Life

The son of William Elderfield, he was born at Harwell

Harwell

Harwell may refer to:*Harwell, Nottinghamshire, England*Harwell, Oxfordshire, England, a village**RAF Harwell, a World War II RAF airfield, near Harwell village....

, Berkshire

Berkshire

Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...

, where he was baptised 11 April 1607. He studied at a local school kept by Hugh Lloyd

Hugh Lloyd

Hugh Lewis Lloyd, MBE was an English actor who made his name in television and film comedy from the 1960s to the 1980s. He was best known for appearances in Hugh and I and other sitcoms of the 1960s.-Life:...

, M.A., the vicar, and in 1621 he entered St. Mary Hall, Oxford, as a batler. In due course he took the two degrees in arts and entered into holy orders

Holy Orders

The term Holy Orders is used by many Christian churches to refer to ordination or to those individuals ordained for a special role or ministry....

.

After holding some minor appointments, one of which was as curate

Curate

A curate is a person who is invested with the care or cure of souls of a parish. In this sense "curate" correctly means a parish priest but in English-speaking countries a curate is an assistant to the parish priest...

 at Coates

Coates

-People:Coates is also a prominent family of English and Scottish origin and could refer to the following people:-Families:*Coates Baronets, of Haypark, Belfast...

, Essex

Essex

Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...

, he became rector of Burton, Sussex. The duties of this post were as private chaplain to Sir William Goring, whose residence, Burton Place, was the only dwelling-house in the parish. There Elderfield devoted himself to study.

He died 2 December 1652 at Burton Place. In his will he directed that he should be buried in the chancel

Chancel

In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...

 of his church, but this privilege was refused by Sir William Goring, because (it was alleged) he was disappointed in a legacy he expected to receive, and the body was laid in the nave

Nave

In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...

.

Legacy

Elderfield had left the bulk of his property to his native parish of Harwell; money was expended in the purchase of land in South Moreton

South Moreton

South Moreton is a village and civil parish in England about three miles east of Didcot. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire and from the former Wallingford Rural District to the new district of South Oxfordshire.-History:Moretune in the Domesday...

, and by a decree in chancery the remaining sum. was handed to the churchwardens of the neighbouring village of Hagbourne for charitable purposes. He also left £36 for the benefit of ejected ministers, He bequeathed to the university of Oxford

University of Oxford

The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...

his manuscript of 'Lyra on the Psalms,' 'Rodolphus, his Postills,' and a copy of 'Clemens Romanus,' bound up with a 'Tract on Purgatory.'

Works

In 1650 he published 'The Civill Right of Tythes,' London, a work of both law and theology. Of Regeneration and Baptism, Hebrew and Christian, Lond. 1653, was published after his death by his executors.