John Rowe (minister)
Encyclopedia
John Rowe was an English clergyman, minister to an important Congregationalist church in London
.
, Devon. He was educated at Emmanuel College, Cambridge
and Oxford, where he attended New Inn Hall.
His 1653 book Tragi-comoedia took an incident in his parish of Witney
as a judgement on those attending dramatic productions. The floor of an upper room of The White Hart Inn collapsed during a performance by travelling players of Mucedorus
.
In 1654 he was appointed lecturer to Westminster Abbey
. In October 1656 he preached to Parliament, then giving thanks for a naval victory in the Caribbean. He was displaced from his position by the Restoration of 1660, and in 1662 refused to conform, losing his status and being ejected as Anglican minister.
After some moves, he established a church in Holborn
, London, where he was assisted by Theophilus Gale
.
Thomas Rowe
(1657–1705) was his son. He took over the church after Gale’s death, and moved it to Girdlers’ Hall, which opened in 1681 in Basinghall Street. It had Isaac Watts
in its congregation. Henry Grove
, friend of Watts, was Rowe’s nephew.
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
Life
He was born in CreditonCrediton
Crediton is a town and civil parish in the Mid Devon district of Devon in England. It stands on the A377 Exeter to Barnstaple road at the junction with the A3072 road to Tiverton, about north west of Exeter. It has a population of 6,837...
, Devon. He was educated at Emmanuel College, Cambridge
Emmanuel College, Cambridge
Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay on the site of a Dominican friary...
and Oxford, where he attended New Inn Hall.
His 1653 book Tragi-comoedia took an incident in his parish of Witney
Witney
Witney is a town on the River Windrush, west of Oxford in Oxfordshire, England.The place-name 'Witney' is first attested in a Saxon charter of 969 as 'Wyttannige'; it appears as 'Witenie' in the Domesday Book of 1086. The name means 'Witta's island'....
as a judgement on those attending dramatic productions. The floor of an upper room of The White Hart Inn collapsed during a performance by travelling players of Mucedorus
Mucedorus
Mucedorus is an Elizabethan play, performed up until the Restoration and surviving in seventeen quartos, making it the most widely printed extant play from the time...
.
In 1654 he was appointed lecturer to Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
. In October 1656 he preached to Parliament, then giving thanks for a naval victory in the Caribbean. He was displaced from his position by the Restoration of 1660, and in 1662 refused to conform, losing his status and being ejected as Anglican minister.
After some moves, he established a church in Holborn
Holborn
Holborn is an area of Central London. Holborn is also the name of the area's principal east-west street, running as High Holborn from St Giles's High Street to Gray's Inn Road and then on to Holborn Viaduct...
, London, where he was assisted by Theophilus Gale
Theophilus Gale
Theophilus Gale was an English educationalist, nonconformist and theologian of dissent.-Early life:Gale was born at Kingsteignton, Devon, the son of Bridget Gale and Theophilus Gale D. D....
.
Thomas Rowe
Thomas Rowe (tutor)
Thomas Rowe was an English nonconformist minister, significant as the teacher of the next generation of Dissenters, particularly in philosophy, in one of the first of the dissenting academies.-Life:...
(1657–1705) was his son. He took over the church after Gale’s death, and moved it to Girdlers’ Hall, which opened in 1681 in Basinghall Street. It had Isaac Watts
Isaac Watts
Isaac Watts was an English hymnwriter, theologian and logician. A prolific and popular hymnwriter, he was recognised as the "Father of English Hymnody", credited with some 750 hymns...
in its congregation. Henry Grove
Henry Grove
Henry Grove was an English nonconformist minister, theologian, and dissenting tutor.-Life:He was born at Taunton, Somerset, on 4 January 1684...
, friend of Watts, was Rowe’s nephew.