Robert Ferrar

Robert Ferrar (died 30 March 1555) was a Bishop of St David's in Wales.

He was prior of Nostell Priory, embraced the English Reformation, and was made Bishop of St. David's by Edward VI. He suffered martyrdom during the Marian persecutions.

There is no specific information on the date and place of Robert Ferrar's birth, but he did state to Stephen Gardiner that he was born in the reign of King Henry VII. It is assumed he was born in Yorkshire because of his later connections with the county: He was found first living at Nostell Priory in Yorkshire in the 1520s. On 24 May 1524, Ferrar was ordained successively as acolyte and subdeacon. On 24 September, four months later, he was ordained as deacon. After being ordained as a deacon all students participated in a profession, a promise to lead a life of poverty, chastity and obedience. Ferrar argued that to live chastely entailed a life of celibacy. From among the canons of Nostell he was chosen to receive the benefit of a university education sponsored by the priory. From c.1525–1534 Ferrar was a student at the University of Cambridge and University of Oxford, where he became a Bachelor of Theology.

In 1526, while Ferrar was in Cambridge, a number of students took an interest in the teachings of Martin Luther, and were later to become prominent as reformers and martyrs of the English church. These included Thomas Cranmer, Hugh Latimer, Thomas Bilney and Robert Barnes. They were bold enough to preach new doctrines publicly, but were accused of heresy and forced to conform with the traditional teaching. Also in 1528 the prior of St. Mary's college at Oxford was John Ramsey. Among his books was a copy of Erasmus's Enchiridion militis Christiani or "Handbook of the Christian Soldier."

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