Edmund Grindal

Edmund Grindal ( 15196 July 1583) 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. The late 16th century was a time of great change in the English church, following the Elizabethan settlement. Although Grindal historically was not regarded as a particularly notable church leader, his reputation has been revived by modern critical scholarship, which maintains he had the support of his fellow bishops and set the course for the development of the English Church in the early 17th century. Early life to the death of Edward VI Tradition, as retailed by Grindal's biographer John Strype, had long held that Grindal was born in Hensingham, now a suburb of Whitehaven. However modern scholarship has shown that his birthplace was in fact Cross Hill House, St Bees, Cumberland. Grindal himself described his birthplace in a letter to Sir William Cecil, Elizabeth I's Secretary of State: "the house wherein I was born, and the lands pertaining thereto, being a small matter, under twenty shillings rent, but well builded at the charges of my father and brother": which corresponds to Cross Hill House. This has been proven by the discovery of the long-mislaid St. Bees long leases, which have provided the missing link in the chain of ownership back to William Grindal, Edmund's father, a farmer in the village. Grindal's exact date of birth is uncertain, but is c. 1519.