John Booth (bishop)

For other persons named John Booth, see John Booth (disambiguation).

John Booth
Bishop of Exeter
Arms of John Booth, Bishop of Exeter: Argent, three boar's heads erect erased sable a label of three points azure[1]
Province	Canterbury
Appointed	15 March 1465
Term ended	5 April 1478
Predecessor	George Neville
Successor	Peter Courtenay
Previous post(s)	Provost of Beverley Minster, Archdeacon of Richmond, Chancellor of Cambridge University
Orders
Consecration	7 July 1465
Personal details
Died	5 April 1478 Horsley, Surrey
Nationality	English
Denomination	Catholic

John Booth (died 5 April 1478, Surrey) was a 15th-century English prelate who held numerous appointments in the church and royal service.

Life

Brass monument to Bishop Booth in East Horsley Church

Booth was a scion of the ancient Cheshire family of Booth who were seated at Dunham Massey. He was a nephew of William Booth and Lawrence Booth, who both served as Archbishop of York.

In 1457 Booth was appointed the Provost of Beverley Minster and then in 1459 Archdeacon of Richmond,^[2] as well as Treasurer of Lichfield Cathedral, Canon of Sawley and Prebendary of Strensall. From 1461 until 1465, he was secretary to Edward IV, and for two of those years, 1463 and 1464, he served as the Chancellor of Cambridge University, receiving the degree of Doctor of Divinity. In 1464, he acquired the Prebendary of Bole and became Principal Secretary to Edward IV.

Booth was appointed Bishop of Exeter on 15 March 1465 and was consecrated bishop on 7 July 1465.^[3]

From 1471 to 1478, Booth served as a member of King Edward's Privy Council.

Following a visit to Croydon Palace,^[4] Booth died on 5 April 1478^[3] at Horsley, where he was ex-officio lord of the manor.

Citations

1. Pole, Sir William (d.1635), Collections Towards a Description of the County of Devon, Sir John-William de la Pole (ed.), London, 1791, p.471 "Bouthe, Bishop of Exon", without orientation of heads stated, but the Booth family of Dunham Massey (of which the bishop was a member) is known to show heads erect
2. Jones Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1300-1541: volume 6: Northern province (York, Carlisle and Durham): Archdeacons: Richmond Archived 9 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine
3. Fryde, et al. Handbook of British Chronology p. 247
4. www.british-history.ac.uk

References

• Fryde, E. B.; Greenway, D. E.; Porter, S.; Roy, I. (1996). Handbook of British Chronology (Third revised ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-56350-X.
• Jones, B. Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1300-1541: volume 6: Northern Province (York, Carlisle and Durham): Archdeacons: Richmond. Institute of Historical Research. Archived from the original on 9 March 2012. Retrieved 16 August 2010.

Catholic Church titles
Preceded by Lawrence Booth	Provost of Beverley Minster 1457–1465	Succeeded by Henry Webber
Preceded by John Arundel	Archdeacon of Richmond 1459–1465	Succeeded by John Sherwood
Preceded by George Neville	Bishop of Exeter 1465–1478	Succeeded by Peter Courtenay
Academic offices
Preceded by Robert Woodlark	Chancellor of the University of Cambridge 1463–1464	Succeeded by William Wilflete