Final Years
Bell retired to London where he was priest of the parish church in Clerkenwell, until his death.
An account of his funeral was recorded by Mr. Green, a historian of Worcestershire:
" Dr. Bell, sometime bishop of Worcester, was buried with due respect August 13, at Clerkenwell, with a sermon preached by Nicholas Harpsfield; he was put into his coffin, like a bishop, with the mitre and other pontificalibus; his funeral was illuminated with two white branches, two dozen staff torches, and four great tapers, " (Strype, Memorials, Vol. 3, p. 305)
"He gave by his will 2l. to the poor of Clerkenwell, 5l. to Stratford-upon-Avon, and some legacies to Jesus chantry in St. Paul's Cathedral, desiring that ‘his soul might be prayed for.’ He was also a benefactor to Balliol College, Oxford, and to Cambridge, but especially to the former, where he provided for the maintenance of two scholars born in the diocese of Worcester."
"Coote says of bishop Bell (English Civilians): That ‘He died with the character of an eloquent preacher and advocate, a learned divine, and a man of integrity and beneficence.’"
Read more about this topic: John Bell (bishop)
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