William Leigh

In 1586 he was presented by Bishop William Chaderton to the rectory of Standish, near Wigan, Lancashire, which he held till his death.

Soon after the accession of James I he preached before the court, and the king appointed him tutor to his eldest son Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales.

In June 1608 Lord Chancellor Egerton gave him the mastership of Ewelme Hospital, Oxfordshire; this sinecure position was made from 1617 to support the Oxford Professor of Physic,[2] but the transition was the tenure of his successor William White from 1611 to 1628.

[3] As a parish priest he continued the restoration of the church, which was begun by his predecessor, and gave an oak pulpit in 1616.

He died on 26 November 1639, aged 89, and was buried in the chancel of Standish Church, where there is a brass, with Latin inscription, to his memory.

Transliteration of William Leigh's 1639 death bed confession.
Written two days before his death at age 89, Leigh proclaims before "God, men, and angels" that the Church of England embodies the true Christian religion. Dying, he remains certain of his salvation in the afterlife.