Rt. Rev. Nathaniel Crewe, 3rd Baron Crewe

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathaniel_Crew,_3rd_Baron_Crew

Nathanial Crew, 3rd Baron Crew (31 January 1633–1721) was Bishop of Oxford from 1671 to 1674, then Bishop of Durham from 1674 to 1721. As such he was one of the longest serving bishops of the Church of England.

Crew was the son of John Crew, 1st Baron Crew and a grandson of Sir Thomas Crew, Speaker of the House of Commons. He was educated at Lincoln College, Oxford and appointed Rector of the college in 1668. He became dean and precentor of Chichester in 1669, Clerk of the Closet to Charles II shortly afterwards, Bishop of Oxford in 1671 and Bishop of Durham in 1674. He owed his rapid promotions to James, then Duke of York, whose favour he had gained by secretly encouraging the duke's interest in the Roman Catholic Church.

After the accession of James II in 1685, Crew was also appointed dean of the Chapel Royal. He was part of the ecclesiastical commission of 1686, which suspended Henry Compton, Bishop of London (for refusing to suspend John Sharp, then rector of St Giles's-in-the-Fields, whose anti-papal writings had rendered him obnoxious to the king) and Crew shared the administration of the see of London with Thomas Sprat, Bishop of Rochester. On the decline of King James's power, Crew dissociated himself from the court, and made a bid for the favour of William III's new government by voting for the motion that James had abdicated. He was excepted from the general pardon of 1690, but afterwards was allowed to retain his see.

He left large estates to be devoted to charitable ends, and his benefaction to Lincoln College and to Oxford University is commemorated in the annual Creweian Oration. In 1697, Crew had succeeded his brother Thomas as 3rd Baron Crew, but the barony became extinct upon his death.

His tenure also saw the first two new parishes to be erected in England since the Reformation. These were at Stockton-on-Tees in 1712 and Sunderland. The Church of the Holy Trinity in Sunderland, now redundant, was the base for responsible local government in the growing port town for the first time since the Borough of Sunderland, created by the Bishops of Durham, was crushed by Oliver Cromwell in the English Civil War.

Crew also furnished the chapel of Stene Park, Northamptonshire, of which he was owner.

From Wikipedia, January 2015

Nathaniel Crew, 3rd Baron Crew (31 January 1633–1 November 1721)[3] was Bishop of Oxford from 1671 to 1674, then Bishop of Durham from 1674 to 1721. As such he was one of the longest serving bishops of the Church of England.

Crew was the son of John Crew, 1st Baron Crew and a grandson of Sir Thomas Crewe, Speaker of the House of Commons. He was educated at Lincoln College, Oxford and appointed Rector of the college in 1668. He became dean and precentor of Chichester in 1669, Clerk of the Closet to Charles II shortly afterwards, Bishop of Oxford in 1671 and Bishop of Durham in 1674. He owed his rapid promotions to the Duke of York (later James VII & II), whose favour he had gained by secretly encouraging the duke's interest in the Roman Catholic Church.[4] Crew baptised the Duke's daughter Princess Catherine in 1675 and was made a Privy Counsellor on 26 April 1676[1] He was present at the crucial Council meeting in October 1678 where Titus Oates first revealed his great fabrication, the Popish Plot.

After the accession of James II in 1685 Crew was also appointed dean of the Chapel Royal. He was part of the ecclesiastical commission of 1686, which suspended Henry Compton, Bishop of London (for refusing to suspend John Sharp, then rector of St Giles's-in-the-Fields, whose anti-papal writings had rendered him obnoxious to the king) and Crew shared the administration of the see of London with Thomas Sprat, Bishop of Rochester. On the decline of King James's power, Crew dissociated himself from the court, and made a bid for the favour of William III's new government by voting for the motion that James had abdicated. He was excepted from the general pardon of 1690, but afterwards was allowed to retain his see.[4]

He left large estates to be devoted to charitable ends, and his benefaction to Lincoln College and to Oxford University is commemorated in the annual Creweian Oration.[5] In 1697, Crew had succeeded his brother Thomas as the 3rd Baron Crew, but the barony became extinct upon his death.[4]

His tenure also saw the first two new parishes to be erected in England since the Reformation. These were at Stockton-on-Tees in 1712 and Sunderland. The Church of the Holy Trinity in Sunderland, now redundant, was the base for responsible local government in the growing port town for the first time since the Borough of Sunderland, created by the Bishops of Durham, was crushed by Oliver Cromwell in the English Civil War.

His memory is also perpetuated in The Lord Crewe Arms Hotel at Blanchland which community Crew rebuilt. Crew bought the village in 1708 and on his death in 1721 it passed to his trust, which remains the landlord.[6]

Crewe also furnished the chapel of Steane Park, Northamptonshire, of which he was owner (having inherited the Steane estate with the Crew barony).

References[edit]1.^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h "Crew [Crewe], Nathaniel". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/6683. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.) 2.Jump up ^ Bucholz, R.O. Office-Holders in Modern Britain: Volume 11 (revised): Court Officers, 1660-1837 Accessed 8 September 2014 3.Jump up ^ Persons: Crewe, Nathaniel (1668 - 1721) in "CCEd, the Clergy of the Church of England database" (Accessed online, 9 September 2014) 4.^ Jump up to: a b c One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Crew, Nathaniel Crew, 3rd Baron". Encyclopædia Britannica 7 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 432. 5.Jump up ^ Oxford Glossary. University of Oxford, UK. 6.Jump up ^ Blanchland History Accessed 15 July 2014.