Edwin Sandys

Edwin Sandys (; 1519 – 10 July 1588) was an English prelate. He was Anglican Bishop of Worcester (1559–1570), London (1570–1576) and Archbishop of York (1576–1588) during the reign of Elizabeth I of England. He was one of the translators of the Bishops' Bible.

Early years and education Edwin was born in 1519 to William Sandys, esq. of Esthwaite Hall and Graythwaite Hall, and Margaret Dixon, daughter of Sir John Dixon.

Sandys' place of education is not recorded, but historians believe that Edwin Sandys was educated alongside Edmund Grindal at St Bees Priory, and taught by the Marian martyr John Bland. Sandys recalled that he and Grindal lived "familiarly" and "as brothers" and were only separated between Sandys's 13th and 18th Years. A branch of the Sandys family lived at Rottington Hall near St Bees, and were known to the heralds in 1563 as '...of St Bees in the County of Cumberland". Edwin Sandys followed Edmund Grindal in his subsequent career, succeeding him as Bishop of London, and then Archbishop of York.

Sandys went up to St John's College, Cambridge, graduating BA in 1539 and then a Doctor of Divinity ten years later. In 1547 he was elected master of Catharine Hall, and by the death of Edward VI in 1553 he was Vice Chancellor of the university.

Exile On the death of King Edward, the Duke of Northumberland sought to avoid a Roman Catholic monarchy by placing Lady Jane Grey on the throne. He and his followers arrived in Cambridge to raise an army in East Anglia and demanded that Edwin Sandys preach a sermon. When the rebellion failed and Mary Tudor took the throne, Edwin was arrested and taken to the Tower of London. For this he is mentioned in Foxe's Book of Martyrs. Later he was moved to more comfortable conditions in Marshalsea prison where he made friends with the prison keeper who connived at his escape.

He went first to Antwerp and then Augsburg and Strasbourg where his wife joined him. His wife and infant son died there of a plague. He then lived in Zürich until the accession of Elizabeth I made it safe for him to return to England; on the day of Elizabeth's coronation. On 19 February 1559 he married Cicely Wilford, sister of James Wilford.

Archbishop of York On his return he became successively Bishop of Worcester, Bishop of London and Archbishop of York. He helped in the translation of a new version of the Bishops' Bible. Sandys's own personal copy may be seen in the Hawkshead Grammar School Museum in Cumbria.

Along with other Marian exiles, who returned to positions of wealth and importance, Archbishop Sandys was concerned that true religion and sound learning would forever flourish in the land. They saw the necessity of education for religion's sake and the need for the Church of England to hold their own in discussion with Roman Catholics. To these ends Edwin Sandys founded Hawkshead Grammar School in 1585 and endowed it with sufficient land and property for it to offer a free education.

Sandys died on 10 July 1588, and was buried in Southwell Minster in Nottinghamshire.

Family

Sandys was twice married. His first wife, Mary Sandys, died in 1558 at Strasbourg. They had one son: James Sandys (died 1557, Strasbourg)

On 19 February 1559, Sandys married Cicely Wilford, daughter of Thomas Wilford and sister of James Wilford. They had the following children:

The Sandys family seat is now Graythwaite Hall, a few miles south of Esthwaite.