Hugh Curwen

Hugh Curwen (died 1 November 1568) was an English ecclesiastic and statesman. He was a native of Westmorland and educated at Cambridge, afterwards taking orders in the church.

In May 1533 he expressed approval of Henry VIII's marriage with Anne Boleyn in a sermon preached before the King. In 1541 he became dean of Hereford, and in 1555 Queen Mary nominated him to the Archbishopric of Dublin, and in the same year he was appointed Lord Chancellor of Ireland. He acted as Lord Justice of Ireland during the absence from Ireland of the Lord Deputy of Ireland, the Earl of Sussex, in 1557.

On the accession of Elizabeth, Curwen at once accommodated himself to the new conditions by declaring himself a Protestant, and was continued in the office of Lord Chancellor. He was accused by the Archbishop of Armagh of serious moral delinquency, and his recall was demanded both by the Primate and Hugh Brady, Bishop of Meath. In 1567 Curwen resigned the see of Dublin and the office of Lord Chancellor, and was appointed Bishop of Oxford.

References

• John Strype, Life and Acts of Archbishop Parker (3 vols, Oxford, 1824), and Memorials of Thomas Cranmer (2 vols, Oxford, 1840)
• John D'Alton, Memoirs of the Archbishops of Dublin (Dublin, 1838).

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: 

Political offices
Preceded by Sir William FitzWilliam as Lord Keeper	Lord Chancellor and Lord Keeper of Ireland 1555–1558 (as Lord Chancellor) 1558–1559 (as Lord Keeper) 1559–1567 (as Lord Chancellor)	Succeeded by Robert Weston as Lord Chancellor
Religious titles
Preceded by Gamaliel Clifton	Dean of Hereford 1541–1555	Succeeded by Edmund Daniel
Preceded by George Browne	Archbishop of Dublin 1555–1567	Succeeded by Adam Loftus
Preceded by Thomas Goldwell	Bishop of Oxford 1567–1568	Succeeded by John Underhill