Valentine Cary (died 1626) (aliasCarey, erroneouslyCarew[1]), was an English clergyman, who becameBishop of Exeter.
His origins are uncertain. He was born in about 1570 and is believed to have been an illegitimate son ofHenry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon (1526–1596),[2] due to the known fact that he was born atBerwick-upon-Tweed and at about the time when Lord Hunsdon was stationed there in connection with his military duties.[3] This supposition therefore makes him an illegitimate brother ofGeorge Carey, 2nd Baron Hunsdon and ofJohn Carey, 3rd Baron Hunsdon, whose sonHenry Carey, 1st Earl of Dover, (and1st Viscount Rochefort,4th Baron Hunsdon) was the Bishop's patron by whose direct influence he was created Bishop of Exeter.[4] In his will he names the 4th Baron's daughter Judith Carey as his god-daughter, and bequeathed toSir John Carey, the 4th Baron's son and heir apparent, the sum of £10 for a mourning ring.[5] He is known to have used the arms of the Carey family of Cockington andClovelly in Devon (Argent, on a bend sable three roses of the field), of which the Barons Hunsdon were a junior branch, but added abordure compony.[6]
He was a graduate ofChrist's College, Cambridge,[7] and in 1591 was a Fellow ofSt John's College, Cambridge.[8]
Apluralist, Cary was vicar ofEast Tilbury in 1603, rector atGreat Parndon 1606 to 1616, and was vicar ofEpping Upland from 1607 to 1609. He was also rector ofOrsett and Toft from 1610.[9][10][11]
In 1609/10, through the influence of his supposed half-brotherJohn Carey, 3rd Baron Hunsdon (d.1617),[12] he became Master of Christ's College, where he had been a Fellow from 1597 to 1600.[13][14] The election was bitterly contested, by thePuritan element. Cary was backed by theLord Chancellor,Baron Ellesmere.[15] It led immediately to a confrontation between Cary andWilliam Ames, who refused to wear thesurplice, and who left Cambridge almost immediately. It also led Cary to be suspicious ofJoseph Mede, who was to be one of Christ's best-known Fellows.[16]
He was laterDean of St. Paul's. In 1621 he was appointed Bishop of Exeter.
Cary is described as anArminian.[17][18]
He died at his Londontownhouse inDrury Lane and was buried inOld St Paul's Cathedral, as he requested in his will should he die in London.[19] Any monument he may have had in St Paul's did not survive theGreat Fire of London of 1666. His elaborate monument with effigy does however survive inExeter Cathedral.[20]
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| Preceded by | Master of Christ's College, Cambridge 1609–1622 | Succeeded by |
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| Preceded by | Dean of St Paul's 1614–1621 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Bishop of Exeter 1621–1626 | Succeeded by |
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