John Carpenter (bishop of Worcester)

For other uses, see John Carpenter (disambiguation).

John Carpenter, D.D. was a medieval Bishop of Worcester.

John Carpenter, Doctor of Divinity, Bishop of Worcester, baptized 4 May 1399 in Peterschurch, Westbury-upon-Trym, Bristol, England - died 1476 in Northwick, Worcester, England - buried in 1476 in Westbury on Trym, Bristol, which is between Somerset and Gloucestershire on the tidal River Avon, in England "in his native village of Westbury upon Trym near Bristol, where a plain altar-monument was erected to his memory, with a skeleton lying on the top."

He was made a Bishop of Worcester in 1444. He was nominated on 20 December 1443 and consecrated on 22 March 1444. He resigned the see in July of 1476 and died after his resignation in 1476.

He was reportedly a tutor of Prince Henry, afterwards King Henry V. (cite needed)

Ancestry

Bishop John Carpenter's given ancestry.

Father: John Carpenter the elder (aka John the senior, the elder brother of John Carpenter the younger, the noted Town Clerk of London) born circa 1362 (baptisim date of 20 Sept 1371 of Battlesden has not been confirmed and is probably wrong) and his death date is unknown. His wife is unknown. His children are:

Child 1: John the Elder Carpenter, baptized 4 May 1399 Peterschurch, Westbury, Hereford, England - The subject of this article.

Child 2: Margery Carpenter, born circa 1404

Child 3: John the younger Carpenter, baptized 20 December 1404 in Dilwyne, Hereford, England. Of, Homme, Herefordshire, England. (Not to be confused with his uncle)

Child 4: William, baptized 20 Dec 1404 in Dilwyne, Hereford, England.

Grandfather: Richard or Renaud Carpenter, born about 1335/1337 of, Grand Pont, Cambrai, Nord, France. He was buried in 1395 in St. Martin Church, Outwich, London, England. He married Christina, last name unknown, who was of London. They have 3 children listed:

Child 1: John Carpenter the elder, born circa 1362 - The father of the subject of this article.

Child 2: Robert Carpenter, born circa 1368 of London.

Child 3: John the younger Carpenter, aka John Carpenter, town clerk of London, baptized 18 Dec 1378 Hereford Cathedral, Hereford, England, but was probably born earlier. He resided in the Parish of St. Peter, Cornhill, London, England and was buried in the Abby of St. Peter, London, Middlesex, England. His will was written on 8 March 1441 and proved 12 May 1442. His wife Katherine was born in "Zeeland" born about 1372 and her will was written 31 Mar 1457 and proved in June 1458. She is buried with her husband.

Great Grandfather: John or Jean Le Carpenter, born about 1303 of De Grand Pont, Du Nord, France and died after 1345 in Dilwyne, Herefordshire, England. He married Jeanne Tabarie, who was born circa 1310 near Cambrai, Nord, France. His parents are challenged and are not listed in this article.

Westbury on Trym - The Church

"Nothing remains visible of the earliest church buildings at Westbury. The first, dedicated to St Peter and St Paul and probably of wood, was built in the 8th century. Of the subsequent rebuildings the oldest work to be seen is from the early 13th century. Over two hundred years later Westbury Church gained status as a joint cathedral with Worcester, thanks to Bishop Carpenter, who seemed to be very fond of the place. He rededicated it to the Holy Trinity and various additions were made, including the chancel and St Oswald's chapel. When he died he was buried in the crypt under the High Altar. This statue of Bishop Carpenter stands in a niche on the west tower. The head has been restored."

"There is a statue of Bishop Carpenter over the porch entrance doorway. The head is an early 20th century replacement, said to have been made by the gravedigger of that time who was an amateur sculptor, but the body part is much earlier. There is a memorial, but not the original. It stands between the high altar and St Oswald's chapel and is of Purbeck marble with a croizier sculpted on it. Round the side of the marble slab in raised brass letters is this Latin inscription,translated being 'Beneath, formerly was buried Lord John Carpenter, Doctor of Divinity, sometime Chancellor of the University of Oxford, Provost of Oriel College, Bishop of Worcester and of this church for 33 years, who died AD 1476. On account fo gratitude the Provost and Scholars of Oxford caused this memorial to be erected AD 1853' Beneath the canopy and just visible is a stone cadaver 'an emaciated skeleton in stone'. The original monument was on the south side of the altar with the stone cadaver below: as now, but apparently there is written evidence showing that a companion figure was placed above it on a carved slab showing Carpenter in full episcopal attire, as was a fashion at the time. This monument suffered desecration at the time of the Civil War, when in 1646 the church was smashed up by soldiers from the Bristol garrison and the body was removed and lost. In 1851 the small crypt chapel at the church was opened up and the stone cadaver found. This was incoporated with the new canopy as described above."

Bishop Carpenters Monument

"JOHN CARPENTER D.D., (Probably a native of Westbury.) Provost of Oriel College, Oxford. 1428-35. Chancellor of Oxford University 1437-43. Bishop of Worcester 1447-76. Refounded and rebuilt Westbury College, enlarged the Church and styled himself "Bishop of Worcester and Westbury".

Bishop Carpenters Monument, (In the Chancel of the Parish Church and directly over the Sepulchre in the little Chapel beneath the Chancel.) The Monument was restored and beautified by the Provost and Scholars of ORIEL COLLEGE Oxford It had been desecrated and partially destroyed at the time of the Commonwealth in the 17th. century. The following inscription was placed around the edge of the Marble slab on the top of the Tomb:

+ BENEATH FORMERLY HAS BURIED LORD JOHN CARPENTER, DOCTOR OF DIVINITY, SOMETIME CHANCELLOR OF THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD PROVOST OF ORIEL COLLEGE, BISHOP OF WORCESTER AND OF THIS CHURCH 33 YEARS. HE DIED IN 1476. +

On account of gratitude the Provost and Scholars of Oriel caused this Monument to be erected 1853."

Photo Links to Bishop John Carpenter's pictures by Cynthia Styles.

Photo link 1: "The first photo shows the position of the tomb in the church and you can see why it is difficult to access it easily, being behind the altar rails and almost up against the two columns.The coats of arms are on the ends." http://bristolinformation.co.uk/files/brispics/tomb-carpenter-24285-26.jpg

Photo link 2: "The second photo shows the two on the front end, ... The coat of arms of Bishop Carpenter is stated as "Paly of six gules and azure on a chevron argent three cross crosslet or; on the top of the chevron is a mitre wrought or", which would be the right hand one." http://bristolinformation.co.uk/files/brispics/tomb-carpenter-24285-25.jpg

Photo link 3: "The third is more of a closeup to show the 'cadaver' statue inside. http://bristolinformation.co.uk/files/brispics/tomb-carpenter-24285-27.jpg

General Information

Possibly the King's Clerk as early as March 17th, 1433, Patent Rolls, "Grant for life, by advice of the council, to Master John Carpenter, king's clerk, of the wardenship of the house or hospital of St. Anthony, London; he must within a year profess the regular order wont to be observed in the same. Mandate to the mayor of London to put him in possession."

Patent Rolls, July 9th, 1435, "Grant pursuant to an act of the last Parliament, that the men of Bristol, who have lent the king 2001 marks for the defense of the realm__..shall have repayment from all customs, subsidies, profits____The like to the following in respect of the following sums respectively.__.Master John Carpenter, master of St. Anthony's, London --------100 marks."

The City of London School for the Poor was endowed by this John's Uncle, John Carpenter, town clerk of London. "T(his)... John Carpenter was Warden of St. Anthony's Hospital, Rector of St. Mary Magdalen, and later Bishop of Worcester. Our John Carpenter (the noted Town Clerk of London) evidently knew him well, and bequeathed to him 'that book on architecture which Master William Cleve gave me.' (Cleve was King's Chaplain and clerk of the works, and carried out building at the Palace of Westminister and the Tower.)"

Coat of Arms

The arms granted to Lord George Carpenter in 1719, as published in the account of his life (The Life and Times of Lord George . . .) were Pally of six, argent and gules on a chevron, azure, three cross crosslets, or. CREST, on a wreath a globe in a frame all or. Supporters, two horses, party-perfess, embattled argent and gules. MOTTO: "Per Actua Belli" (Through the Asperities of War).

Sample of a medieval knight with an early Carpenter Coat of Arms on shield.

The same arms, less the supporters and motto, were used by the Hereford Carpenter family and were emblazoned in a glass window of the college and church at Westbury upon Tryn as early as 1443. They were placed there permanently by Bishop John Carpenter of Worcester, who was a native of Westbury and a great benefactor of the college, having rebuilt and refounded it. Bishop John Carpenter died in 1476 and was buried in the church, where a plain altar monument was errected to his memory. Unfortunately, the glass window has not survived into modern times.

At Balliol College, University of Oxford there are "Armorial Shields in the Old Library Windows." The second part of the "Old Library" was built in 1477 with various Coats of Arms mounted in the windows honoring the persons who may have donated to the construction. On the south side, from the east end of the "Old Library" in window 4a, is Bishop John Carpenter's Arms. The notation on the Arms read: "Paly, azure and gules, a chevron argent charged with three crosslets or, in chief a mitre or. "

The Westbury church (in 1890) is the Holy Trinity of Bristol, and is described in Willi's Survey of Cathedrals, published in 1742. And in Atykn's and Rudder's History of Gloucester where there is a very interesting sketch of Bishop John Carpenter who was also known as "Master John Carpenter" mentioned in the will of the town clerk of London, John Carpenter, the younger.

"In the chancel is the gravestone of a priest with a cross flory on a stepped calvary. On one side is a chalice and host and on the other a shield of the arms of John Carpenter, Bishop of Worcester (1446-76), paly azure and gules a chevron argent with three crosslets gules and a mitre or in the chief."

The Westbury Harriers club have adapted Bishop John Carpenter's arms to use as their "crest", and have included an illustration of the arms on their web page: "The Westbury Harriers Crest -- Heraldically, our crest is described as "Paly of six gules and azure on a chevron argent three cross crosslet or; on the top of the chevron is a mitre wrought or."

This was the crest of a native of Westbury-on-Trym, John Carpenter, D.D. who was Provost of Oriel College, Oxford 1428-1444 and Chancellor of the University of Oxford, 1437. Bishop Carpenter, elected See of Worcester in 1448, conceived so great a regard for Westbury as to make the name part of his designation, enacting that himself and each successor should be styled Bishop of Worcester and Westbury. He enlarged and rebuilt the College, in College Road, surrounding it with a turreted and castellated wall and thereby adding to its castle-like appearance. The mitre and square on this crest can be seen to this day on the middle roof boss in the basement of the College Tower. Bishop Carpenter died at Westbury-on-Trym and is buried in the Chancel of the adjacent Collegiate Church, where his tomb is still to be seen."

NOTE: The Coat of Arms described above should not be confused with the Arms of Richard Carpenter (c1450s?-1503) presented in the "Visitations of the County of Oxford taken in 1566, 1574, and 1634, published in 1871, which describe the arms displayed in the buildings at the University in Oxford - "In the Lyberarye of Baliall Colege." - as recorded by the officials performing the visitations in those years. The Visitations describe the arms of Bishop Richard Carpenter (See: Richard Carpenter (theologian)) as: "Paly of nine Gu. and Az. on a chevron Arg. surmounted by a mitre Or, three cross crosslets of the last [Carpenter, Bishop of Worcester]" -- nine pales alternating red and blue, with a silver chevron bearing three gold cross-crosslets.

The Arms of Bishop Richard Carpenter are significantly different from what has been previously reported about the Bishop John Carpenter's Arms. A paly of nine is three more pales than six, the pales are red and blue instead of silver and red, and the chevron is silver rather than blue -- generally similar to the ancient Carpenter arms, but significantly different.

References

See also:

• "PEASANTS AND LANDLORDS IN LATER MEDIEVAL ENGLAND" by Fryde, 1996. There is major material on Bishop John Carpenter within. The author tells us that, "He appears to have come from Westbury near Bristol and to have descended from a family of Episcopal tenants there." (p. 169)

• "Lords and Peasants in a Changing Society: The Estates of the Bishopric of Worcester", 680-1540, Cambridge, 1980. by Dyer.

• Powicke, F. Maurice and E. B. Fryde Handbook of British Chronology 2nd. ed. London:Royal Historical Society 1961

• Burton, Edwin. "Ancient Diocese of Worcester." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 15. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 23 Apr. 2009 < http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15703a.htm >.

• List of Bishops of Worcester