William Cliffe,Clyffe orClyff (died 1558) was an English churchman and lawyer,dean of Chester from 1547.
Cliffe was educated at theUniversity of Cambridge, where he graduated LL.B. in 1514.[1] He was admitted advocate atDoctors' Commons on 16 December 1522, and graduated LL.D. in 1523.[2]
Cliffe was commissary of thediocese of London between 1522 and 1529, instituted to the prebend of Twyford inSt Paul's Cathedral in 1526. He was appointedarchdeacon of London three years later, prebendary of Fenton inYork Minster in 1532. He resigned the archdeaconry of London to becomearchdeacon of Cleveland in 1533, becoming precentor of York in 1534, and treasurer of York in 1538.[2]
On the suppression of the treasurer post in 1547, Cliffe was made dean of Chester. He kept this position for the rest of his life.[2] Two living he held wereWaverton, Cheshire, from 1533, andStandish, Lancashire, from 1552.[1]
Convocation sought Cliffe's advice, as acivil lawyer, on theroyal divorce, in 1533. On his preferment to the deanery of Chester he was immediately thrown into theFleet prison at the instance ofSir Richard Cotton, comptroller of the king's household. He obtained his liberty by leasing the chapter lands to Cotton at an undervalue.[2]
Cliffe was one of the authors of the treatiseThe Godly and Pious Institution of a Christian Man, commonly known as theBishops' Book, published in 1537.[2]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Stephen, Leslie, ed. (1887). "Clyffe, William".Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 11. London: Smith, Elder & Co.