tion to
this is well known. He opposed the supremacy of King Henry as head of
the Church, but eventually gave up the struggle and preached in its
favour. The monastery of Durham was suppressed in 1540, and a dean and
twelve canons appointed. Soon after the accession of Edward VI., Bishop
Tunstall was committed to the Tower and deprived of his see, on a charge
of having encouraged rebellion in the north. On the accession of Mary to
the throne he was released and restored, but there would seem to be no
grounds for supposing that he took any part in the cruelties practised
during her reign. When Elizabeth became queen, Tunstall refused to take
the oath, and was again deprived of his see, and, being now an old man,
was committed to the custody of his friend Archbishop Parker
(Canterbury), with whom he lived till his death in 1559. He was a
scholarly prelate, of a kindly nature, and was held in universal esteem.
#James Pilkington# (1560-1575) left the buildings of the see in a
ruinous condition.
#Richard Barnes# (1575-1587), translated from Carlisle. He is said to
have been removed to Durham in order to spy upon the correspondence and
messengers of the unfortunate Mary Queen of Scots.
#Matthew Hutton# (1589-1594), Dean of York, was the next bishop. A
man of great learning, and considered one of the best preachers of his
day. He was translated to York in 1594.
#Tobias Matthew# (1595-1606), Dean of Durham, was his successor. He
was also a great preacher, and was celebrated for his wit. He was
translated to York.
#William James# (1606-1617), Dean of Durham, was next elected.
#Richard Neile# (1617-1627) was translated from Lincoln. He was
remarkable as being the only bishop who held six sees successively--viz.
1608, Rochester; 1610, Lichfield; 1613, Lincoln; 1617, Durham; 1627,
Winchester; and 1631, Archbishop of York. He did much to help forward
men of learning and ability by giving them preferment in his see, and
reserving apartments for their use in Durham House, London, which became
known as Durham College. He spent large sums of money on repairs to the
buildings at Durham.
#George Monteigne# (1628), Bishop of London, only held the see of
Durham for three months, when he was translated to York.
#John Howson# (1628-1631), Bishop of Oxford, held the see for two
years, and died in 1631.
#Thomas Morton# (1632-1659), translated from Lichfield. The North of
England was much disturbed in 1640 by the invasion of
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