bowden in the parish of Berry Narbor in Devon, by his wife Alice Bel ...
, but the dates are not known. In that capacity, he held ordinations at
Salisbury Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...
on 13 April 1560 and 26 April 1568. Writing to Archbishop
Matthew Parker Matthew Parker (6 August 1504 – 17 May 1575) was an English bishop. He was the Archbishop of Canterbury in the Church of England from 1559 to his death. He was also an influential theologian and arguably the co-founder (with Thomas Cranmer ...
(8 May 1568) Jewel complained of Lancaster's want of discretion. Lancaster was also elected Principal of
St Edmund Hall, Oxford St Edmund Hall (also known as The Hall and Teddy Hall) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. The college claims to be "the oldest surviving academic society to house and educate undergraduates in any university" and was the las ...
in early 1565. When Sir Henry Sydney went to Ireland as
Lord Deputy The Lord Deputy was the representative of the monarch and head of the Irish executive (government), executive under English rule, during the Lordship of Ireland and then the Kingdom of Ireland. He deputised prior to 1523 for the Viceroy of Ireland ...
in October 1565, Lancaster had a royal licence to attend him and absent himself from his spiritual offices. He accompanied Sydney in his progress through various parts of Ireland.
Sir William Cecil William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley (13 September 15204 August 1598), was an English statesman, the chief adviser of Queen Elizabeth I for most of her reign, twice Secretary of State (1550–1553 and 1558–1572) and Lord High Treasurer from ...
was friendly with him, and wrote to Sidney on 22 July 1567 that Lancaster was to be made Archbishop of Armagh, in succession to Adam Loftus, who had been translated to Dublin. Some months passed before the choice was officially announced, but on 28 March 1568
Queen Elizabeth Queen Elizabeth, Queen Elisabeth or Elizabeth the Queen may refer to: Queens regnant * Elizabeth I (1533–1603; ), Queen of England and Ireland * Elizabeth II (1926–2022; ), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms * Queen B ...
informed the Irish Lords Justices. His consecration took place, at the hands of Archbishop Loftus of Dublin, Hugh Brady,
Bishop of Meath The Bishop of Meath is an episcopal title which takes its name after the ancient Kingdom of Meath. In the Catholic Church it remains as a separate title, but in the Church of Ireland it has been united with another bishopric. History Until the ...
, and Robert Daly, Bishop of Kildare, on 13 June 1568, in
Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin Christ Church Cathedral, more formally The Cathedral of the Holy Trinity (Irish: ''Ardeaglais Theampall Chríost''), is the cathedral of the Diocese of Dublin and Glendalough, United Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough and the cathedral of the e ...
. He preached his own consecration sermon on the subject of 'Regeneration.' The archbishop had licence to hold sundry preferments, both in England and in Ireland, on account of the poverty of his see, which had been wasted by rebellion. Due to the paucity of his See he was also
in commendam In canon law, commenda (or ''in commendam'') was a form of transferring an ecclesiastical benefice ''in trust'' to the ''custody'' of a patron. The phrase ''in commendam'' was originally applied to the provisional occupation of an ecclesiastica ...
Archdeacon of Kells, Rector of
Nobber Nobber (Irish language, Irish: ''an Obair'', "the work") is a village in north County Meath, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is on the Navan–Kingscourt road (R162 road, R162), about north of Navan. This places the village about from the M5 ...
and
Prebend A prebendary is a member of the Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of the choir ...
of
St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin Saint Patrick's Cathedral () in Dublin, Ireland is the national cathedral of the Church of Ireland. Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, Christ Church Cathedral, also a Church of Ireland cathedral in Dublin, is designated as the local cathedral of ...
"Fasti Ecclesiae Hibernicae: The succession of the prelates Volume 2" Cotton, H. pp176/7 Dublin, Hodges & Smith, 1848-1878 He died in
Drogheda Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...
in December 1583, and was buried in St. Peter's Church in the town, in the vault of one of his predecessors, Octavian De Spinellis (died 1513). He left a son and two daughters. His will was disputed and the intended foundation of a public grammar school at Drogheda, to be endowed at his cost, and eight scholarships for it at St Edmund Hall, Oxford, came to nothing.


Notes


References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lancaster, Thomas Year of birth missing 1586 deaths People from Cumberland Anglican archbishops of Armagh Anglican bishops of Kildare Principals of St Edmund Hall, Oxford 16th-century Anglican bishops in Ireland Deans of Kilkenny Archdeacons of Kells British expatriate archbishops