Alexander Nowell

Alexander Novell (c. 1517 - February 13, 1602, aka Alexander Noel) was an Anglican priest and theologian. He served as Dean of St. Paul for most of the reign of Elizabeth I, and is now remembered for his catechism. He was the eldest son of John Novell from Reed Hall, Reed, Lancashire, from his second wife Elizabeth Kay from Rochdale, and was the brother of Lawrence Novell. His sister Beatrice was the mother of John Hammond, Robert Novell, a court attorney, was his other brother. Novell was educated in Middleton, near Rochdale, Lancashire, and at Brasenoz College, Oxford, where they say he lived in a room with John Fox, the martyr. In 1526, he was elected to Brasenoz, where he spent about 13 years in Oxford.