John Hacket (Halket), 1592–1670
was Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry, 1661–1670. He has been described as
‘another founder of the cathedral’.[1] He was born in St Martin-in-the-Fields,
London and educated at Westminster School and Trinity College, Cambridge. His
father was a prosperous tailor in London.
Statue of John Hacket from west front. He is holding the Book
of Common Prayer which he used all his life.
Bishop
Hacket painting in Trinity College, Cambridge. Wikipedia, Public Domain.
Near
life-size effigy of Hacket on a marble table monument located in the South
Choir aisle. The bishop is holding the Book of
Common Prayer and a crozier. His eldest son, Andrew, erected the effigy to his father’s memory.
Hacket seated at the bench planning the restoration of the cathedral. Note the figure at the front of the bench holding the working drawings.
He arrived at the cathedral two years into its
restoration. Canon and Precentor Higgins, a reinstituted Chapter, a new Dean and
other local notables initiated much of the early planning and clearance of the
site from 1660–1.[4]
Hacket arrived in August 1662 and was immediately preoccupied with building a
house in the Close, spending £1000 of his own money.[5]
He returned again in October. He gave a silver-gilt communion service, two chalices,
two flagons and a paten, for facilitating Eucharist.
Communion
service given to the cathedral by Hacket, 1662. Made by Daniel Rutty and
engraved with the cathedral arms, with one piece made by an unknown
silversmith.
Hacket grave marker at the end of the south aisle.
Hacket’s sermons for which he was most noted were published in 1675.[11]
Hacket’s cathedra, the middle stall. It was adapted for use by judges in the Consistory Court, 1814. The Court from late 17th-century to 1830 was mostly concerned with arbitration for intractable disputes of a predominantly rural nature.[12]
[1] T. Harwood, The history and antiquities of the church and city of Lichfield. (London: 1806), 155.
[2]
Hacket in his study time composed the Latin comedy called Loyola, which
was twice performed before James I. It satirised church groups outside of mainstream
Church of England.
[3]
There is a story of Hacket preaching from the unauthorised Book of Common
Prayer when a soldier entered his church and presented a pistol at his breast
and ordered him to stop. Hacket replied that he would do what became a divine,
let the other do what became a soldier; and continued with his service. It
has not been possible to find the origin of this story, or which church it
occurred in; there are variations.
[4]
H. E. Savage, Reconstruction after the Commonwealth. Unpub. paper in
Cathedral Library. (1918).
[5]
T. Harwood, (1806), 66.
[6]
The bishop was driven to excommunicate the Dean openly in the church.
[7]
M. W. Greenslade, ‘Lichfield: From the Reformation to c.1800', in A
History of the County of Stafford: Volume 14, Lichfield, (London, 1990),
14-24.
[8]
T. Harwood (1806), 72.
[9]
M. W. Greenslade and R. B. Pugh, 'House
of secular canons - Lichfield cathedral: From the Reformation to the 20th
century', in A History of the County of Stafford: Volume 3,
(London, 1970), 166-199.
[10]
Ibid. £3,500 was said to have come directly from Hacket.
[11]
See https://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/eebo/A43515.0001.001?view=toc
for a list of the sermons.
[12]
A. Tarver, The Consistory Court of the Diocese of Lichfield and Coventry and
its work, 1680-1830. Unpub. thesis, University of Warwick. (1998)
No comments:
Post a Comment