Rowland Meyrick
Encyclopedia
Life
Born at Bodargan in the parish of LlangadwaladrLlangadwaladr
Llangadwaladr is a small village in south-west Anglesey, Wales, located around 2 miles east of Aberffraw and 3 miles south of Gwalchmai. It is part of the community of Bodorgan....
, Anglesey
Anglesey
Anglesey , also known by its Welsh name Ynys Môn , is an island and, as Isle of Anglesey, a county off the north west coast of Wales...
, in 1505, he was the second son of Meyric ab Llewelyn ab Heylin, by Margaret daughter of Rowland ab Hywl, rector of Aberffraw
Aberffraw
Aberffraw is a small village and community on the south west coast of the Isle of Anglesey , in Wales, by the west bank of the River Ffraw, at . The UK postcode begins LL63. Access by road is by way of the A4080 and the nearest rail station is Bodorgan. In the early Middle Ages Aberffraw was the...
in the same county. He was named after his maternal grandfather, and educated at St Edward Hall, Oxford. He graduated B.C.L. 9 December 1531, and proceeded D.C.L. 17 Feb. 1538. He was principal of New Inn Hall from 1534 to 1536.
In 1541 he obtained preferment at Eglwysael, and was also made precentor of Llandewy-Velfrey, Pembrokeshire
Pembrokeshire
Pembrokeshire is a county in the south west of Wales. It borders Carmarthenshire to the east and Ceredigion to the north east. The county town is Haverfordwest where Pembrokeshire County Council is headquartered....
. In 1544 he was collated to the vicarage of Stoke-by-Nayland
Stoke-by-Nayland
Stoke by Nayland in the English county of Suffolk, lies close to the border with Essex in what is sometimes referred to as Constable Country. It contains a church, St Mary, part of the Deanery of in the Diocese of Chelmsford...
, Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
. About 1547 he was appointed chancellor of the diocese of Wells, and in 1550 became canon and chancellor of St David's Cathedral
St David's Cathedral
St David's Cathedral is situated in St David's in the county of Pembrokeshire, on the most westerly point of Wales.-Early history:The monastic community was founded by Saint David, Abbot of Menevia, who died in AD589...
. In this capacity he took a leading part in the struggle between the chapter and Bishop Robert Ferrar
Robert Ferrar
Robert Ferrar was a Bishop of St David's in Wales.He was prior of Nostell Priory, embraced the English Reformation, and was made Bishop of St. David's by Edward VI...
. The bishop on his appointment in 1550 found malpractice and theft of church property; and in a letter to the lord chancellor
Lord Chancellor
The Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or Lord Chancellor, is a senior and important functionary in the government of the United Kingdom. He is the second highest ranking of the Great Officers of State, ranking only after the Lord High Steward. The Lord Chancellor is appointed by the Sovereign...
Thomas Goodrich
Thomas Goodrich
Thomas Goodrich was an English ecclesiastic and statesman.-Life:He was a son of Edward Goodrich of East Kirkby, Lincolnshire and brother of Henry Goodricke of Ribston Hall, North Yorkshire....
accused Meyrick of 'shameless whoredom'; the details were recorded by John Foxe
John Foxe
John Foxe was an English historian and martyrologist, the author of what is popularly known as Foxe's Book of Martyrs, , an account of Christian martyrs throughout Western history but emphasizing the sufferings of English Protestants and proto-Protestants from the fourteenth century through the...
in his Acts and Monuments. Meyrick consequently refused to acknowledge the bishop's authority to make a visitation of the cathedral, and led the chapter in a factious opposition. Articles were exhibited against the bishop, containing vague accusations and Ferrar was on a charge of praemunire
Praemunire
In English history, Praemunire or Praemunire facias was a law that prohibited the assertion or maintenance of papal jurisdiction, imperial or foreign, or some other alien jurisdiction or claim of supremacy in England, against the supremacy of the Monarch...
committed to prison. He remained there until Mary of England came to the throne, and he was sent to the stake for another series of offences. Of the bishop's three bitterest enemies, Thomas Young
Thomas Young (archbishop)
Thomas Young was a Bishop of St David's and Archbishop of York .-Life:He was the son of John Young and Eleanor his wife, and was born at Hodgeston, Pembrokeshire, in 1507. He became a student at Broadgates Hall, Oxford, and graduated B. A. 14 June 1529, M. A. 19 March 1533, as secular chaplain,...
and George Constantine
George Constantine
George Constantine was a racing driver from the United States. He participated in one Formula One Grand Prix, debuting on December 12, 1959. He scored 0 championship points....
asked for his pardon before his martyrdom in 1555, but Meyrick did not.
The accession of Mary, shortly followed by Meyrick's marriage in 1554 to Catherine, daughter of Owen Barret of Gellyswick and Hascard, Pembrokeshire, put a stop to Meyrick's advancement, and he was ejected from his canonry at St. David's. On Elizabeth's accession, however, he was, with Richard Davies and Thomas Young, commissioned to visit the four Welsh dioceses, as well as Hereford and Worcester, and on 21 December 1559 he was consecrated by Parker to the see of Bangor in succession to William Glynn. He took the oath of allegiance on 1 March 1560, and in the same year received a commission from his metropolitan to visit the diocese. The following January, being then on a visit to London, he ordained five priests and five readers in Bow Church
Bow Church
Bow Church is the parish church of St Mary and Holy Trinity, Stratford, Bow. It is located on an island site in Bow Road , in Bow, London Borough of Tower Hamlets. There has been a church on the same site for approximately 700 years...
. He was shortly afterwards appointed a member of the council of the marches
Council of the Marches
The Council of Wales and the Marches was a regional administrative body within the Kingdom of England between the 15th and 17th centuries, similar to the Council of the North...
. With his see he held the prebend of Trevlodau and the rectories of Llanddewy-Brefi and Llanddewy-Velfrey, to which he added in 1562 the rectory of Llanbedrog
Llanbedrog
Llanbedrog is a village and community on the Llŷn peninsula of Gwynedd in Wales. It is situated on the south side of the peninsula on the A499 between Pwllheli and Abersoch. Formerly in the county of Caernarfonshire, it has a population of 1,020....
, Carnarvonshire. He died on 24 January 1566, and was buried at Bangor, but his monument has disappeared.
Family
Meyrick left four sons: GellyGelli Meyrick
Sir Gelli Meyrick was a Welsh supporter of Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, and conspirator in Essex's rebellion. He was executed for his part in it.-Life:...
, Francis, Harry, and John. Francis, like his elder brother, served under and was knighted by the Earl of Essex in Ireland, died in 1603, and was buried in the Priory Church of Monkton, Pembroke
Monkton, Pembroke
Monkton is a village in Pembroke, Pembrokeshire, Wales. According to the United Kingdom Census 2001, there are 1688 inhabitants of the village.....
, where his monument was destroyed during the civil wars; he was father of Sir John Meyrick (d. 1659)
.