Bancroft

This is the main building for the Bancroft House

Bancroft House is named after Richard Bancroft who was christened in Farnworth Church on 19th September 1544. He was the son of a local gentleman and his mother was a relative of the Bishop of Dublin Richard Bancroft was educated at Bishop Smyth's School, which, as we all know, was the forerunner of the current Fairfield High School. He then went to Christ's College at Cambridge University and graduated in 1570.

Richard Bancroft then joined the church and became Bishop of London. He later became the personal vicar to the Archbishop of Canterbury and was also an ambassador in Denmark. Owing to his position as Bishop of London, he was present at the death of Queen Elizabeth I in 1603.

In 1604, Richard Bancroft became Archbishop of Canterbury. The most famous act he undertook whilst he was Archbishop was to translate the Bible into English. He was the leader of the 39 bishops who were given the responsibility for this job

The famous King James version of the Bible was finally produced in 1611 a year after Richard Bancroft died. In all, the boy from Farnworth left a huge legacy.