Prideaux, John

PRIDEAUX, JOHN: Church of England bishop of Worcester; b. at Stowford, near Ivybridge (10 m. e. of Plymouth), Sept. 17, 1758; d. at Bredon (38 m. s.s.w. of Birmingham) July 29, 1650. He matriculated at Exeter College, Oxford (B.A., 1600; M.A., 1603; B.D., 1611; D.D., 1612); took orders soon after receiving his master’s degree; became chaplain to Prince Henry; fellow of the college at Chelsea in 1609; rector of Exeter College, 1612; vicar of Bampton, 1614; regius professor of divinity, 1615; canon of Christ Church, 1616; vicar of Chalgrove and canon at Salisbury, 1620; rector of Ewelme, 1629; was five times vice-chancellor of the university; and was appointed bishop of Worcester, 1641. He was a loyalist, and the surrender of Worcester to the Parliamentary forces in 1646 ended his episcopate; he spent his last years in poverty with his son-in-law, rector of Bredon. He was a diligent writer, mainly in Latin, his principal works in English being The Doctrine of the Sabbath (London, 1634), and Sacred Eloquence (1659); he also wrote on devotional subjects.

Bibliography: DNB, xlvi. 354–356, where references to scattering notices are given.