Born: Robert Pursglove was born in either 1503 or 1504 in Tideswell, Derbyshire. He was the son of Adam Pursglove and Mudwina Bradshawe.
Educated: He was sent to the recently opened St. Paul’s School in London where he was a pupil for 9 years. He then studied at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, for 14 years.
Married: As an Augustinian canon, Robert Pursglove didn’t marry.
Family:
Home: Robert Pursglove spent his early years at Tideswell, He lived at Guisborough while he was prior there. In the 1560s he was living in Ugthorpe near Whitby in retirement. He spent his last years partly at Tideswell and partly at Dunston in Derbyshire.
Known for: On 25th April 1536 Robert Pursglove was elected Prior of Guisborough, under the orders of Thomas Cromwell, who had forced the resignation of the previous prior James Cockerill. Cromwell and his royal master Henry VIII were intent on closing down many of the religious houses of England and Wales. Three years after his installation as Prior, Pursglove surrendered Guisborough Priory to be dissolved as part of the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Following this episode Robert Pursglove became Bishop of Hull. In 1563 he founded a grammar school and hospital at Guisborough.
Died: He died on 2nd May 1580 at Tideswell and was buried in the church there.
Further Information: “Robert Pursglove of Guisborough and his Hospital” Dan O’Sullivan (1990): Dictionary of National Biography