The History of Dover Castle (1797), the only published fruit of Darell's antiquarian work on the castles of Kent, with the relevant sections on Dover Castle translated from Latin.
William Darell or Darrell (died after 16 February 1580) was an English Anglican clergyman and antiquarian.
Born in Kent, Darell first appears in the historical record when in 1546 he was presented to the rectory in his home town of Little Chart. A pluralist, Darell went on to hold many benefices, rectories, and vicarages during his ecclesiastical career. This included notably a prebend at Canterbury Cathedral, where he was among those who elected Matthew Parker to the Archbishopric of Canterbury and subsequently worked under Parker as an antiquarian. However a succession of controversies within the church—including one where he was found smuggling a woman of "suspect behaviour" into his Canterbury quarters—precipitated a loss of favour in the 1570s. After he lost his prebend at Canterbury in 1580, Darrel disappeared from the historical record.
Biography
Darell was born into the ancient Darell family of Calehill, Little Chart, Kent who remained loyal to the Catholic Church after the English Reformation; nothing more is known of his early life.[1][2] He first appears in the historical record when he is presented to the rectory of Little Chart in 1546.[3] By 1548, he had the benefice of St Andrew's, Droitwich, Worcestershire;[2] thereafter he found himself in the rectories of Milton-next-Gravesend, Kent in 1549 and Chawton, Hampshire in 1553.[3] When Elizabeth came to the throne in 1558, Darell was living in Lenham, Kent.[2]
On both 23 September 1553 and 24 March 1554, Darell was assigned to take over the third prebend of Canterbury Cathedral, Kent from the previous incumbent Robert Goldeston.[2] Darell also attended Oxford University, where he graduated BA on 24 April 1554 and MA on 29 May 1554.[3] At Canterbury, Darell was among five-person chapter who elected Matthew Parker to the Archbishopric of Canterbury. He was tasked with announcing the chapter's decision and presenting it to Parker for his approval. Darell thereafter advanced through the ranks of the Cathedral, becoming subdean in 1560. Under Archbishop Parker, Darell was among those encouraged in antiquarianism. He authored a work on the castles of Kent, entitled Castra in campo Cantiano ab antiquo aedita nobilium ope et diligentia, dedicated to his patron, William Brooke, 10th Baron Cobham, lord of the Manor of Cobham, Kent and Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports. Darell was also a diligent collector of manuscripts. Among his collection was a copy of the Flores Historiarum, a Latin chronicle of English history, with 14th-century additions, formerly in the collection of John Bale; a 15th-century copy of the medieval Brut Chronicle; and a 15th-century collection on the heraldry of the Irish nobility.[2]
Darell also received preferment elsewhere while at Canterbury. He seems to have received an MA in 1564, after a residency at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, perhaps thanks to his connection with Archbishop Parker.[2] However no such MA degree has been found in Cambridge records.[4] He served as the chancellor of Bangor from 1565 to 1570 and was, for a short time in 1568, the prebend of Flixton.[2] He meanwhile received the rectories of Upper Hardres, Kent (1559), of Lower Hardres (1561), and of Kingweston, Somerset, (1564), as well as the vicarages of Monkton, Kent (1562) and of Benenden, Kent (1563).[3] Darell gained favour at court, and was one of Elizabeth's chaplains by 1564. In 1569, Elizabeth made him a commissioner for Berkshire.[1][2]
Grindal's letter of protest to William Cecil, dated 19 November 1567.
In 1567, while obtaining an attorney (one Henry Style of Westminster) in the event he left England, Darell described himself as "Deane of Fernes in Irelande". This suggests that Darell is the same "Mr. Dorrell" who was proposed to be Archbishop of Armagh.[2] The see went vacant in 1567, after previous incumbent Adam Loftus was elevated to Archbishop of Dublin. Among those subsequently proposed to the see was Darell. This nomination came to the attention of Edmund Grindal, Bishop of London, who apparently already regarded Darell as (in biographer John Strype's description) "corrupt in religion; though otherwise outwardly complying."[5] Grindal assiduously opposed this nomination. On 19 November, he wrote to Secretary of StateWilliam Cecil to recommend against Darell; he spoke of one "poor scholar" in Ireland who had described to him how he dreaded Darell's election, believing his nomination would ultimately "hinder the course of religion in that country." Grindal moreover spoke of his own negative experiences with Darell: "the said Dorrell hath been heretofore convented before me and other commissioners for sundry his misdemeanours, and therefore I know him to be an unfit man for so high an office".[2][6] He recommended one "Dr. Spenser, Parson of Hadley", but also offered to send forth several candidates, from whom the Queen could choose.[6] Ultimately, Thomas Lancaster, previously Bishop of Kildare, was elected to the Archbishopric, most likely on the advice of Sir Henry Sidney, Elizabeth's Lord Deputy in Ireland. Cecil was apparently pleased with this nomination.[7]
This was not the end of Darell's controversies within the church. Darell developed such extensive debts that he could no longer afford to pay them back, even with his many benefices, so the Cathedral chapter was forced to bail him out. Part of his prebend wages were seized as restitution.[1][2] Rumours abounded about Darell's sexual misconduct at the chapel, culminating in a case brought before the ecclesiastical courts.[2] Clemence Ward, a lady of "suspect behaviour" living in a nearby parish, had been seen entering a laundry basket destined for Darell's residence in Canterbury. One of the Cathedral lay clerks set upon the basket with a knife, stabbing Ward in the arm in the process, and thus substantiating the plot.[8] Though nothing more is known of the case, as historian Andrew Butcher put it, "few stories [...] could be better designed to destroy Darrell's reputation".[8] The Privy Council wrote to the ecclesiastical commissioners in the diocese of Canterbury concerning "certain horrible offences" committed by Darell, requesting he be cited before them. These offences went unmentioned in the letter, and nothing more is recorded of the Privy Council's request. However, Darell did subsequently lose some of his ecclesiastical positions: the rectory of Monkton, Kent in 1579 and the Canterbury prebend by 16 February 1580.[2] His misconduct also apparently lost him favour at court, as he received no further preferment from Elizabeth.[1]
Nothing more of Darell's life is known, including his date of death.[2]
Legacy
Darell's Castra in campo was never fully published; relevant selections were translated for Alexander Campbell's The History of Dover Castle (1786, 1797). But, as biographer Peter Sherlock put it, Darell was "perhaps of more significance as a collector".[2] His copy of the Flores is now held at Lambeth Palace Library (MS 1106); his Brut, the British Library (Stowe MS 69); and his heraldic collection, the College of Arms (MS B 22).[2]
Related Research Articles
John Whitgift was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1583 to his death. Noted for his hospitality, he was somewhat ostentatious in his habits, sometimes visiting Canterbury and other towns attended by a retinue of 800 horses. Whitgift's theological views were often controversial.
Edmund Grindal was Bishop of London, Archbishop of York, and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reign of Elizabeth I. Though born far from the centres of political and religious power, he had risen rapidly in the church during the reign of Edward VI, culminating in his nomination as Bishop of London. However, the death of the King prevented his taking up the post, and along with other Marian exiles, he was a supporter of Calvinist Puritanism. Grindal sought refuge in continental Europe during the reign of Mary I. Upon Elizabeth's accession, Grindal returned and resumed his rise in the church, culminating in his appointment to the highest office.
William de Corbeil or William of Corbeil was a medieval Archbishop of Canterbury. Very little is known of William's early life or his family, except that he was born at Corbeil, south-east of Paris, and that he had two brothers. Educated as a theologian, he taught briefly before serving the bishops of Durham and London as a clerk and subsequently becoming an Augustinian canon. William was elected to the See of Canterbury as a compromise candidate in 1123, the first canon to become an English archbishop. He succeeded Ralph d'Escures who had employed him as a chaplain.
John Strype was an English clergyman, historian and biographer from London. He became a merchant when settling in Petticoat Lane. In his twenties, he became perpetual curate of Theydon Bois, Essex and later became curate of Leyton; this allowed him direct correspondence with several highly notable ecclesiastical figures of his time. He wrote extensively in his later years.
Thomas Thirlby, was the first and only bishop of Westminster (1540–50), and afterwards successively bishop of Norwich (1550–54) and bishop of Ely (1554–59). While he acquiesced in the Henrician schism, with its rejection in principle of the Roman papacy, he remained otherwise loyal to the doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church during the English Reformation.
Simon Mepeham was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1328 to 1333.
Edmund Gheast was a 16th-century cleric of the Church of England.
William Aubrey was Regius Professor of Civil Law at the University of Oxford from 1553 to 1559, and was one of the founding Fellows of Jesus College, Oxford. He was also a Member of Parliament for various Welsh and English constituencies between 1554 and 1592.
Godfrey Goldsborough was a Church of England clergyman and Bishop of Gloucester from 1598 to 1604. He also served as a Prebendary of Worcester.
William Downham, otherwise known as William Downman, was Bishop of Chester early in the reign of Elizabeth I, having previously served as her domestic chaplain.
Thomas Turner was an English royalist churchman and Dean of Canterbury.
John Bullingham was the Bishop of Gloucester in the Church of England from 1581.
Thomas Yale was the Chancellor and Vicar general of the Head of the Church of England : Matthew Parker, 1st Lord Archbishop of Canterbury, and Edmund Grindal, Bishop of London. He was also Ambassador to his cousin, Queen Elizabeth Tudor, and Dean of the Arches at the Court of High Commission, during the Elizabethan Religious Settlement.
Thomas Langley was an English clergyman who rose to the position of canon of the 9th prebend of Winchester cathedral, which he held between 1559 and his death in 1581/82. In 1546, he translated parts of the De rerum inventoribus by Polydore Vergil, and in 1552 a treatise on the Sabbath written in Italian by Giulio da Milano. He also wrote Latin verses in 1559 for William Cunningham’s Cosmographical Glass.
Edward Leeds, was an English clergyman who became Master of Clare College, Cambridge.
Ralph Morice was the secretary and biographer of Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury.
Robert Hovenden D.D. (1544–1614) was an English academic administrator at the University of Oxford.
Benjamin Heydon or Haydon (1567–1607) was the Headmaster at Winchester College from 1596 to 1601/1602, a JP for Somerset, and Dean of Wells Cathedral from 1602 until his death in 1607.
Anthony Hussey, Esquire, was an English merchant and lawyer who was President Judge of the High Court of Admiralty under Henry VIII, before becoming Principal Registrar to the Archbishops of Canterbury from early in the term of Archbishop Cranmer, through the restored Catholic primacy of Cardinal Pole, and into the first months of Archbishop Parker's incumbency, taking a formal part in the latter's consecration. The official registers of these leading figures of the English Reformation period were compiled by him. While sustaining this role, with that of Proctor of the Court of the Arches and other related ecclesiastical offices as a Notary public, he acted abroad as agent and factor for Nicholas Wotton.
Francis Newton was an English clergyman who served as Dean of the Winchester Cathedral from 1565 until his death in 1572.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
