John Taylor (1480-1534)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other persons named John Taylor, see John Taylor (disambiguation).

John Taylor (c. 1480-1534) was Master of the Rolls from 1527 to 1534. Taylor would have been notable just for the circumstances of his birth; he was the firstborn of healthy triplets who all survived to adulthood, which was virtually unheard of in the 1400s. He went on to a successful career as a priest and civil servant, culminating in a post as Master of the Rolls from 1527 to 1534. John Taylor and Susan Rowland were the parents of Rowland Taylor, prominent Protestant martyr (d. 1555).

[edit] Career highlights

In 1503 he was ordained Rector at Bishop's Hatfield.
In 1504 he became Rector of Sutton Coldfield.
One of the Royal Chaplains at Henry VII’s funeral, April 21, 1509.
Appointed by King Henry VIII as the King’s Clerk and Chaplain in 1509.
In 1511 was made Clerk to the Parliament.
Appointed Archdeacon of Derby in 1515.
Appointed Royal Ambassador to Burgundy and France and Prolocutor of Convocation.
In 1516 was appointed Archdeacon of Buckingham.
Conferred the degrees of Doctor of Civil Law and Doctor of Canon Law at Cambridge in 1520.
From 1527 - 1534 he was Master of the Rolls of the Court of Chancery. This position was the third most senior judicial position in England; Lord Chancellor being first and Lord Chief Justice being second.
The Master of the Rolls is the presiding officer of the Civil Division of the Court of Appeal.
Was appointed as one of the commissioners to decide if King Henry VIII's marriage to Catherine of Aragon was valid.
In 1528 appointed Archdeacon of Halifax.
John Taylor died in 1534, when his son Rowland was 24 years old, the year his son Rowland received the L.L.D. from Cambridge.