Thomas Nevile ( – 2 May 1615) was an English clergyman and academic who was Dean of Peterborough (1591–1597) and

Dean of Canterbury The Dean of Canterbury is the head of the Chapter (religion), Chapter of Canterbury Cathedral, the Cathedral of Christ Church, Canterbury, England. The current office of dean (religion), Dean originated after the English Reformation, although Dea ...

(1597–1615),

Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge The following have served as masters of Magdalene College, Cambridge: * 1544–1546: Robert Evans * 1546–1559: Richard Carre * 1559–1576: Roger Kelke * 1576–1577: Richard Howland * 1577–1582: Degory Nicholls * 1582–1593: Thomas Ne ...

(1582–1593), and Master of

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

(1593–1615).

Origins

He was born in Canterbury, a son of Richard Neville of South Leverton, Nottinghamshire (who moved to Canterbury in his retirement), a son of Alexander Neville, Escheator of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire in 1519–20. His mother was Anne Mantell, a daughter of Sir Walter Mantell of Nether Heyford, Northamptonshire. His brother was the scholar Alexander Neville (1544–1614). He bore the same arms as the prominent and ancient Neville family, Earls of Westmorland. The origins of the Neville family of South Leverton are unclear, but an early ancestor was Thomas Neville, Recorder of Nottingham and Member of Parliament for

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

in 1472.

Career

Nevile matriculated at

Pembroke College, Cambridge Pembroke College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college is the third-oldest college of the university and has over 700 students and fellows. It is one of the university's larger colleges, with buildings from ...

in 1564/5, becoming a Fellow in 1570. During a long and distinguished career he held a succession of prestigious ecclesiastical posts including the Deanery of both Peterborough and Canterbury, that allowed him to build substantial personal wealth. Within Cambridge, his popularity in the Court of Queen Elizabeth meant he found similar success there, both as Master of Magdalene College and as

Vice Chancellor A vice-chancellor (commonly called a VC) serves as the chief executive of a university in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Kenya, other Commonwealth countr ...

of the university in 1588. Then, in February 1593 Elizabeth appointed him to succeed John Still to the Mastership of Trinity, and it is for his mastership of Trinity that he is now best remembered. The college he inherited was little more than the architectural remains of the colleges that had united to form Trinity, and he set about using both his personal wealth and influence to create a setting unrivalled in academic England. To quote Trevelyan, "If Henry VIII founded Trinity, Nevile built it". Over the next decade he razed a number of existing buildings to clear the space for the area now known as Great Court. This included moving Great Gate, the entrance gate to the college, 20 metres east brick by brick, and resulted in one of the largest enclosed courts in Europe. In his final years he built an additional court, Nevile's Court, paid for entirely by himself. A monument showing two kneeling effigies representing Thomas and his brother Alexander survives in Canterbury Cathedral.

References

The Master of Trinity
at

External links

* 16th-century births 1615 deaths Masters of Trinity College, Cambridge Alumni of Pembroke College, Cambridge Fellows of Magdalene College, Cambridge Masters of Magdalene College, Cambridge 16th-century English Anglican priests 17th-century English Anglican priests Deans of Canterbury Deans of Peterborough Vice-chancellors of the University of Cambridge {{Anglicanism-stub