John Taverner was the second son of Peter Taverner, the second son of Richard Taverner

Richard Taverner

Richard Taverner is best known for his Bible translation, The Most Sacred Bible whiche is the holy scripture, conteyning the old and new testament, translated into English, and newly recognized with great diligence after most faythful exemplars by Rychard Taverner, commonly known as Taverner's...

.

Peter established himself at Hexton

Hexton

Hexton is a small village and civil parish about six miles west of Hitchin in Hertfordshire, England.It stands in well wooded and hilly country adjacent to the Bedfordshire border. The church, dedicated to St Faith, is mediaeval with heavy 19th century restoration...

, Hertfordshire

Hertfordshire

Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...

 before John's birth. John was first educated at Westminster School

Westminster School

The Royal College of St. Peter in Westminster, almost always known as Westminster School, is one of Britain's leading independent schools, with the highest Oxford and Cambridge acceptance rate of any secondary school or college in Britain...

 and then at Trinity College, Cambridge

Trinity College, Cambridge

Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...

, where he matriculated c. 1597, became a scholar in 1599, graduated BA in 1602, and proceeded MA in 1605. He was incorporated at Oxford on 10 March 1606. Between 1611 and 1621 he was secretary for nine years to John King

John King (bishop)

John King was an English churchman, patron of the Church of Pertenhall in Bedfordshire....

, bishop of London

Bishop of London

The Bishop of London is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers 458 km² of 17 boroughs of Greater London north of the River Thames and a small part of the County of Surrey...

, as well as professor of music at Gresham College

Gresham College

Gresham College is an institution of higher learning located at Barnard's Inn Hall off Holborn in central London, England. It was founded in 1597 under the will of Sir Thomas Gresham and today it hosts over 140 free public lectures every year within the City of London.-History:Sir Thomas Gresham,...

 from 1610 to 1638 (drafts of some of his lectures survive, as British Library, Sloane MS 2329). His ordination as deacon

Deacon

Deacon is a ministry in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...

 followed in London on 24 December 1620, then as priest on 13 March 1625. In 1624 he became vicar of Tillingham

Tillingham

Tillingham is a small village and civil parish with 1,015 inhabitants in 2001, located from Burnham-on-Crouch and from Bradwell-on-Sea, in Maldon District and the ceremonial county of Essex in England...

, Essex, but resigned that benefice in 1629 to become vicar of Hexton

Hexton

Hexton is a small village and civil parish about six miles west of Hitchin in Hertfordshire, England.It stands in well wooded and hilly country adjacent to the Bedfordshire border. The church, dedicated to St Faith, is mediaeval with heavy 19th century restoration...

 and rector of Stoke Newington

Stoke Newington

Stoke Newington is a district in the London Borough of Hackney. It is north-east of Charing Cross.-Boundaries:In modern terms, Stoke Newington can be roughly defined by the N16 postcode area . Its southern boundary with Dalston is quite ill-defined too...

, and he still held both livings at his time of death. He died between 26 and 29 August 1638 and was buried at Stoke Newington.