John Hall 1633-1710

John HALL 1633-1710

Biographical Note

Born at Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, son of John Hall, vicar there. BA Pembroke College, Oxford 1651, MA 1653, BD 1666, DD 1669. Ordained as a presbyterian minister in 1655, he was ordained into the Church of England in 1661, made a royal chaplain, and in 1664 elected Master of Pembroke. He became Lady Margaret Professor of Divinity in 1676. He became Bishop of Bristol in 1691, but held this in conjunction with his Pembroke Mastership, where he mostly resided. Theologically, he never lost his presbyterian, Calvinist roots, which brought him into controversy, though he was noted a a preacher and lecturer.

Books

Shortly before his death, Hall gave his books to Pembroke, where a new library had recently been erected as part of his building schemes there. A list of books given survives as Pembroke MS 45/1/1. Books are not mentioned in Hall's will.

Sources

• Will of John Hall, The National Archives PROB 11/514/329.
• Marshall, William. '"Hall, John (1633–1710), bishop of Bristol and college head."' Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
• Morgan, P., Oxford libraries outside the Bodleian, 2nd edn, Oxford, 1980.