As illustrated in John Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, being a priest in 16th Century England was a high-risk occupation. Grindal was chosen so he might take a strong line against Puritan preaching and “prophesying”. .css-8h1dth-Link{font-family:ReithSans,Helvetica,Arial,freesans,sans-serif;font-weight:700;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;color:#FFFFFF;}.css-8h1dth-Link:hover,.css-8h1dth-Link:focus{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;}Read about our approach to external linking. Grindal benefited greatly from the patronage of Ridley and Sir William Cecil during this period, to the extent that on June 11, 1553, he was nominated to be Bishop of London. He cultivated it in the garden of Fulham Palace, his official home as the Bishop of London. MARVELS OF THE MINSTER: Croydon Parish Church, as it was known, has a history that stretches back a thousand years, and much of it is inextricably linked with the Archbishops of Canterbury – six of them are buried there.

Grindal strove to ensure that the poor were helped. But only a month later, frail Edward was dead, and his successor was his oldest sister, Mary. To inquire about a licence to reproduce material, visit our Syndication site. They used a mobile phone camera on the end of a stick to search the void. Whatever the cause of death, the records he took with him vanished, never to be seen again. First, on Wednesday June 4, 1561, St Paul’s Cathedral was struck by lightning and burnt down.

It is recorded that there were many protests on a range of issues while he was in office.

Read about our approach to external linking. With at least 20 coffins identified, Mr Woodward said they "still don't know who else is down there". Augustine of Canterbury (born first third of the 6th century – died probably 26 May 604) was a Benedictine monk who became the first Archbishop of Canterbury in the year 597. Over the next five years he travelled widely across the continent, meeting up with other Protestants. For Mabel, Anne, Barbara and Frances, the four daughters of his late brother Robert, Grindal left £50 each – in total, the equivalent of around £80,000 today.

Ridley, for one, was martyred in 1555 – but by then, Grindal had fled England. Grindal was a fascinating character who held the most senior post in the Church of England from 1575, during the reign of Elizabeth I, until his death eight years later. John Chambers, Mr Wilson and Mr Robinson were his chaplains, Richard Frampton was his secretary and Richard Somerdyne his Yeoman of Horse, and all were mentioned in the will. Edmund Grindal was born in around 1517 in Crosshill House in the small Cumbrian village of St Bees. There are many historical links between the Archbishops of Canterbury and Croydon. Grindal was clearly a highly regarded churchman, well-connected with the monarchy, and he was appointed to be one of the Chaplains to the young Edward VI, Henry VIII’s only son, after he was crowned in 1547.

Mr Patten, from the building contractors Rooff, said his team were exposing the ground, lifting the flagstones in the church, when they uncovered an entry to what looked like a tomb.

There are also the ruins of a Palace at Otford..

According to Mr Mount, St Mary-at-Lambeth's records have since revealed that a further three archbishops were probably buried in the vault: Frederick Cornwallis (in office 1768 to 1783), Matthew Hutton (1757 to 1758) and Thomas Tenison (1695 to 1715).

"I came in thinking this sounds like bad news, problem, and wow, and it's the crown, it is the mitre of an Archbishop gleaming there in the dark," he added.

In urging the city to prayer as well as fasting, he asked that food not consumed through these weekly fasts be given to the most vulnerable. He bequeathed to his godson Edmund Woodhal one of his little standing cups with a cover.