Bernard Hale (died 29 March 1663) was a 17th-century English clergyman and academic, who served as Archdeacon of Ely and Master of Peterhouse, Cambridge.
Hale was the sixth son of William Hale of King's Walden, Hertfordshire. [1] The Hale family had made a fortune in London in the grocery business in the sixteenth century and then settled in Saffron Walden, where they were still living in Victorian times. [2]
He was educated at Richard Hale's School in Hertford [3] (founded by his grandfather Richard Hale in 1617), at Westminster School, [4] and at Peterhouse, Cambridge. He entered Peterhouse in 1625, graduating B.A. 1629, M.A. 1632, B.D. ( per lit. reg. ) 1639, D.D. (per lit. reg.) 1660. [1]
He was a Fellow of Peterhouse 1632–34, [1] resigning the fellowship on the death of his father, which left him with a plentiful inheritance. He lived in London and then Norfolk, using his resources to provide for the local poor and for exhibitions for university students. [4]
At the Restoration in 1660, Hale became Archdeacon of Ely, a prebendary of Ely Cathedral, Rector of Fen Ditton and Master of Peterhouse. [1]
In 1663 Hale was "seized with a paralytic stupor" for three days, [4] dying on 29 March 1663. He was buried the following day, in the chapel of Peterhouse. [1]
He was a considerable benefactor to Peterhouse both in his lifetime and in his will, bequeathing land valued at more than £7,000, endowing the organ scholarship, and providing for seven other scholarships. [3]
