Editing Richard Neile

{{Short description|Archbishop of York from 1631 to 1640}}
{{similar names|Richard Neal (disambiguation){{!}}Richard Neal}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2011}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{Infobox Christian leader
| honorific-prefix = {{pre-nominal styles|size=100%|MRevd|&RHPC}}
| name = Richard Neile
| honorific-suffix =
| archbishop_of = [[Archbishop of York]]
| image = Richard Neile portrait.jpg
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| province =
| diocese =
| see =
| enthroned = 1631
| ended = 1640
| predecessor = [[Samuel Harsnett]]
| successor = [[John Williams (archbishop of York)|John Williams]]
| ordination =
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| other_post =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = baptised {{birth date|1562|3|11|df=y}}
| birth_place =
| death_date = {{death date and age|1640|10|31|1562|3|11|df=y}}
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| nationality = British
| religion = [[Church of England]]
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| education = [[Westminster School]]
| alma_mater = [[St John's College, Cambridge]]
| signature =
<!----------Sainthood---------->
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'''Richard Neile''' (or '''Neale'''; 1562 – 31 October 1640) was an English churchman, bishop successively of six English [[diocese]]s, more than any other man, including the [[Archbishop of York|Archdiocese of York]] from 1631 until his death. 

==Early life==
Neile was born in [[Westminster]], and baptised on 11 March 1562 at [[St Margaret's, Westminster]].<ref name="alum-cantab"/>

He was son of a tallow-chandler, though his grandfather had been a courtier and official under [[Henry VIII of England|Henry VIII]], until he was deprived for non-compliance with the [[Six Articles (1539)|Six Articles]]. He was educated at [[Westminster School]], under [[Edward Grant (headmaster)|Edward Grant]] and [[William Camden]]. He was sent by [[Mildred Cooke|Mildred, Lady Burghley]] (wife of [[William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley]]), on the recommendation of [[Gabriel Goodman]] to [[St John's College, Cambridge]] as a [[Commoner (academia)|pensioner]],<ref name="alum-cantab"/><ref name = DNB>{{cite DNB|wstitle=Neile, Richard|last=Hutton|first=W. H.|volume=40}}</ref> matriculating at Easter 1580, graduating [[Bachelor of Arts|B.A.]] 1584, [[Master of Arts (Oxford, Cambridge, and Dublin)|M.A.]] 1587, [[Bachelor of Divinity|B.D.]] 1595, [[Doctor of Divinity|D.D.]] 1600.<ref name="alum-cantab">{{acad|id=NL580R|name=Neale, Richard}}</ref>

Ordained deacon and priest at [[Peterborough]] in 1589,<ref name="alum-cantab"/> he continued to enjoy the patronage of the Burghley family, residing in their household, and became chaplain to Lord Burghley, and later to his son [[Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury]].<ref name = DNB/>

He preached before [[Elizabeth I of England|Queen Elizabeth]], and became vicar of [[Cheshunt]], Hertfordshire (1590) and rector of [[Toddington, Bedfordshire]] (1598).<ref name="alum-cantab"/> He was appointed [[Master of the Savoy]] in 1602, and in July 1603 [[Clerk of the Closet]],<ref>{{cite book|last=McCullough|first=Peter|year=1998|title=Sermons at Court: Politics and Religion in Elizabethan and Jacobean Preaching|volume=1|page=110|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9780521590464|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uo2SR7BCNxEC&pg=PA110|access-date=4 September 2019}}</ref> a position he would hold until 1632. On 5 November 1605 he was installed [[Dean of Westminster]], resigning the deanery in 1610.<ref name = DNB/>

==Bishop==
He held successively the bishoprics of [[bishop of Rochester|Rochester]] (1608), [[bishop of Lichfield|Lichfield and Coventry]] (1610), [[bishop of Lincoln|Lincoln]] (1614), [[bishop of Durham|Durham]] (1617), and [[bishop of Winchester|Winchester]] (1628), and the archbishopric of [[archbishop of York|York]] (1631).

While at Rochester he appointed [[William Laud]] as his chaplain and gave him several valuable preferments. His political activity while bishop of Durham was rewarded with a privy councillorship in 1627. Neile sat regularly in the courts of [[Star Chamber]] and [[Court of High Commission|High Commission]]. His correspondence with Laud and with [[Dudley Carleton, 1st Viscount Dorchester|Sir Dudley Carleton]] and [[Francis Windebank|Sir Francis Windebank]] ([[Charles I of England|Charles I]]'s secretaries of state) are valuable sources for the history of the time. He was involved in the last burning at the stake for heresy in England, that of the Arian [[Edward Wightman]] in 1612.{{cn|date=May 2024}}

Oliver Cromwell made only one speech during his first stint as a Member of Parliament for [[Huntingdon (UK Parliament constituency)|Huntingdon]] in the Parliament of 1628–1629, a poorly received attack against Neile, possibly over disagreement with his form of [[Arminianism in the Church of England|Arminianism]].{{sfn|Morrill|1990|pp=25–26}}

==Family==
Neile was the father of [[Paul Neile|Sir Paul Neile]], astronomer and politician, and grandfather of [[William Neile]], mathematician.<ref>{{cite DNB|wstitle=Neile, William}}</ref> His brother, another William Neile (1560–1624), was a book-collector who left 880 books to his children at his death.<ref>Westminster Archives, Commissary Court of the Dean and Chapter of Westminster wills, Camden 27.</ref>

==References==
{{Portal|Christianity}}
{{Reflist}}
{{Refbegin}}
* {{cite book|authorlink=John Morrill (historian)|last=Morrill |first=John |year=1990 |chapter=The Making of Oliver Cromwell |editor-last=Morrill |editor-first=John |title=Oliver Cromwell and the English Revolution |publisher=Longman |location=London |isbn=0-582-01675-4}}
{{Refend}}

===Attribution===
*{{DNB|wstitle=Neile, Richard}}
*{{EB1911|wstitle=Neile, Richard|volume=19|page=350}}

{{S-start}}
{{S-rel|en}}
{{S-bef
| before = [[Lancelot Andrewes]]
}}
{{S-ttl
| title = [[Dean of Westminster]]
| years = 1605–1610
}}
{{S-aft
| after = [[George Montaigne]]
}}
{{S-bef
| before = [[William Barlow (Bishop of Rochester)|William Barlow]]
}}
{{S-ttl
| title = [[Bishop of Rochester]]
| years = 1608–1610
}}
{{S-aft
| after = [[John Buckeridge]]
}}
{{S-bef
| before = [[George Abbot (Archbishop of Canterbury)|George Abbot]]
}}
{{S-ttl
| title = [[Bishop of Lichfield]]
| years = 1610–1614
}}
{{S-aft
| after = [[John Overal]]
}}
{{S-bef
| before = [[William Barlow (Bishop of Rochester)|William Barlow]]
}}
{{S-ttl
| title = [[Bishop of Lincoln]]
| years = 1614–1617
}}
{{S-aft
| rows = 2
| after = [[George Montaigne]]
}}
{{S-bef
| before = [[William James (bishop)|William James]]
}}
{{S-ttl
| title = [[Bishop of Durham]]
| years = 1617–1628
}}
{{S-bef
| before = [[Lancelot Andrewes]]
}}
{{S-ttl
| title = [[Bishop of Winchester]]
| years = 1628–1631
}}
{{S-aft
| after = [[Walter Curle]]
}}
{{S-bef
| before = [[Samuel Harsnett]]
}}
{{S-ttl
| title = [[Archbishop of York]]
| years = 1631–1640
}}
{{S-aft
| after = [[John Williams (archbishop of York)|John Williams]]
}}
{{S-off}}
{{S-bef
| before = [[Robert Carr, 1st Earl of Somerset|The Earl of Somerset]]
}}
{{S-ttl
| title = [[Lord Lieutenant of Durham]]
| years = 1617–1627
}}
{{S-vac|next=[[John Howson]]}}
{{S-end}}

{{Deans of Westminster}}
{{Bishops of Rochester}}
{{Bishops of Coventry and Lichfield}}
{{Bishops of Lincoln}}
{{Bishops of Durham}}
{{Bishops of Winchester}}
{{Archbishops of York}}
{{Masters of the Savoy}}
{{Clerks of the Closet}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Neile, Richard}}
[[Category:1562 births]]
[[Category:1640 deaths]]
[[Category:17th-century Anglican archbishops]]
[[Category:17th-century Church of England bishops]]
[[Category:Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge]]
[[Category:Archbishops of York]]
[[Category:Arminian theologians]]
[[Category:Arminian ministers]]
[[Category:Bishops of Durham]]
[[Category:Bishops of Lichfield]]
[[Category:Bishops of Lincoln]]
[[Category:Bishops of Rochester]]
[[Category:Bishops of Winchester]]
[[Category:Burials at York Minster]]
[[Category:Clerks of the Closet]]
[[Category:Deans of Westminster]]
[[Category:Doctors of Divinity]]
[[Category:Lord-lieutenants of Durham]]
[[Category:Masters of the Savoy]]
[[Category:People educated at Westminster School, London]]
[[Category:1560s births]]