AN Univerfal, Historical, and Literary DICTIONARY. L L. LOYD (WILLIAM) a very learned English bishop, was originally of Welch extraction, being grandfon of David Lloyd, of Henblas, in the ifle of Anglefey; but he was born at Tilehurft in Berkfhire, in 1627, of which place his father, mr. Richard Lloyd, was then vicar, and rector likewife of Sunning, in the fame county. He took care himself to inftruct his fon [A] in the rudiments of grammar and claffical learning; by which means he came to understand Greek and Latin, and fomething of Hebrew, at eleven years of age; and was entered, in 1638, a ftudent of Oriel college in Oxford, whence, the following year, he was removed to a scholarship of Jefus college. In 1642, he proceeded bachelor of arts, which being completed by determination, he left the univerfity, which was then garifoned for the ufe of the king; but, after the furrender of it to the parliament, he returned, was chofen fellow of his college, and commenced mafter of arts in 1646, In the year of king Charles's martyrdom, our author took deacon's orders from dr. Skinner, bishop of Oxford, and afterwards became tutor to the children of fir William Backhoufe, of Swallowfield in Berkshire, efq;. In 1654, upon the ejection of dr. Pordage by the prefbyte[A] See his epitaph in Willis's furvey of the cathedrals of York, &c. P. 655 A 2 rian rian committee, he was prefented to the rectory of Bradfield, in the fame county, by Elias Afhmole, efq; patron of that living in right of his wife [B]. Accordingly he was examined by the tryers, and pafled with approbation; but defigns being laid against him by mr. Fowler and mr. Ford, two minifters at Reading, who endeavoured to bring in dr. Temple, pretending the adyowfon was in fir Humphrey Forfter, he chofe to refign his prefentation to mr. Afhmole, rather than undergo a conteft with those bufy men. In 1656 he was ordained prieft, by dr. Brownrig, bifhop of Exeter, and the fame year went to Wadham college in Oxford, as governor to John Backhoufe, efq; who was a gentleman commoner there; with him he continued till 1659. In September 1660, he was incorporated mafter of arts at Cambridge [c], and, about the fame time, was made a prebendary of the collegiate church of Rippon in Yorkshire. In 1666, he was appointed king's chaplain; and, in December 1667, was collated to a prebend of Salisbury, having proceeded doctor of divinity at Oxford, in the act preceding. In 1668, he was prefented by the crown to the vicarage of St. Mary's in Reading; and the fame year was inftalled archdeacon of Merioneth, in the church of Bangor, of which he was made dean in 1672. This year he obtained also a prebend in the church of St. Paul, London. In 1674, he became refidentiary of Salisbury; and, in 1676, he fucceeded dr. Lamplugh, promoted to the fee of Exeter, in the vicarage of St. Martin's in the Fields, Weftminfter; upon which occafion he refigned his prebend of St. Paul's. Our author had fhewn his zeal in feveral tracts against popery [D]; and in the fame fpirit he published, in 1677, Confiderations touching the true way to fupprefs popery in this kingdom, &c. on occafion whereof is inferted an Hiftorical account of the reformation here in England: but his defign was mifreprefented, and himself charged with favouring the papifts. The fact was thus: in this piece he propofed to tolerate fuch papifts as denied the pope's infallibility, and his power to depofe kings, excluding the reft; a method which had been put in practice both by queen Elizabeth and king James, with good fuccefs, in dividing, and [B] He tranflated into Latin and English, a Greek epiftle of Jeremy Prieft, doctor of the Eastern church, to m. Afhmole, concerning the life of St. George, according to the traditions of the Eaftern Chriftians. It is extant in the Afhmolean library, no. 1113. [c] Kennet's regifter and chro nicle, p. 250. [D] See the catalogue of his works in note [M]. fo fo by degrees ruining, the whole party. However, he was fufpected of complying in it with the court; and the fufpicion increased upon his being promoted to the bishopric of St. Afaph, in 1680: infomuch that he thought it neceffary to vindicate himself, as he did [E] effectually, by fhewing, that, at the very time he made the juft-mentioned pro-, pofal, the papifts themselves were in great apprehenfion of the thing, as being the most likely to blaft their hopes, and to preferve the nation from that ruin which they were then bringing upon it [F]. At length the fufpicion intirely vanifhed in king James the Second's reign, being one of the fix prelates who, with archbishop Sancroft, were committed to the Tower, in June 1688, for fubfcribing and prefenting the famous petition to his majefty, against diftributing and publishing in all their churches the royal declaration for liberty of confcience. The iffue of this affair is the fubject of general hiftory, and well known and about the latter end of the fame year, our bishop having concurred heartily in the revolution, was made lord almoner to king William III. In 1692, he was tranflated to the fee of Litchfield and Coventry, and thence to Worcester in 1699. In this bifhopric he fat till he arrived to the ninety-firft year of his age, when, without lofing the ufe of his understanding, he departed this life at Hartlebury-caftle, Auguft 30, 1717. He was buried on the 10th of September following, in the church of Fladbury, near Evesham, of which his fon was rector, where a monument is erected to his memory, with a long infcription, or elogy, fetting him forth as an excellent pattern of virtue and learning, of quick invention, firm memory, exquifite [E] In a dedication to the lords, of his fermon on the 5th of November 1680. [F] Coleman at that time wrote to the pope's internuncio thus : "There is but one thing to be "feared (whereof I have a great "apprehenfion) that can hinder "the fuccels of our defigns; "which is, a divifion among the "catholics themselves: by propo"fitions to the parliament to ac"cord their conjunction to thofe "that require it, on conditions "prejudicial to the authority of "the pope, and fo to perfecute the " rest of them with more appear ance of juftice, and ruin the one half of them more eafily, "than the whole body at once.' And cardinal Howard delivered it as their judgment at Rome: "Di"vifion of catholics, fays he, will "be the easiest way for proteftants "to destroy them." Collection of letters fet out by order of the house of commons. There is a virulent fatire upon him on this occafion, in a poem called Faction difplayed, fuppofed to be written by the late W. Shippen, efq; many years a remarkable member of the houfe of A 3 commons. judgment, judgment, great candor, piety, and gravity; a faithful hiftorian, accurate chronologer, and skilled in the holy fcriptures to a miracle; very charitable, and diligent in a careful discharge of his epifcopal office [G]. Cardinal Noris ufed to fay," That when he confulted "other learned men upon any difficult points, he generally "failed of fatisfaction; but that whenever he applied him"felf to dr. Lloyd, he was fure of having all his difficulties folved." But above all, dr. Burnet, who knew him well, ftiles him " a person most indefatigable in his induftry, and "the moft judicious in his obfervations of any that he knew, "and one of the greateft mafters of ftile then living.' "He was, adds this reverend hiftorian, a great critic in "the Greek and Latin authors, but chiefly in the fcriptures, of the words and phrafes of which he carried a "perfect concordance in his head, and had it the readieft "about him of all men that I ever knew. He was an exact "hiftorian, and the moft punctual in chronology of all our "divines. He had read the most books, and with the best "judgment, and had made the most copious abftracts out "of them, of any in that age; fo that Wilkins used to fay, "he had the most learning in ready cafh of any he ever ❝ knew. He was fo exact in every thing he fet about, that " he never gave over any part of ftudy till he quite mastered "it; but when that was done, he went to another fubject, "and did not lay out his learning with the diligence he "laid it in. He had many volumes of materials upon all "fubjects, laid together in fo diftinct a method, that he "could, with very little labour, write on any of them. "He had more life in his imagination, and a truer judg ment, than may feem confiftent with fuch a laborious "courfe of ftudy. Yet, as much as he was fet on learn"ing, he had never neglected his paftoral care. For feve"ral years he had the greatest cure in England (St. Martin's) which he took care of with an application and diligence beyond any about him, to whom he was an ex"ample, or rather a reproach. He was a holy, humble, "and patient man, ever ready to do good when he saw a proper opportunity; even his love of ftudy did not divert "him from that bleffed employment [H]." Such is the incenfe offered with a liberal hand to our au thor's memory, by dr. Burnet. It was indeed a debt of gratitude to this friend, who had not only put him upon writ [G] Willis as before. [H] Burnet's hift. of his own times. |