Lancelot Blackburne

Lancelot Blackburne (sometimes Blackburn, Blackborne or Blackbourn[e]; 10 December 165823 March 1743) was an English clergyman, who became Archbishop of York, and – in popular belief – a pirate. He was described by Horace Walpole, in his Memories, as "…Blackbourn, the jolly old Archbishop of York, who had all the manners of a man of quality, though he had been a buccaneer, and was a clergyman; but he retained nothing of his first profession, except his seraglio". Early life and career as a pirate He was born in London, a younger brother of Richard Blackburne. He attended Westminster School, and in 1676 entered Christ Church, Oxford. He graduated in 1680, was ordained a deacon on 25 September 1681 at Christ Church by John Fell, Bishop of Oxford, and travelled to the West Indies. In January 1684 he was granted an MA by the university; at this time, he is known to have been in Nevis. A popular story recounts that he spent these years sailing with buccaneers, either as their chaplain or as a pirate himself; there is little evidence either way, although a record of 1681 notes that he was paid £20 by Charles II for "secret services". Archbishop of York He returned to England in 1684, marrying Catherine Talbot (the elder sister of William Talbot) on 2 September at the Savoy Chapel, and shortly thereafter took up the first of a set of church posts.