Gilbert Sheldon

Gilbert Sheldon 1598-1677, English divine, archbishop of Canterbury. He attended Charles I at Oxford and Newmarket and in the Isle of Wight, remaining thereafter in retirement until the Restoration, when he became (1660) bishop of London and later (1663) archbishop of Canterbury. Sheldon was an influential adviser to Charles II. While chancellor of Oxford he built (1699) the Sheldonian Theatre at his own expense.

Sheldon, Gilbert (1598–1677), Abp. of Canterbury from 1663. In 1660 he became Bp. of London and Master of the Savoy, and in 1661 the Savoy Conference met at his lodgings. As Archbishop he worked for the re-establishment of W. Laud's religious principles. He carried through the arrangement whereby the Convocations ceased to tax the clergy (1664).

Sheldon, Gilbert (1598–1677). Archbishop of Canterbury (1663–77). A graduate of Trinity College, Oxford, Sheldon was fellow, then warden (1626), of All Souls. Spiritual adviser to Charles I in the Civil War, he was ejected from All Souls (1648) and briefly imprisoned. He became bishop of London at the Restoration. A keen protagonist of uniformity, he succeeded Juxon as archbishop (1663). As chancellor of Oxford (1667–9), he had the Sheldonian theatre built at his own expense with Wren as architect.