John Incent

John Incent ( – 1545) was an English clergyman in the early 16th century, during the early years of the English Reformation. Originating from the town of Berkhamsted in Hertfordshire, he studied at the University of Cambridge and later at All Souls College, Oxford, and served as Dean of St Paul's Cathedral in London between 1540 and 1545. Incent is noted for being one of the agents of the Lord Chancellor Thomas Cromwell, responsible for the sequestration of religious properties during the Dissolution of the Monasteries and as the founder of Berkhamsted School. His home in Berkhamsted, built in 1500, remains in use to the present day, situated on the High Street facing St Peter's Church. Early life John Incent was born in Berkhamsted around 1480 and was the son of Katherine and Robert Incent. Robert was the Secretary to Cicely, Duchess of York, the last royal resident at Berkhamsted Castle, wife of the Duke of York and mother of two Kings of England: Edward IV and Richard III. The standing of the Incent family in the town is marked by two brass memorials to Robert and Katherine in St John's Chapel in St Peter's Church. According to the inscriptions, Robert died in 1485 of the Great Sweating Sickness: Education and career At the age of 20, Incent studied civil law for one year at Cambridge University, continuing his studies at All Souls College, Oxford and graduating as a Bachelor of Common Law. In 1509 he was appointed as an ecclesiastical lawyer in the Chancellor's Court. Richard Foxe, Bishop of Winchester and the Lord Privy Seal, appointed Incent in 1512 Commissary and President of the Episcopal Consistory in the Winchester diocese. Incent became a Doctor of Civil Law in 1513, and in the same year he was ordained as a priest in the Church of England.