Richard Barnes (bishop)

Richard Barnes (1532–August 241587) was an Anglican priest who served as a bishop in the Church of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.

He was born in Bold which was then a village near St Helens in south Lancashire. He attended Farnworth grammar school and then was admitted to Brasenose College, Oxford. Here he was elected a fellow in 1552, and received his BA in 1553. This was followed by a BD and then a MA in 1557. Finally he became a DD in 1579.

After receiving Holy Orders he was made Minister of Stonegrave in Yorkshire. In 1561 he was appointed Chancellor of the Diocese of York and later became a canon and prebendary of York Minster.

In 1567 he was appointed Suffragan Bishop of Nottingham and later became Bishop of Nottingham. In 1570 he was appointed Bishop of Carlisle. As bishop, he soon gained a reputation as someone dedicated to seeking out recusants.

In 1577 he was translated to Durham, as a result of the patronage of Lord Burghley. It seems that he was on bad terms with Edmund Grindal, then Archbishop of Canterbury. One possible reason for this is that Barnes disapproved of Grindal's refusal to suppress the prophesyings - which refusal had led to Grindal being suspended from office.

At the first Metropolitan Visitation of Barnes' tenure, in 1577, Edwin Sandys, the Archbishop of York delegated his authority to Barnes. However, he met determined opposition from the Dean, William Whittingham, who refused to allow him in to the chapter house. In retaliation, Barnes excommunicated Whittingham. Barnes later, during a legitimate episcopal visitation, described the diocese's affairs thus:

:"...that Augiae Stabulum, the church of Durham ... whose stink is grievous in the nose of God and of men and which to purge far passeth Hercules' labours" (BL, Lansdowne MS 25, fols. 161–2)

However, the conspiracy against Whittingham was brought to an end by his death in 1579.

References

Foster, Alan, "A History of Farnworth Church, its Parish and Village", 1981.