Barnabas Oley

Barnabas Oley (1602–1686) was an English churchman and academic. A royalist figure of the First English Civil War, he was also the first editor of George Herbert and Thomas Jackson, and a personal friend of Nicholas Ferrar. In old age he was archdeacon of Ely for a year.

Life He was baptised in the parish church of Wakefield on 26 December 1602, as son of Francis Oley, a clerk, who married Mary Mattersouse on 25 June 1600. He was educated at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wakefield, which he entered in 1607. In 1617 he proceeded to Clare College, Cambridge, probably as Cave's exhibitioner from his school, and graduated B.A. 1621, M.A. 1625, and B.D. A crown mandate for the degree of D.D. to him and two other eminent divines was dated 14 April, and published 17 June 1663, but the honour was declined. He was elected probationer-fellow of the foundation of Lady Clare at his college on 28 November 1623, and a senior fellow in 1627, and filled the offices of tutor and president, one of his pupils being Peter Gunning. Oley was also taxor for the university in 1634, and proctor in 1635.

In 1633 Oley was appointed by his college to the vicarage of Great Gransden, Huntingdonshire, and held it until his death; but for several years he continued to reside at Cambridge. The first steps for the rebuilding of the college, which was begun on 19 May 1638 but not finished until 1715, were taken under his direction; he was called by Thomas Fuller its "Master of the Fabric". When the university sent its plate to the king at Nottingham to be converted into money for his use, it was entrusted to his care and safely brought to the king's headquarters, August 1642, a mission with John Barwick. For not residing at Cambridge, and for not appearing before the commission when summoned to attend, he was ejected by Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl of Manchester from his fellowship on 8 April 1644. He was also plundered of his personal and landed property, and forced to leave his benefice.

Oley made other charitable bequests. In 1685, he granted money to 10 poor parishes in the diocese of Carlisle, Cumbria, in order that they should buy a set of 16 divinity books, a set to be placed in each vicarage. This was the first time that libraries had been provided for the poorest parishes, and was work that was taken up in the 1690s by Dr. Thomas Bray both in England and Wales, and in British North America.