Henry Bright (schoolmaster, born 1562)

Henry Bright (baptised 26 October 1562 – 4 March 1627[A]) was a clergyman and schoolmaster in Worcester. He served for 38 years Headmaster at The King's School, Worcester, and is mentioned by Thomas Fuller and Anthony Wood as an exceptional teacher.

Arms of Bright: Azure, a fess wavy ermine in chief three crescents argent[1]
Brockbury Hall in the parish of Colwall, Herefordshire

Life

Bright was baptised at the Church of St. Peter the Great in Worcester on 26 October 1562. He was the eldest son of James Bright, son of Nathaniel Bright (1493–1564).[2]

He was probably educated at King's Worcester himself,[3] and matriculated at Brasenose College, Oxford as a "plebeian" in 1580, aged 18. Having moved to Balliol College, Oxford, he graduated B.A. (1584) and M.A. (1587),[4] and was elected to a fellowship at Balliol in 1585.[5][6]

Starting at King’s Worcester in 1589, he also held a number of preferments in the church, including the rectories of Broadwas (1591), Tredington (1606) and Warndon (1615),[4][7] and canonries at Hereford Cathedral (1607)[8] and Worcester Cathedral (1619).[9]

In 1609 he purchased the estate of Brockbury in the parish of Colwall, Herefordshire.[10]

He died on 4 March 1627.[A]

Marriages and children

Bright married twice. Firstly he married Maria Tovey, by whom he had a daughter:

  • Mary Bright

Secondly he married Joan Berkeley, a daughter of Rowland Berkeley MP and a sister of Sir Robert Berkeley MP, the judge. They had a son and three daughters:

  • Robert Bright (1617–1665), son and heir
  • Dorothy Bright
  • Joyce Bright, who married John Brydges (1604–1669) – they had three daughters, Brydges' coheirs[11]
  • Catherine Bright

Robert Bright inherited the estate of Brockbury, which remained in the family for many centuries, passing down to Henry Bright MP (1784–1869), then to the Oxford historian James Franck Bright (1832–1920).[2]

Epitaph
Wall monument to Henry Bright in Worcester Cathedral, with Latin epitaph by Joseph Hall, Dean of Worcester

Bright's wall monument[12] survives in Worcester Cathedral. It carries an epitaph written by Joseph Hall (then Dean of Worcester), and quoted by Fuller as follows:[13]

Mane, Hospes, et lege. Halt, stranger, and read.
Magister Henricus Bright, Mr. Henry Bright,
celeberrimus Gymnasiarcha, The most celebrated schoolmaster,
qui Scholae Regiae istic fundatae Who over the Royal School here founded,
per totos quadraginta annos summa cum laude praefuit : For 40 years in all, presided with the highest distinction.
Quo non alter magis sedulus fuit scitusve aut dexter No other was more diligent or wise than he, or more skilled
in Latinis, Graecis, Hebraicis Literis feliciter edocendis : At felicitously imparting Latin, Greek and Hebrew letters:
Teste utraque Academia, quam instruxit aifatim numerosa pube literaria ; As witness, both universities, which he supplied amply with numerous learned youths.
Sed et totidem annis coque amplius Theologiam professus, For as many years, furthermore, ordained in theology,
et hujus Ecclesiae per septennium Canonicus major, And for seven years a major canon of this church,
sepissimè hie et alibi sacrum Dei Praeconem magno cum zelo et fructu egit ; Very often, here and elsewhere, he acted as God's holy herald with great zeal and effect;
Vir pius, doctus, integer, frugi, de Republicâ deque Ecclesia optimè meritus, A pious man, learned, of integrity and restraint, worthy of the best of Church and State alike,
à laboribus perdiu pernoctuque ab anno 1562 ad 1626, From his labours by day and by night from the year 1562 to 1626[A]
strenue usque extant latis, 4to Martii suaviter requievit in Domino. Exhausted at last, on 4th March sweetly rested in the Lord.

Notable pupils

Bright is principally remembered for the pupils he taught at Worcester whom he frequently sent to Oxford, many of whom became well known. They include:

Reputation

Thomas Fuller, in his History of the Worthies of England, praised Bright as follows:

For my own part, I behold this Master Bright placed by Divine Providence in this city, in the Marches, that he might equally communicate the lustre of grammar learning to youth both of England and Wales.[13]

Pupils did attend the school from Wales as well as England. Bright arranged for Worcester Cathedral chapter to provide exhibition scholarships of 2 shillings per annum for pupils he sent to university.[3]

His reputation was also echoed by Anthony Wood in his Fasti Oxoniensis:

He had a most excellent faculty in instructing youths in Latin, Greek and Hebrew, most of which were afterwards sent to the universities, where they proved eminent to emulation. He was also an excellent preacher, was resorted to far and near ... The posterity of this Hen. Bright do now live in genteel fashion in Worcestershire.[26]

References

A As the legal year at this time began on 25 March, Bright's death is recorded as having taken place in 1626, but this date is now regarded as falling in 1627. (Full explanation.)

  1. Arms of Bright of Colwall, Herefordshire, per Strong, George (1848) The Heraldry of Herefordshire: Being a Collection of the Armorial Bearings of Families Which Have Been Seated in the County at Various Periods Down to the Present Time., London: Churton Press
  2. Burke, Bernard (1895). A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Colonial Gentry. 2. London: Harrison & Sons. p. 451. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  3. Leach, Arthur Francis (1913), Documents illustrating early education in Worcester.685 to 1700, London: Printed for the Worcestershire Historical Society, by M. Hughes and Clarke, p. lxvii–lxix, OL 18761759M
  4. Foster, Joseph (1891). Alumni Oxonienses: Bright, Henry. 1. p. 182. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  5. "Balliol College Archives & Manuscripts". Balliol College, University of Oxford.
  6. Jones, John (1997). Balliol College: A History (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 326. ISBN 9780199201815. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  7. Persons: Bright, Henry (–) in "CCEd, the Clergy of the Church of England database" (Accessed online, 20 August 2019)
  8. Horn, Joyce M. (ed.). "Prebendaries of the Cathedral, Hereford". Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1541-1857. 13.
  9. Horn, Joyce M. (ed.). "Canons of the 5th Prebend, Worcester". Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1541-1857. 7. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  10. Craze, Michael (1972). King's School, Worcester, 1541–1971. Worcester: Ebenezer Baylis & Son. pp. 48, 52–54.
  11. Wall monument to John Brydges, St Peter's Church, Dormington. Media related to the memorial at Wikimedia Commons
  12. See image
  13. Fuller, Thomas (1840) [1662]. Nuttall, P. Austin (ed.). The History of the Worthies of England. 3. London: Thomas Tegg. p. 376. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  14. Patrick Woodland, 'Beale, John (bap. 1608, d. 1683)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 2008 accessed 7 Feb 2011
  15. Hugh de Quehen, 'Butler, Samuel (bap. 1613, d. 1680)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 7 Feb 2011 Butler was attending King's College by 1626, the year of Bright's death, according to this article.
  16. Bickley, A. C. (1888). "Doughtie, John" . In Stephen, Leslie (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. 15. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
  17. Gibson, J. W. (1888). "Dugard, William" . In Stephen, Leslie (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. 16. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
  18. John Jones, 'Good, Thomas (1609/10–1678)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 2008 accessed 7 Feb 2011
  19. C. D. Gilbert, 'Hall, Thomas (1610–1665)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 7 Feb 2011
  20. Seccombe, T. (1893). "Manwaring, Roger" . In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. 36. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
  21. Boden, Anthony (2005). Thomas Tomkins: The Last Elizabethan. p. 119. ISBN 9781351539173. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  22. Blakiston, H. E. D. (1896). "Potter, Francis" . In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. 46. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
  23. "VAUGHAN, John (1603–1674)". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 25 August 2019.
  24. Craze, Michael (1972). King's School, Worcester, 1541–1971. Worcester: Ebenezer Baylis & Son. pp. 66–67.
  25. Len Travers, 'Winslow, Edward (1595–1655)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Oct 2006 accessed 7 Feb 2011
  26. Wood, Anthony (1691), Athenae Oxonienses, London: Printed for Tho. Bennet ..., OL 21773752M
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