Laud, William (1573-1645), Archbishop of Canterbury
"The Lord receive my soul, and have mercy on me, and bless this kingdom with peace and charity, that there may not be this effusion of Christian blood amongst them." - Laud's last words on the scaffold, January 10th,
1645
"The chief advocate of the Working classes, the defender of the poor, the Leader of the Education Movement, and the administrator who endeavoured to exterminate the corruption of the Civil Service", C. H. Simpkinson, (1895)
“The greatest calamity ever visited upon the Church of England." Patrick Collinson (1982)
Perhaps the most controversial figure ever to be Archbishop of Canterbury. Born in Broad Street as the son of a wealthy Reading clothier he was educated at Reading School. He won a scholarship to St John’s Oxford, where he became a senior fellow, but he soon attracted controversy for his high church views. Laud managed to become a Royal Chaplain in 1611 and his career took off, finding favour from King James I becoming Bishop of St David’s in 1621. With the accession of Charles I in 1625 he rapidly became Charles I’s favourite bishop and advisor, through the Duke Of Buckingham's support for him. Laud was made a Privy Councillor and Dean of the Chapel Royal in 1627, Bishop of London in 1628, and Chancellor of Oxford University in 1629. Laud aimed, above all, at enhancing the Church of England’s prestige and power, through means like rebuilding and beautifying churches,
emphasising hierarchy and the power of bishops, and demanding uniformity of worship, including the need for set elaborate ritual and stamping out corruption. The more puritanically inclined regarded much of this as dangerously close to Roman Catholicism, especially as Laud also attacked Calvinistic theology, instead favouring the ideas of Dutch theologian, Jacob Arminius. These opponents condemned Laud bitterly from the beginning of his career arousing an equally fierce response from Laud. Laud was also a critic of Roman Catholicism, devoting a major theological work to supporting the independence of the Church of England. Laud's religious ideas were tied
to his absolute belief in the Divine Right of Kings, and support for paternalistic government led him to give active support to Charles's unparliamentary rule from 1629.
By 1633 when Laud became Archbishop of Canterbury, his fierce persecution of those who opposed his High Church policies had already aroused bitter opposition. Now he went further in using the Courts of Star Chamber and High Commission against his critics handing out harsh punishments. He also spent much time on civil matters. His strict enforcement of the statutes against enclosures and of laws regulating wages and prices in favour of the poor alienated the wealthy. Laud contemplated restoring some of the lands lost at the Reformation to the
Church: as much of this was owned by local gentry, they felt their property was threatened further leading to Laud's unpopularity. He had also spent much time on his work as chancellor of Oxford University gaining a new charter, encouraging better administration, and deeper scholarship, giving generously himself to fund new developments, though obviously religious ideas which contradicted Laud's views were not encouraged.
In 1637 Laud's attempt to create religious uniformity led him to back the imposition of a Prayer Book on Scotland precipitating the Bishop's Wars in 1639. In turn, this led to the Long Parliament, who soon acted
to impeach him in 1640 for treason, accusing him of giving the King evil counsel, acting tyrannously to overthrow the law, subverting the protestant religion and causing war with Scotland. In 1641 he was imprisoned in the Tower of London. The King he had served so loyally signed the order to imprison him, attempting to mollify Parliament. In August 1642 Civil War began and in May 1643 Parliament seized all his goods and papers and searched them for evidence against him. Laud was still deeply unpopular and many publications of the time blamed him personally for the war. In 1644, after a long trial for treason, the House of Lords returned no verdict against Laud, for no substantive proof of treason had been found. Instead Parliament was forced to pass an Act of Attainder against him, which needed no proof of guilt. Laud was beheaded on Tower Hill on January 10th 1645. Those who honour his death as martyrdom remember it on this day. His body was eventually buried in St John’s College Chapel, Oxford after the Restoration. He remembered Reading fondly, promoting a charter for the town, as well as making various charitable bequests to the poor, local churches and Reading School. He also was responsible for saving some of the remnants of John Kendrick's bequest for the town. There is a Laud Close in Reading and a memorial window to him in St Lawrence's church, where he was baptised.
Link to the Dictionary of National Biography (only from a Library terminal).
Archbishop Laud
Other External Links to more information:
Laud Biography from British Civil Wars
website
Royal Berkshire History
- Biography of Laud
Pictures of Laud from the National Portrait Gallery
Contemporary Account of Laud’s final
speech on the scaffold
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