Herbert Croft(1603–1691) was an English churchman,bishop of Herefordfrom 1661.
Life
editCroft was born on 18 May 1603 at Great Milton, Oxfordshire, his mother being then on a journey to London, the third son ofSir Herbert Croftand his wife Mary, daughter of Sir Anthony Bourne of Holt Castle.Margaret Croft(d. 1637), a lady in waiting toElizabeth Stuart, Queen of Bohemia,was his sister. He married, before 8 April 1645, Anne Browne, the only daughter of the Very Rev. Dr.Jonathan Browneand Anne Barne Lovelace. Her half-brothers wereRichard Lovelace(1618–1657) an English poet in the seventeenth century andFrancis Lovelace(1621–1675), who was the second governor of theNew Yorkcolony appointed by theDuke of York.[1]
After being for some time, like his father who had converted, a member of the RomanCatholic Church,he returned to theChurch of Englandin about 1630.[2]He then studied atChrist Church, Oxford,graduatingB.D.in 1636 andD.D.in 1640.[3]
In 1644 he was appointed chaplain toCharles I,and obtained within a few years aprebendary's stall at Worcester, acanonryofSt George's Chapel, Windsor(1641–1662), and thedeanery of Hereford(1644–1661), all of which preferments he lost during theCivil WarandCommonwealth.[2]
ByCharles IIhe was made bishop of Hereford in 1661[2]and alsodean of the Chapel Royal(1668–1669) from which position he preached to the King, who praised him as a man from whom he never heard a bad sermon. He was one of only three bishops who voted for theimpeachmentofEdward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendonin 1667: for this, he gained much credit at Court, but was accused by Clarendon himself of "signal ingratitude", as Clarendon had been a good friend to him. Becoming disillusioned with court life he returned to his Hereford see.
Despite his youthful adherence to that faith, he was noted for his exceptional severity towards Roman Catholics, especially during thePopish Plot.No doubt for this reason, at the outset of the Plot its inventorTitus Oatesclaimed that theJesuitshad specially marked Croft for assassination. Why the Jesuits should be so anxious to kill a man who lacked any influence at Court and almost never went there was a question which probably did not occur to Oates, who was a stranger to the Court and to polite society generally.
Works
editCroft was the author of many books and pamphlets, several of them against theRoman Catholics;and one of his works, entitledThe Naked Truth, or the True State of the Primitive Church(London, 1675), was celebrated in its day, and gave rise to prolonged controversy.[2]
Family
editHis sonHerbertwas created a baronet in 1671, and was the ancestor ofSir Herbert Croft, 5th Baronet,the 18th-century writer.[2]
He died in 1691 and is buried inside theHereford Cathedral:the tomb slab of Bishop Croft on the south-east transept is joined by clasped hands with that of DeanGeorge Benson,who died in 1692.[4]
References
edit- Burke's Peerage and Baronetage
- ^She was also the great granddaughter of Cicely Wilford and theMost ReverendDr.Edwin Sandys,anAnglicanchurch leader who successively held the posts of theBishop of Worcester(1559-1570),Bishop of London(1570-1576), and theArchbishop of York(1576-1588). He was one of the translators of theBishops' Bible.She was also the grand nephew of SirFrancis Walsinghamand a 2nd cousin ofFrances Walsingham.
- ^abcdeOne or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Chisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911). "Croft, Sir Jamess.v.".Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 7 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 480.
- ^Foster, Joseph(1888–1892)..Alumni Oxonienses: the Members of the University of Oxford, 1500–1714.Oxford: Parker and Co – viaWikisource.
- ^Aylmer, G. E.; Tiller, John Eric (2000).Hereford Cathedral: A History.A&C Black. p. 121.ISBN9781852851941.
