Papers of James Fleetwood, Bishop of Worcester

James Fleetwood was baptised at Chalfont St. Giles on 25 April 1603. He was educated at Eton and then at King's College, Cambridge. In 1632 he was appointed Chaplain to the Bishop of Lichfield. During the Civil War in England, Fleetwood attached himself as Chaplain to the regiment of John, Earl of Rivers, and his contribution during the Battle of Edgehill earned him from King Charles the degree of D.D. from Oxford in November 1642. He was then given the Rectory of Sutton Coldfield but this was later withdrawn from him by Parliament. He was made tutor to Prince Charles, and on the Restoration he was appointed Chaplain in Ordinary. He was also given the Rectory of Anstey in Hertfordshire and of Denham in Buckinghamshire. In 1663 and 1667 Fleetwood was Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge University, and on 29 August 1675 he was consecrated as Bishop of Worcester at the Church of St. Peter le Poer, Broad Street, London. James Fleetwood, Bishop of Worcester, died on 17 July 1683.