Christopher Marlowe
(Cristofer Marley
in his autograph) was born in Canterbury, the son of a shoemaker. He attended
the King's School and was awarded a scholarship from the foundation of Matthew
Parker, Archbishop of Canterbury. Marlowe studied the Bible and the
Reformation theologians as well as philosophy and history at Corpus Christi
College, Cambridge. In 1584 he took a degree of A.B. continued
here
Sir Walter Raleigh,
a son of East Devon, was born at Hayes Barton in East Budleigh, probably in 1554. Unfortunately, the parish register begins in April 1555.
The Raleighs were leading Protestants who used the new English Prayer Book. They saw the Vicar of St Thomas's in Exeter hanged from his
church tower and had visited Agnes Prest before she was burned to death in Exeter during 'Bloody' Queen Mary's reign. continued here