A Briefe Description of the Whole World. Wherein is particularly described all the monarchies, empires and kingdoms of the same, with their academies.

London, 1636, 8vo, full contemporary calf gilt, with engraved allegorical frontispiece, with portrait of Abbot.

Overview of the world, including the Americas, by the English divine and Archbishop of Canterbury. He is the only Archbishop of Canterbury ever to have killed a man, accidentally shooting a gamekeeper with a crossbow while hunting. George Abbot (29 October 1562 – 4 August 1633) was an English divine who was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1611 to 1633. He also served as the fourth Chancellor of Trinity College Dublin , from 1612 to 1633.

Abbot was a conscientious prelate, though narrow in view and often harsh towards both separatists and Roman Catholics. He wrote a large number of works, the most interesting being his Geography, or a Brief Description of the Whole World (1599), passed through numerous editions.

The newest edition, edited by the current Master of the Abbot’s Hospital, was published by Goldenford Publishers Ltd on 20 June 2011, to commemorate the 400th anniversary of his enthronement as Archbishop of Canterbury.

Guildford remembers the Archbishop with his hospital, a statue in the High Street, a pub and also a secondary school (George Abbot School) named after him. His tomb can be seen in Holy Trinity Church. Provenance: Charles Bathurst, Lydney Park