William Barlow | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of Chichester | |
| Diocese | Diocese of Chichester |
| In office | 1559 – 1568 (death) |
| Predecessor | John Christopherson |
| Successor | Richard Curteys |
| Other post(s) | Bishop of St Asaph (1536) Bishop of St David's (1536–1548) Bishop of Bath and Wells (1548–1553) |
| Orders | |
| Consecration | February 1535[1] |
| Personal details | |
| Born | William Barlow c. 1498 |
| Died | 13 August 1568 (aged c. 70 years) Chichester, Sussex, England |
| Buried | Chichester Cathedral |
| Nationality | English |
| Denomination | Protestant |
| Parents | Robert Barlow Anna |
| Spouse | Agatha Wellsborne (1505–1595) |
| Children | William Barlow John Barlow Margaret Overton Anne Westfaling Antonia Wickham Elizabeth Day Frances Matthew |
William Barlow (also spelled Barlowe; c. 1498 – 13 August 1568) was an English Augustinian prior turned bishop of four dioceses, a complex figure of the Protestant Reformation. Aspects of his life await scholarly clarification. Labelled by some a "weathercock reformer",[2] he was in fact a staunch evangelical, an anti-Catholic and collaborator in the Dissolution of the Monasteries and dismantling of church estates; and largely consistent in his approach, apart from an early anti-Lutheran tract and a supposed recantation under Mary I. He was one of the four consecrators and the principal consecrator of Matthew Parker, as archbishop of Canterbury in 1559.