'Vindiciae Justificationis Gratuitae,' in which Cranford's doctrine of 'conditional' justifi-cation by faith is condemned.
[Wood's Athenae Oxon. (Bliss), iii. 430-1; Wood's Fasti (Bliss), i. 397, 415, ii. 13 ; Newcourt's Diocese of London, i. 324 ; Brit. Mus. Cat.]
CRANKE, JAMES (1746?–1826), artist, was born at Urswick-in-Furness about 1746. It is supposed that he studied in London, in the studio of his uncle, James Cranke (1717–1780), and afterwards settled at Warrington as a portrait-painter. There are few collections of portraits of this period in the houses of the gentry of Lancashire and Cheshire that do not contain specimens of his work, often attributed to Gainsborough, Romney, or Sir Joshua Reynolds. One of the best-known portraits by Cranke is that of Thomas Peter Legh of Lyme, colonel of the 3rd Lancashire light dragoons, a regiment Mr. Legh raised in 1797. This was engraved by Hardy. In 1779 the Tarporley Hunt Club commissioned Cranke to paint a portrait of their president, Mr. Barry, for 21l. This picture has generally been attributed to Gainsborough, but Mr. Egerton Warburton in gathering some notes for his history of the club found the record of the payment to Cranke. Lord Winmarleigh has in his possession a fine group of three family portraits in the same picture, being the likenesses of Miss Frances Patten, Mrs. Prideau Brune, and Peter Patten (afterwards Peter Patten Bold). He has also a portrait of his great-aunt by Cranke, which was sold at the Bold Hall sale, and fell into the hands of a London dealer. By him it was christened ‘Fidelity,’ a long-lost work by Sir Joshua Reynolds, and is said to have changed hands for 1,200l. Fortunately it was repurchased by Lord Winmarleigh for a very moderate sum. Cranke had considerable success as a copyist. One of his works, ‘The Holy Family,’ after Andrea del Sarto, hangs above the communion-table of Trinity Church, Warrington, with an inscription behind it stating that Cranke was the painter in 1776. Cranke's style was that of the school of Sir Joshua Reynolds and Gainsborough. Though inferior to these masters in the art, his work had great merit, as he had a thorough knowledge of drawing, colour, and composition. Cranke exhibited twelve pictures at the Royal Academy between 1775 and 1820. After spending many years in the full practice of his profession at Warrington, he left that town about 1820, and returned to his native place, Urswick. The parish register contains this record: ‘James Cranke, of Hawkfield, passed away, 1826, aged 80 years.’
[Memoir by W. Beamont.]
CRANLEY, THOMAS (1337?–1417), archbishop of Dublin, was born about 1337, and became a student at Oxford, where in due course he proceeded to the degree of doctor in divinity. His name first appears in 1366, when he was a fellow of Merton College (G. C. Brodrick, Memorials of Merton College, p. 204, Oxford Historical Society, 1885). Sixteen years later, by the foundation charter of St. Mary College of Winchester, 20 Oct. 1382, he was nominated the first warden of the college (T. F. Kirby, Extended Transcript of the Charter of Foundation, &c., privately printed, 1882); but since only the initial steps were as yet taken for carrying the foundation into effect, it does not appear that Cranley was obliged to leave Oxford. At least in 1384 he is mentioned as holding the office of principal of Hart Hall (Anthony à Wood, History and Antiquities of Oxford, Colleges and Halls, p. 644, ed. Gutch); and in 1389, not 1393 (as Wood gives the date, l.c., p. 187), Bishop Wykeham transferred him to the wardenship of New College, Oxford, which had been founded by him some years previously (Lowth, Life of William of Wykeham, p. 175; 3rd ed. Oxford, 1777). It was through the same connection that Cranley received in 1390 or 1391 the valuable benefice of Havant in the diocese of Winchester (Tanner, Bibl. Brit. p. 206). In 1390 he was also chancellor of his university (Wood, Fasti Oxon. p. 33). On 3 July 1395 he was collated to the prebend of Knaresborough in the cathedral church of York (Tanner, l.c.); and shortly afterwards, 15 Feb. 1395–6, he resigned the wardenship of New College (Lowth, appendix xi. pp. xv, xvi). Then, on 10 Sept. 1396, he was presented to the church of Bishopsbourne, near Canterbury, and in the following year he was elevated to the archbishopric of Dublin. He reached his see on 7 Oct. 1398. Besides being archbishop, Cranley was chancellor of Ireland under Henry IV, and lord justice under Henry V (Ware, De Præsulibus Hiberniæ, pp. 114 et seq. Dublin, 1665). According to Leland (Comment. de Script. Brit. cclxxix., p. 296), he experienced considerable difficulties in performing his duties in consequence of the opposition of the natives. He expressed his complaints to the king in a poetical epistle consisting of 106 verses, which Leland saw. At length, on 30 April 1417, being now eighty years of age, the archbishop returned to England (Henry of Marlborough, Annales Hiberniæ, ad annum,
