John Shawe
Encyclopedia
John Shawe or Shaw was an English puritan
minister, an influential preacher in the north of England during the Interregnum
.
in the chapelry of Bradfield, parish of Ecclesfield
, West Riding of Yorkshire
, on 28 June 1608. His mother was Emot, daughter of Nicholas Stead of Onesacre in the same chapelry. He went to school at Darwen
and Rotherham
. In 1623 he was admitted pensioner at Christ's College Cambridge, his tutor being William Chappell
. Two sermons by Thomas Weld at a village near Cambridge made him a puritan before he had taken his degree. He graduated B.A. in 1627, then M.A. 1630.
Driven from Cambridge by the plague in 1629, he was ordained deacon and priest (28 Dec.) by Thomas Dove
, bishop of Peterborough
. His first charge was a lectureship in the chapelry of Brampton, Derbyshire
. His diocesan was Thomas Morton
, bishop of Coventry and Lichfield, thought him young for a preaching license, and interviewd him with a scholastic examination, but required no subscription and allowed him to preach anywhere. He remained at Brampton three years (1630-3), occasionally visiting London, where his preaching attracted some Devon
merchants. Shawe was now married, and held the post of chaplain to Philip Herbert, 4th Earl of Pembroke
; through his city connections he was transferred in 1633 to a lectureship to be maintained by for a term of three years at Chumleigh, Devon. (This arrangement was seen by Shawe himself as parallel to the work of the Feoffees for Impropriations, but was not part of it; it was cut short some time after the Feoffees lost their case to William Laud
.)
In 1636 Shaw retired to Sykehouse, of which he had become possessed on his father's death. At the instance of John Vaux, the lord mayor of York, he was soon appointed lecturer at Allhallows-on-the-Pavement, York. Having preached his first sermon there, he was summoned by the archbishop, Richard Neile
, who regarded Vaux as his enemy, but moderated his tone on learning that Shawe was Pembroke's chaplain. On 17 April 1639 Shawe was instituted to the vicarage of Rotherham on Pembroke's presentation, and the earl took him to Berwick
as his chaplain. At the pacification of Berwick (28 May) Shawe made the acquaintance of Alexander Henderson
, and improved it when he acted (October 1640) as chaplain to the English commissioners for the Treaty of Ripon
. He acted as chaplain at Doncaster
to Henry Rich, 1st Earl of Holland
in 1641, when, Holland was engaged in disbanding the army raised against the Scots.
Shawe's ministry at Rotherham was disturbed by the outbreak of the First English Civil War
. On Sunday, 22 January 1643, Rotherham was attacked by an armed force, while Shawe was preaching, and he hid in the steeple
. He fled to Kingston-upon-Hull, but, having preached there once, he was excluded by the governor Sir John Hotham as an extremist. Subsequently he preached before Ferdinando Fairfax, 2nd Lord Fairfax of Cameron
at Selby
. Returning to Rotherham, he was proclaimed a traitor and fined a thousand marks. On the taking of the town (4 May 1643) his wife was imprisoned, but Shawe, after hiding in cellars for three weeks, escaped to Manchester
. Here he preached every Friday without pay, He accepted from Sir William Brereton the rectory of Lymm
, Cheshire
, but continued to reside in Manchester.
On the approach of Prince Rupert (June 1644), Shawe fled to Yorkshire. He was chaplain to the standing committee established after the surrender of York (16 July) for the government of the northern counties, preached in York at the taking of the Solemn League and Covenant
(20 September 1644), and was scribe to the assembly of ministers which met weekly in the chapter-house at York to assist Fairfax in the work of expelling scandalous ministers. All the records of this assembly were kept by Shawe, who burned them when national affairs changed. Fairfax gave him the rectory of Scrayingham, East Riding
; he preached there only a short time, and accepted a call to Hull, lecturing first at the low church (St. Mary's), then at the high church (Holy Trinity), with a stipend from the corporation, and a house. He lectured on Wednesdays and Sundays, and preached to the garrison. His parishioners petitioned parliament about his gathering a particular church
. In 1646 he was at Newcastle-on-Tyne, as chaplain of the parliamentary commissioners to Charles I. In 1651, through the interest of Sir William Strickland
, he was appointed master of the Charterhouse at Hull.
During the Protectorate he preached frequently at Whitehall
and Hampton Court. Oliver Cromwell
admired his preaching, and gave him a salary. He once preached before Richard Cromwell
at Whitehall. In the early 1650s he clashed at Hull with John Canne
, who denounced him as corrupt in a pamphlet.
When the Restoration
came, Shawe was sworn a royal chaplain (25 July 1660). By the end of the year complaints of his services from the officers and garrison of Hull reached Charles II through Gilbert Sheldon
. Shawe was present at the coronation (23 April 1661). On 9 June Sir Edward Nicholas despatched a royal mandate (dated 8 June) inhibiting him from preaching at Holy Trinity, Hull. Shawe went up to London and was introduced to the king by Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl of Manchester
. Charles declined to remove the inhibition, but allowed him to retain his mastership, and promised to provide for him as his chaplain, Shawe then saw Sheldon, who explained that he was looked upon as a clerical leader in the north, and as no great friend to episcopacy or the Book of Common Prayer
. Shawe declared that he had never in his life said a word against either, but owned that 'if they had never come in, he would never have fetched them.' Returning to Hull, he preached every Sunday at the Charterhouse, and drew crowds, in spite of obstructions by the garrison, Finding the situation hopeless, the Uniformity Act 1662 being now passed (19 May 1662), he resigned the Charterhouse, closed his accounts with the corporation who owed him money, and moved on 20 June to Rotherham. Here, till the act came into force (24 August), he conducted services in the parish church alternately with the vicar, Luke Clayton (d. 1674),
Henceforth he preached only in private houses. His means were ample. He died on 19 April 1672, and was buried in Rotherham parish church.
, 1875; and again re-edited by the Rev. J. R. Boyle, Hull, 1882.
, by whom he had six daughters, and a son who died in infancy; secondly, on 19 December 1659, Margaret, daughter of John Stillington of Kelfield, by whom he had one daughter, and a son John, born 9 February 1663, died unmarried December 1682.
Puritan
The Puritans were a significant grouping of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries. Puritanism in this sense was founded by some Marian exiles from the clergy shortly after the accession of Elizabeth I of England in 1558, as an activist movement within the Church of England...
minister, an influential preacher in the north of England during the Interregnum
Interregnum
An interregnum is a period of discontinuity or "gap" in a government, organization, or social order...
.
Life
He was the only child of John Shawe (d. December 1634, aged 63) by his second wife, born at SykehouseSykehouse
The civil parish of Sykehouse is a civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster in South Yorkshire, England, on the border with the East Riding of Yorkshire. It had a population of 438 in 2001.-Geography:...
in the chapelry of Bradfield, parish of Ecclesfield
Ecclesfield
Ecclesfield is a suburb and civil parish in the City of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England, about north of Sheffield City Centre. At the 2001 census the civil parish— which also includes the Sheffield suburbs of Chapeltown, Grenoside, High Green, and formerly Thorpe Hesley —had a population...
, West Riding of Yorkshire
West Riding of Yorkshire
The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of the three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county, County of York, West Riding , was based closely on the historic boundaries...
, on 28 June 1608. His mother was Emot, daughter of Nicholas Stead of Onesacre in the same chapelry. He went to school at Darwen
Darwen
Darwen is a market town and civil parish located within Lancashire, England. Along with its northerly neighbour, Blackburn, it forms the Borough of Blackburn with Darwen — a unitary authority area...
and Rotherham
Rotherham
Rotherham is a town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Don, at its confluence with the River Rother, between Sheffield and Doncaster. Rotherham, at from Sheffield City Centre, is surrounded by several smaller settlements, which together form the wider Metropolitan Borough of...
. In 1623 he was admitted pensioner at Christ's College Cambridge, his tutor being William Chappell
William Chappell (bishop)
William Chappell was an English scholar and clergyman. He became Church of Ireland bishop of Cork and Ross.-Academic:...
. Two sermons by Thomas Weld at a village near Cambridge made him a puritan before he had taken his degree. He graduated B.A. in 1627, then M.A. 1630.
Driven from Cambridge by the plague in 1629, he was ordained deacon and priest (28 Dec.) by Thomas Dove
Thomas Dove
Thomas Dove was Bishop of Peterborough from 1601 to 1630.Dove was born in London, England, and educated at Merchant Taylors' School from 1564 to 1571. He was named as one of the first scholars of Jesus College, Oxford in its foundation charter in 1571, but never attended...
, bishop of Peterborough
Bishop of Peterborough
The Bishop of Peterborough is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Peterborough in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers the counties of Northamptonshire, Rutland and the Soke of Peterborough in Cambridgeshire...
. His first charge was a lectureship in the chapelry of Brampton, Derbyshire
Brampton, Derbyshire
Brampton is an area of Chesterfield, Derbyshire. Originally a village separate from the town, it became absorbed into it over time due to urban sprawl.- Entertainment :...
. His diocesan was Thomas Morton
Thomas Morton (bishop)
Thomas Morton was an English churchman, bishop of several dioceses.-Early life:Morton was born in York on 20 March 1564. He was brought up and grammar school educated in the city and nearby Halifax. In 1582 he became a pensioner at St John's College, Cambridge from which he graduated with a BA in...
, bishop of Coventry and Lichfield, thought him young for a preaching license, and interviewd him with a scholastic examination, but required no subscription and allowed him to preach anywhere. He remained at Brampton three years (1630-3), occasionally visiting London, where his preaching attracted some Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
merchants. Shawe was now married, and held the post of chaplain to Philip Herbert, 4th Earl of Pembroke
Philip Herbert, 4th Earl of Pembroke
Philip Herbert, 4th Earl of Pembroke and 1st Earl of Montgomery KG was an English courtier and politician active during the reigns of James I and Charles I...
; through his city connections he was transferred in 1633 to a lectureship to be maintained by for a term of three years at Chumleigh, Devon. (This arrangement was seen by Shawe himself as parallel to the work of the Feoffees for Impropriations, but was not part of it; it was cut short some time after the Feoffees lost their case to William Laud
William Laud
William Laud was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1633 to 1645. One of the High Church Caroline divines, he opposed radical forms of Puritanism...
.)
In 1636 Shaw retired to Sykehouse, of which he had become possessed on his father's death. At the instance of John Vaux, the lord mayor of York, he was soon appointed lecturer at Allhallows-on-the-Pavement, York. Having preached his first sermon there, he was summoned by the archbishop, Richard Neile
Richard Neile
Richard Neile was an English churchman, bishop of several English dioceses and Archbishop of York from 1631 until his death.-Early life:...
, who regarded Vaux as his enemy, but moderated his tone on learning that Shawe was Pembroke's chaplain. On 17 April 1639 Shawe was instituted to the vicarage of Rotherham on Pembroke's presentation, and the earl took him to Berwick
Berwick-upon-Tweed
Berwick-upon-Tweed or simply Berwick is a town in the county of Northumberland and is the northernmost town in England, on the east coast at the mouth of the River Tweed. It is situated 2.5 miles south of the Scottish border....
as his chaplain. At the pacification of Berwick (28 May) Shawe made the acquaintance of Alexander Henderson
Alexander Henderson (theologian)
Alexander Henderson was a Scottish theologian, and an important ecclesiastical statesman of his period. He is considered the second founder of the Reformed Church in Scotland, and its Presbyterian churches are largely indebted to him for the forms of their dogmas and organization.-Life:He was born...
, and improved it when he acted (October 1640) as chaplain to the English commissioners for the Treaty of Ripon
Treaty of Ripon
The Treaty of Ripon was an agreement signed by Charles I, King of England, Scotland, and Ireland, and the Scottish Covenanters on 26 October 1640, in the aftermath of the Second Bishops' War...
. He acted as chaplain at Doncaster
Doncaster
Doncaster is a town in South Yorkshire, England, and the principal settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster. The town is about from Sheffield and is popularly referred to as "Donny"...
to Henry Rich, 1st Earl of Holland
Henry Rich, 1st Earl of Holland
Henry Rich, 1st Earl of Holland was an English aristocrat, courtier and soldier.-Life:He was the son of Robert Rich, 1st Earl of Warwick and of Penelope Devereux, Lady Rich, and the younger brother of Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick...
in 1641, when, Holland was engaged in disbanding the army raised against the Scots.
Shawe's ministry at Rotherham was disturbed by the outbreak of the First English Civil War
First English Civil War
The First English Civil War began the series of three wars known as the English Civil War . "The English Civil War" was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations that took place between Parliamentarians and Royalists from 1642 until 1651, and includes the Second English Civil War and...
. On Sunday, 22 January 1643, Rotherham was attacked by an armed force, while Shawe was preaching, and he hid in the steeple
Steeple (architecture)
A steeple, in architecture, is a tall tower on a building, often topped by a spire. Steeples are very common on Christian churches and cathedrals and the use of the term generally connotes a religious structure...
. He fled to Kingston-upon-Hull, but, having preached there once, he was excluded by the governor Sir John Hotham as an extremist. Subsequently he preached before Ferdinando Fairfax, 2nd Lord Fairfax of Cameron
Ferdinando Fairfax, 2nd Lord Fairfax of Cameron
Ferdinando Fairfax, 2nd Lord Fairfax of Cameron , English parliamentary general.-Early life:He was born in Yorkshire the eldest son of Thomas Fairfax, whom Charles I in 1627 created Lord Fairfax of Cameron in the Peerage of Scotland and received a military education in the Netherlands. Two of his...
at Selby
Selby
Selby is a town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. Situated south of the city of York, along the course of the River Ouse, Selby is the largest and, with a population of 13,012, most populous settlement of the wider Selby local government district.Historically a part of the West Riding...
. Returning to Rotherham, he was proclaimed a traitor and fined a thousand marks. On the taking of the town (4 May 1643) his wife was imprisoned, but Shawe, after hiding in cellars for three weeks, escaped to Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
. Here he preached every Friday without pay, He accepted from Sir William Brereton the rectory of Lymm
Lymm
Lymm is a large village and civil parish within the Warrington borough of Cheshire, in North West England. Lymm was an urban district of Cheshire from 1894 to 1974. The civil parish of Lymm incorporates the hamlets of Booths Hill, Broomedge, Church Green, Deansgreen, Heatley, Heatley Heath, Little...
, Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
, but continued to reside in Manchester.
On the approach of Prince Rupert (June 1644), Shawe fled to Yorkshire. He was chaplain to the standing committee established after the surrender of York (16 July) for the government of the northern counties, preached in York at the taking of the Solemn League and Covenant
Solemn League and Covenant
The Solemn League and Covenant was an agreement between the Scottish Covenanters and the leaders of the English Parliamentarians. It was agreed to in 1643, during the First English Civil War....
(20 September 1644), and was scribe to the assembly of ministers which met weekly in the chapter-house at York to assist Fairfax in the work of expelling scandalous ministers. All the records of this assembly were kept by Shawe, who burned them when national affairs changed. Fairfax gave him the rectory of Scrayingham, East Riding
East Riding
East Riding could be*East Riding of Yorkshire*East Riding of County Cork, Ireland*East Riding of County Galway, Ireland...
; he preached there only a short time, and accepted a call to Hull, lecturing first at the low church (St. Mary's), then at the high church (Holy Trinity), with a stipend from the corporation, and a house. He lectured on Wednesdays and Sundays, and preached to the garrison. His parishioners petitioned parliament about his gathering a particular church
Congregationalist polity
Congregationalist polity, often known as congregationalism, is a system of church governance in which every local church congregation is independent, ecclesiastically sovereign, or "autonomous"...
. In 1646 he was at Newcastle-on-Tyne, as chaplain of the parliamentary commissioners to Charles I. In 1651, through the interest of Sir William Strickland
Sir William Strickland, 1st Baronet
Sir William Strickland, 1st Baronet was an English Member of Parliament who supported the parliamentary cause during the English Civil War....
, he was appointed master of the Charterhouse at Hull.
During the Protectorate he preached frequently at Whitehall
Whitehall
Whitehall is a road in Westminster, in London, England. It is the main artery running north from Parliament Square, towards Charing Cross at the southern end of Trafalgar Square...
and Hampton Court. Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
admired his preaching, and gave him a salary. He once preached before Richard Cromwell
Richard Cromwell
At the same time, the officers of the New Model Army became increasingly wary about the government's commitment to the military cause. The fact that Richard Cromwell lacked military credentials grated with men who had fought on the battlefields of the English Civil War to secure their nation's...
at Whitehall. In the early 1650s he clashed at Hull with John Canne
John Canne
-Life:The London separatist congregation of John Hubbard, who had moved with them to Ireland around 1621, on Hubbard’s death came back to London and chose Canne as minister. After a year or two he went to Amsterdam, and there became the successor of Henry Ainsworth as pastor of the congregation of...
, who denounced him as corrupt in a pamphlet.
When the Restoration
English Restoration
The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...
came, Shawe was sworn a royal chaplain (25 July 1660). By the end of the year complaints of his services from the officers and garrison of Hull reached Charles II through Gilbert Sheldon
Gilbert Sheldon
Gilbert Sheldon was an English Archbishop of Canterbury.-Early life:He was born in Stanton, Staffordshire in the parish of Ellastone, on 19 July 1598, the youngest son of Roger Sheldon; his father worked for Gilbert Talbot, 7th Earl of Shrewsbury. He was educated at Trinity College, Oxford; he...
. Shawe was present at the coronation (23 April 1661). On 9 June Sir Edward Nicholas despatched a royal mandate (dated 8 June) inhibiting him from preaching at Holy Trinity, Hull. Shawe went up to London and was introduced to the king by Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl of Manchester
Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl of Manchester
Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl of Manchester KG, KB, FRS was an important commander of Parliamentary forces in the First English Civil War, and for a time Oliver Cromwell's superior.-Life:...
. Charles declined to remove the inhibition, but allowed him to retain his mastership, and promised to provide for him as his chaplain, Shawe then saw Sheldon, who explained that he was looked upon as a clerical leader in the north, and as no great friend to episcopacy or the Book of Common Prayer
Book of Common Prayer
The Book of Common Prayer is the short title of a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion, as well as by the Continuing Anglican, "Anglican realignment" and other Anglican churches. The original book, published in 1549 , in the reign of Edward VI, was a product of the English...
. Shawe declared that he had never in his life said a word against either, but owned that 'if they had never come in, he would never have fetched them.' Returning to Hull, he preached every Sunday at the Charterhouse, and drew crowds, in spite of obstructions by the garrison, Finding the situation hopeless, the Uniformity Act 1662 being now passed (19 May 1662), he resigned the Charterhouse, closed his accounts with the corporation who owed him money, and moved on 20 June to Rotherham. Here, till the act came into force (24 August), he conducted services in the parish church alternately with the vicar, Luke Clayton (d. 1674),
Henceforth he preached only in private houses. His means were ample. He died on 19 April 1672, and was buried in Rotherham parish church.
Works
He published, besides sermons, 'Mistris Shawe's Tomb-stone, or the Saint's Remains,' &c. [June] 1668, a memoir of his first wife. His autobiography, written for his son, was edited by John Broadley (from a transcript by Ralph Thoresby) as 'Memoirs of the Life of John Shawe,' &c., Hull, 1824, re-edited for the Surtees SocietySurtees Society
The Surtees Society is a learned society based at Durham in northern England. The society was established on 27 May 1834 by James Raine, following the death of renowned County Durham antiquarian Robert Surtees...
, 1875; and again re-edited by the Rev. J. R. Boyle, Hull, 1882.
Family
He married, first, on 13 December 1632, Dorothy Heathcote (died 10 December 1657) of Cutthorpe Hall, DerbyshireDerbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
, by whom he had six daughters, and a son who died in infancy; secondly, on 19 December 1659, Margaret, daughter of John Stillington of Kelfield, by whom he had one daughter, and a son John, born 9 February 1663, died unmarried December 1682.