Zachary Cradock (1633–1695) was a

provost of Eton The provost is the chairman of the governing body of Eton College. He is chosen by the Crown and is assisted by a vice-provost and ten fellows. Provosts of Eton 15th century *Henry Sever (1440–1442) *William Waynflete (1442–1447) * John C ...

, and brother of

Samuel Cradock Samuel Cradock, B.D. (1621?–1706) was a nonconformist tutor, who was born about 1621. He was an elder brother of Zachary Cradock. Education Cradock entered Emmanuel College, Cambridge, as a pensioner (fee-paying student) from Rutland, and was e ...

Early life

His father was settled in

Rutland Rutland is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Leicestershire to the north and west, Lincolnshire to the north-east, and Northamptonshire to the south-west. Oakham is the largest town and county town. Rutland has a ...

. He was educated in Cambridge at Emmanuel College, and

Queens' College Queens' College is a 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 River Cam with the Mathematical Bridge an ...

, and elected fellow of the latter on 2 August 1654.

Career

In 1656

Ralph Cudworth Ralph Cudworth (; 1617 – 26 June 1688) was an English Anglican clergyman, Christian Hebraist, classicist, theologian and philosopher, and a leading figure among the Cambridge Platonists who became 11th Regius Professor of Hebrew (Cambr ...

recommended him to secretary

John Thurloe John Thurloe (June 1616 – 21 February 1668) was an English politician who served as secretary to the council of state in The Protectorate, Protectorate England and spymaster for Oliver Cromwell and held the position of Postmaster General betw ...

as resident chaplain at

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

, and he held the post for several years. He became canon of

Chichester Chichester ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in the Chichester District, Chichester district of West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher ...

at between 1669 and 1670, and fellow of

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

in December 1671. He was also chaplain in ordinary to Charles II. On 24 February 1680 he was elected provost of Eton, in succession to

Richard Allestree Richard Allestree or Allestry ( ; 1621/22 – 28 January 1681) was an English Royalist churchman and provost of Eton College from 1665. Life The son of Robert Allestree, descended from an old Derbyshire family, he was born at Uppington in Sh ...

and in opposition to

Edmund Waller Edmund Waller, 3 March 1606 to 21 October 1687, was a poet and politician from Buckinghamshire. He sat as MP for various constituencies between 1624 and 1687, and was one of the longest serving members of the English House of Commons. Althoug ...

the poet, who, according to

Wood Wood is a structural tissue/material found as xylem in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulosic fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin t ...

, ‘had tugged hard for it.’ In June 1695 it was reported that the deanery of Lincoln was offered him. He died in September 1695, and was buried in

Eton College Chapel Eton College Chapel is the main chapel of Eton College, a public school in England. The chapel was planned to be a little over double its actual length, but this plan was never completed owing to the downfall of the founder Henry VI. A plaqu ...

. He was very celebrated as a preacher. His eloquence gained him fame even in that renowned age of pulpit eloquence. It is recorded that though he always spoke

ex tempore ''Ex tempore'' (Latin for "out of the moment“) is a law latin legal term that means 'at the time'. A judge who hands down a decision in a case soon or straight after hearing it is delivering a decision ''ex tempore''. Another way a judge may de ...

, he was so far from being vain of the accomplishment as occasionally to put on his spectacles, and spread out on the cushion before him a notebook really containing nothing but blank leaves. Diarist

John Evelyn John Evelyn (31 October 162027 February 1706) was an English writer, landowner, gardener, courtier and minor government official, who is now best known as a diary, diarist. He was a founding Fellow of the Royal Society. John Evelyn's Diary, ...

was acquainted with him and frequently visited him at Eton.Evelyn's Diary, ii. 353, 355, iii. 19 A sermon by him was preached before the king was published in 1678, and went through five editions before 1695. It was reissued in 1740 and in 1742. Another sermon was issued posthumously in 1706.

References

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Cradock, Zachary 1633 births 1695 deaths Fellows of Eton College People from Rutland Provosts of Eton College