William Laud (7 October 1573 – 10 January 1645) was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1633 to 1645. One of the High Church Caroline divines, he opposed radical forms of Puritanism. This, and his support for King Charles I, resulted in his beheading in the midst of the English Civil War.
William Laud was born in a house on Broad Street in Reading, of comparatively lowly origins; his father, also named William, was a cloth merchant (a fact about which ...
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William Laud (7 October 1573 – 10 January 1645) was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1633 to 1645. One of the High Church Caroline divines, he opposed radical forms of Puritanism. This, and his support for King Charles I, resulted in his beheading in the midst of the English Civil War.
William Laud was born in a house on Broad Street in Reading, of comparatively lowly origins; his father, also named William, was a cloth merchant (a fact about which Laud was to remain sensitive throughout his career). He was baptised at St Laurence's Church in Reading. He was educated at Reading School and, through a White Scholarship, St John's College, Oxford.
Laud was ordained on 5 April 1601; he soon gained a reputation for Arminian and High Church tendencies and antipathy to Puritanism and for intellectual and organisational brilliance. At that time the Calvinist party was strong in the Church of England and Laud's affirmation of apostolic succession was unpopular in many quarters. In 1605, somewhat...
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