Gilbert Sheldon

Clergyman, born in Stanton, Staffordshire, C England, UK. Chaplain to Charles I, and warden of All Souls, Oxford (1626–48), he was ejected by the Parliamentarians. At the Restoration in 1660 he was appointed Bishop of London, and in 1663 became Archbishop of Canterbury. He built the Sheldonian Theatre at Oxford (1669).

Gilbert Sheldon (1598-1677), Archbishop of Canterbury, was born at Stanton in the parish of Ellastone, Staffordshire, and educated at Trinity College, Oxford.

He was ordained in 1622 and was appointed chaplain to Lord Coventry (1578-1640). Four years later he was elected warden of All Souls College, Oxford.

In 1638 he was on a commission appointed to visit Merton College, Oxford.

In 1660 he became bishop of London and master of the Savoy, and the Savoy Conference was held at his lodgings. He was greatly interested in the welfare of Oxford University, of which he became chancellor in 1667, succeeding Clarendon (1609-1674).

This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.