appointed him Keeper of the Great Seal. He was knighted in August of the same year. He continued to hold his other offices as well as his bishopric. He was warden of New College and vice-chancellor of Oxford University until July 1618, and he held the living of Stanton St John along with his bishopric until his death. Thomas Fuller noted that he was promoted "not so much by the power of his brother, sir Thomas, as his own deserts, as one whose piety may be justly exemplary to all of his order". Richard Smith, another of his contemporaries, was much impressed by his great humility, temperance, affability and contempt of riches. Smith described him as one of the ‘greatest benefactors of our times’ who ruled his household well. His probity was demonstrated when on 15 July 1618 his brother Thomas was freed from prison (where he had been held for slandering the Countess of Exeter) and handed over to Arthur's custody. Later years Arthur Lake spent the last eight years of his life in quiet industry at Wells. Izaak Walton, said that he made "the great trust committed to him the chief care and whole business of life". He preached often in the cathedral and the adjacent parishes and he strived to improve the standard of preaching throughout his diocese. Unlike many bishops who relied on others to examine candidates for ordination, he conducted such examinations personally. He died on 4 May 1626. His tomb may still be seen in Wells Cathedral and his collection of 300 books forms the basis of the cathedral library. Bibliography Calendar of the Manuscripts of the Dean and Chapter of Wells, 2 vols. (London: Historical Manuscripts Commission, 1907) Calendar of State Papers preserved in the Public Record Office, Domestic Series, 1603–10, London, 1856–1964 Lambeth Palace Library, Register of George Abbot Folger Shakespeare Library, V.a.510, Richard Smith Papers Benson Bobrick, The Making of The English Bible, (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001) William Camden, 'Annals', in A Complete History of England (London, 1706) Arthur J. Jewers, Wells Cathedral: its Monumental Inscriptions and Heraldry, (London: Mitchell and Hughes, 1892) William Laud, The Autobiography of Dr William Laud – Collected From His Remains,(Oxford: John Henry Parker, 1839) Dana F. Sutton (ed), William Camden's Diary (1603–1623): A hypertext edition, <www.philological.bham.ac.uk/diary/>, (26 April 2002) Izaak Walton, The Life of Dr Sanderson, (London, 1678) References 1569 births Lake, Arthur