Benjamin Heydon or Haydon (1567–1607) was the Headmaster at Winchester College from 1596 to 1601/1602,[1] a JP for Somerset,[2] and Dean of Wells Cathedral from 1602 until his death in 1607.
After receiving his Bachelor of Canon Law in 1527, he served successively as rector of Ardley, Coln Rogers, Newbury and Coberley, among others.
[10] After the death of Henry VIII, the church took a series of unconnected disciplinary actions against him for various political mistakes and religious heterodoxy.
Earlier in 1550, the parishioners of Newbury complained to their Bishop John Capon that Heydon could not preach according to the Book of Common Prayer (1549), and continued to affirm that the bread of the Eucharist was "Christ's true body.
[14] After Mary began to reinstate traditional Catholic practices, Heydon was deprived in 1554 from his benefice in St Benet's, Paul's Wharf in London, likely for being married.
One Francis Heydon or Heyden received his MA from Corpus Christi College, Oxford in 1575, and then became the rector of Broadwater in Sussex.
[17][18][19] Francis was not able to retain the incumbencies in Winnall and Charfield as he did not have a dispensation to hold multiple benefices; he would instead remain at Broadwater until he died in 1625.
Edward Sr. lost much of his influence and potential patronage when he was brought before courts for controversial religious opinions, and he surrendered various benefices to Francis before Benjamin finished his education.
By the end of Elizabeth's reign, a plurality of clergy had obtained some university education, if not full degrees, and Benjamin was eager to take advantage.
Though no official records of his marriage exist, Heydon appears to have been married sometime around 1595 based on the age of his children later in life.
Heydon’s major project during his time as Dean of Wells was to restore the ancient lands and rents due to the cathedral that it had lost in the mid-16th century.
[37] The loss of income from ancestral church lands and the persistent absences of previous deans left the cathedral in a dilapidated state.
[43] The numerous lawsuits drained Heydon’s personal and professional finances to the point that he died £1,400 in debt to his brother Edward.
Prebendaries attached to, and positions as canons in, a collegiate church were well paid livings for a cleric, and an excellent way for those with power to dispense patronage.
[45] James VI and I similarly expected to be able to nominate men to positions within the church, and in November 1605, he recommended Robert Wright and William Barker, then serving as treasurer and chancellor of the cathedral, respectively.
[46] Heydon was brought before the Archbishop Richard Bancroft in May, 1606 to argue his case regarding his failure to appoint Wright and Barker.
All three were reinstated within a few weeks, but the Archbishop had made his point clear that Heydon was to behave as an obedient priest to Bancroft and a subject of James I.
Heydon, as county JP, approved the event in defiance of an order of 1594 against the holding of church ales, as they were seen as often debauched, drunken, and disorderly.
Heydon went so far as to have "cathedral choristers, dressed as pagan goddesses singing sacred hymns, and miners in unflattering costumes, posing as prominent local Puritans," as part of the pageantry.
[52] After the end of the May Games, John Hole brought a defamation suit against several of the leading townsmen promoting the ale in the court of Star Chamber.
Heydon died in early November 1607, deeply in debt to his brother as the various lawsuits over the estates of the Cathedral and Deanery, and the defamation suit in Star Chamber continued.