George Stradling (1620 or 1621 – 19 April 1688) wasDean ofChichester Cathedral from 1672 until his death.
Stradling was born atSt Donat's Castle,Wales toSir John Stradling, Baronet and travelled to France and Italy before studying at theUniversity of Oxford. He enteredJesus College, Oxford in 1638 when he was 17 years old and obtained hisBachelor of Arts degree in 1640. He was noted as a talentedlutenist. In 1641, he was made aFellow ofAll Souls' College, Oxford, whereGilbert Sheldon was Warden, and he later obtained hisMaster of Arts (1647) andDoctor of Divinity (1661) degrees.[1] He was also a Fellow of Jesus College from 1641 to 1642.[2] He fought on theRoyalist side during theEnglish Civil War as acornet of horse in his brother's regiment. He returned to Oxford when the fighting was over, and survived the threat of ejection by theParliamentary Visitors in control of the university with the help ofEdmund Ludlow, a prominent Parliamentarian and his nephew by marriage.[1]
He was ordained deacon and priest by theBishop of Oxford,Robert Skinner, on 7 November 1660 and became Sheldon's chaplain in London (Sheldon having becomeBishop of London by this time) rather than become Principal of Jesus College. With Sheldon's influence, Stradling was able to obtain manybenefices, which he held at the same time (as apluralist). He held positions, at one time or another, at parishes inFulham andSt Bride's Church, Fleet Street (London),Hanwell (Middlesex),Cliffe-at-Hoo andSutton-at-Hone (Kent). He was alsocanon ofSt Paul's Cathedral and ofWestminster Abbey: appointed to both in 1660, he was still holding these posts when he died. In 1671, he becameprecentor ofChichester Cathedral and was madedean in 1672, again holding both posts until his death. Despite being a pluralist, Stradling presided at meetings of thecathedral chapter at least once in every year and also helped to repair and improve the cathedral after the effects of the Civil War. However, he clashed with theBishop of Chichester,Guy Carleton, who regarded Stradling as lukewarm and indifferent. Stradling died on 19 April 1688 and was buried at Westminster Abbey. He published one sermon during his lifetime, with others being published after his death.[1]
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| Preceded by | Dean of Chichester 1672 –1688 | Succeeded by |
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