John Taylor (1480-1534)

John Taylor (~1480-1534) would have been notable just for the circumstances of his birth; he was the firstborn of healthy triplets who all survived to adulthood, which was virtually unheard of in the 1400s. He went on to a successful career as a priest and civil servant, culminating in a post as Master of the Rolls from 1527 to 1534. John Taylor and Susan Rowland were the parents of Rowland Taylor, prominent Protestant martyr (d. 1555).

John Taylor's Career Highlights

• In 1503 he was ordained Rector at Bishop's Hatfield.
• In 1504 he became Rector of Sutton Coldfield.
• One of the Royal Chaplains at Henry VII?s funeral, April 21, 1509.
• Appointed by King Henry VIII as the King?s Clerk and Chaplain in 1509.
• In 1511 was made Clerk to the Parliament.
• Appointed Archdeacon of Derby in 1515.
• Appointed Royal Ambassador to Burgundy and France and Prolocutor of Convocation.
• In 1516 was appointed Archdeacon of Buckingham.
• Conferred the degrees of Doctor of Civil Law and Doctor of Canon Law at Cambridge in 1520.
• From 1527 - 1534 he was Master of the Rolls of the Court of Chancery. This position was the third most senior judicial position in England; Lord Chancellor being first and Lord Chief Justice being second.
• The Master of the Rolls is the presiding officer of the Civil Division of the Court of Appeal.
• Was appointed as one of the commissioners to decide if King Henry VIII's marriage to Catherine of Aragon was valid.
• In 1528 appointed Archdeacon of Halifax, England.
• John Taylor died in 1534, when his son Rowland was 24 years old, the year his son Rowland received the L.L.D. from Cambridge.