Rev. Frederick Selincourt Colman,
rector of Barwick 1899-1910, was a remarkable
man (see 'The Barwicker ' No.40). During his
incumbency here he was Chairman of the Parish
Council and of the Board of Managers of the
School. He began the parish magazine and
involved himself in many other aspects of
local life. His fine book 'The History of
the Parish of Barwick-in-Elmet' is a fitting
memorial. His painstaking and detailed
historical research not only involved local
sources but drew upon the documents in the
Public Records Office in London. He
acknowledges the help of several people,
mostly local, but he mentions no assistance
with the PRO records so we must assume that
he studied them there himself, a major task
which would involve much travelling.
Using these and other sources, some no
longer available to us, he records details of
many past rectors of Barwick. Some were men
of great distinction who held important
offices and Colman is able to tell us much
about their lives. Unfortunately they did
not spend much time here and their influence
on Barwick was slight. Ironically men of
lesser fame, who spent their days caring for
their parishioners here, are less well
recorded. One of the former famous men was
Richard Pace and we include below Colman's
account of the man and his work. We thank
Richard Connell-Smith for his valued help in
the translation.
"Richard Pace (1519) was by far the
greatest man who has occupied this rectory,
though his tenure was short, and he at the time
busied in so great affairs, that he could have
seen little, if anything, of Barwick.
Born about 1482 in or near Winchester, he
was educated by Thomas Langton, Bishop of
Winchester, who sent him to study in Padua,
Ferrara and Bologna. He then entered Queen's
College, Oxford. In 1509 he is found in the
retinue of Archbishop Bainbridge, of York, at
Rome where on 14 July 1514 his master was
assassinated, and Pace, being very active at the
time in trying to discover the assassin,
attracted the notice of Pope Leo X who
recommended him to Henry VIII. In the following
year the King made him his secretary and for some
years from this appointment his letters form a
noteworthy portion of the State papers of the
country.
Long before this, however, his abilities
had been recognized. Erasmus writing from
Venice, September 1508, to Lord Mountjoy, speaks
of him as "a young man so accomplished in both
literatures as to be able, by his genius alone,
to throw a lustre upon all Britain, and of that
purity and modesty of character as to be worthy
of the favour of men like you."
He became the friend of Erasmus and of Sir
Thomas More, and a great number of Erasmus'
letters are addressed to him. Cardinal Wolsey
knew of his ability and in the latter part of
1515 sent him with unlimited gold at his command
to subsidize the Swiss with a view to inducing
them to attack France. Pace's mission resulted
in his imprisonment, during which he composed his
treatise "de Fructu" (De fructu qui ex doctrina
percipitur - The enjoyment to be derived from
learning) where he styles himself "primarius
secretarius" (principal secretary) to his
sovereign.
Free to return to England the following
year he was made Secretary of State, and in 1519
went to Germany on a diplomatic mission. He
attended the King at the Field of the Cloth of
Gold, was sent to Venice to support Wolsey's
candidature for the papacy on the death of Leo
X, and again when Adrian VI died. Shortly after,
attacked by a mental disorder, his health failed
and until his death in 1536 he took little part
in the affairs of state. He is buried in the
chancel of St. Dunstan's, Stepney.
There was some doubt whether Pace of this
rectory was actually the scholar and diplomatist,
but it was removed by the recent finding of the
draft of his original presentation to this
benefice at the Record Office. It is dated 4
February 1518/19, and describes him as "dilectum
consiliarium nostrum magistrum Ricardum Pace
secretarium nostrum" (our beloved counsellor
Master Richard Pace, our secretary). He resigned
a few months later.
In addition to the Deanery of St. Paul's,
he was appointed to a great number of benefices
and dignities. At different times he was
Prebendary of South Muskham, Southwell;
Prebendary of Bugthorpe, York; Archdeacon of
Dorset; Treasurer of Lichfield; Archdeacon of
Colchester; Prebendary of Exeter; Vicar of St
Dunstan's, Stepney; Prebendary of Finsbury,
London; Prebendary of Combe, Salisbury; and
Dean of Exeter.
He may also have been Vicar of Llanwrig,
Montgomeryshire, and Rector of Bangor,
Flintshire. He was Dean of Salisbury for some
years, and in April 1520, he became Reader in
Greek at Cambridge. It is said to have been
largely due to his representations that
professorships of Greek were founded at Oxford
and Cambridge."
FREDERICK
SELINCOURT COLMAN.
Richard Pace came into close contact
with many of the great men of the time. His
was a very different life from that of the
rector of a country parish. However, his
master was assassinated. He was put in
prison. He lived to see a friend, Sir Thomas
More, executed for his beliefs and a patron,
Cardinal Wolsey, only escaped the axe by
dying on his way to his trial. Perhaps a
peaceful life in Barwick rectory would have
had its attractions after all.