Archbishop William Laud (1573-1645) was the son of a clothier at Reading. He matriculated at St. John's college, Oxford, in 1589, four years after became Fellow, and was President from 1611 to 1621, when he became bishop of St. Davids. His greater promotions came from Charles I: the bishopric of London in 1628, and the archbishopric of Canterbury in 1633. As Chancellor of the University from 1629 to 1641, he took an active part in its reform and regulation, especially in the preparation of the Laudian Code of Statutes (1636), under which the University lived until 1854. In December 1640 the House of Commons impeached him for treason, but his actual trial did not begin till 12 March 1644; he was beheaded at Tower Hill, London, on the 10th of January 1645. Further details are given in the Dictionary of National Biography .
From the guide to the The Oriental manuscripts of Archbishop Laud, 13th-17th century, (University of Oxford, Department of Oriental Collections, Bodleian Library)
