Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Peacock, Thomas (1516?-1582?)
PEACOCK, THOMAS (1516?–1582?), president of Queens' College, Cambridge, born at Cambridge, about 1516, was son of Thomas Peacock, burgess of Cambridge, whose will, dated 1528, was proved in the court of the archdeacon of Ely in 1541. He was admitted fellow of St. John's College, Cambridge, in 1534, and graduated B.A. 1534–5, M.A. 1537, and B.D. 1554. He adhered to the old religion; and in the disturbance in St. John's College leading to the visitation by Thomas Goodrich [q. v.], the protestant bishop of Ely, on 5 April 1542, Peacock was one of the appellants (Baker, Hist. of St. John's, p. 116). He subsequently became chantry priest in St. Lawrence's Church, Ipswich, and rector of Nacton, and from 23 April 1554 to 1556 was prebendary of Norwich. On 1 April 1555 he signed the Roman catholic articles promoted by Dr. Atkynson and others (Lamb, Cambr. Documents, p. 175), and on 25 Oct. Thirlby, bishop of Ely, whose chaplain he was, presented him to the rectory of Downham, Cambridge. In 1556 he exchanged his Norwich prebend for one in Ely Cathedral. On the occasion of Cardinal Pole's visitation of the university (11 Jan. 1556–7) Peacock preached in Latin before the visitors in St. Mary's Church, ‘inveighing against heresyes and heretyckes as Bylney, Cranmer, Latimer, Ridley, &c.’ (Foxe, Acts and Monuments, viii. 266). On 31 Jan. 1558 he was presented by the bishop of Ely to the rectory of Barley in Hertfordshire, and on 23 Nov. of the same year was elected president of Queens' College, Cambridge.
Refusing to comply with the change of religion at the accession of Elizabeth, he lost all his preferments. He resigned the presidency of Queens' College on 1 July 1559, in order to avoid expulsion. He made various benefactions to the churchwardens of the parish of Holy Trinity (cf. Reports of the Charity Commissioners, xxxi. 72) and to the corporation of Cambridge. He died about 1582 (see Cooper, Annals of Cambr. ii. 366).
[Cooper's Athenæ Cantabr.; Blomefield's Norfolk, ii. 666; Cooper's Annals of Cambr. ii. 114, 366; James Bentham's Hist. and Antiq. of the Conventual and Cathedral Church of Ely, p. 260; Newcourt's Repertorium, i. 80; Rob. Clutterbuck's Hertfordshire, iii. 385; Addit. MS. 5808, p. 138; Cotton MS., Titus, c. x. 6; Baker's Hist. St. John's College, pp. 116, 335; Browne Willis's Cathedrals, ii. 387; State Papers, Dom., Eliz. 16 March 1559; Charity Comm. Reports, xxxi. 30, 72; Baker MS. xxx. 218, 253, 266.]