William Crashaw
Church of England cleric
William Crashaw or Crashawe (1572–1626) was an English cleric, academic, and poet.
Life
The son of Richard Crashaw of Handsworth, South Yorkshire, by his wife, Helen, daughter of John Routh of Waleswood, he was born at Handsworth, and baptised there on 26 October 1572. He was educated at St John's College, Cambridge, admitted a sizar there on 1 May 1591. Two years afterwards the bishop of Ely's fellowship at St John's became vacant by the death of Humphrey Hammond; and as the see was then unoccupied, the right of nomination became vested in Queen Elizabeth, who recommended Crashaw.
After being ordained Crashaw became a preacher, first at Bridlington and then at Beverley in Yorkshire. He commenced M.A. in 1595, and proceeded to the degree of B.D. in 1603. In 1604 he was collated to the second prebend in Ripon Minster, and he held it till his death. He was appointed preacher at the Inner Temple.
When Crashaw was presented by Archbishop Edmund Grindal to the rectory of Burton Agnes, Adrian Stokes denied the title of the archbishop to the advowson, and presented William Grene, who was admitted and instituted to the rectory. Sir Edward Coke as attorney-general, took up the dispute on behalf of the Queen, and the result was that Crashaw was removed from the living.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “William Crashaw” as church of England cleric. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as church of England cleric. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Mar 26, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q15989932. VIAF identifies the subject as 17569312. The Library of Congress control number is n84184565. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1572, 1626, 1591 and 1595.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “William Crashaw”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow William Crashaw primary sources, William Crashaw archive and William research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “William Crashaw”?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “William Crashaw” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.