(Matthew), the second Protestant archbishop of Canterbury, was born at Norwich in the year 1504, the 16th of Henry VII. His father, who was a man in trade, died when our author was about 12 years old; but his mother took special care of his education, and at the age of 17 sent him to Corpus-Christi college in Cambridge, where, in 1523, he took his bachelor's degree. In 1527 he was ordained, created master of arts, and chosen fellow of the college. Having obtained a licence to preach, he frequently held forth at St Paul's cross in London, and in other parts of the kingdom. In 1533 or 1534, he was made chaplain to queen Anne Boleyn, who obtained for him the deanery of Stoke-Clare in Suffolk, where he founded a grammar-school. After the death of the queen, king Henry made him his own chaplain, and in 1541, prebendary of Ely. In 1544, he was, by the king's command, elected master of Corpus-Christi college, and the following year, vice-chancellor of the university. In 1547, he lost the deanery of Stoke, by the dissolution of that college. In the same year he married the daughter of Robert Harlestone, a Norfolk gentleman.

In the year 1552, he was nominated, by Edward VI., to the deanery of Lincoln, which, with his other preferments, enabled him to live in great affluence; but the Papist Mary was hardly seated on the throne, before he was deprived of every thing he held in the church, and obliged to live in obscurity, frequently changing his place of abode to avoid the fate of the other reformers.

Queen Elizabeth ascended the throne in 1558; and in the following year Dr Parker, from indigence and obscurity, was at once raised to the see of Canterbury, an honour which he neither solicited nor desired. In this high station he acted with spirit and propriety. He repaired and beautified his palace at Lambeth at a vast expense; founded several scholarships in Bennett or Corpus-Christi college in Cambridge, and gave large presents of plate to that and to other colleges in this university. He gave 100 volumes to the public library. He likewise founded a free-school at Rochdale in Lancashire. He took care to have the fees filled with pious and learned men; and, considering the great want of bibles in many places, he, with the assistance of other learned men, improved the English translation, had it printed on a large paper, and dispersed through the kingdom.

This worthy prelate died in the year 1575, aged 72, and was buried in his own chapel at Lambeth. He was pious without affectation or austerity, cheerful and contented in the midst of adversity, moderate in the height of power, and beneficent beyond example. He wrote several books; and also published four of our best historians, Matthew of Westminster; Matthew Paris; Affer's Life of king Alfred; and The Walingham.