Nathaniel Spinckes
Encyclopedia
Nathaniel Spinckes was an English nonjuring
clergyman, the leader in the dispute about the 'usages' which split the nonjurors of the 'non-usagers,' (those who advocated the retention of the prayer-book as it was), against returning to the first prayer-book of Edward VI, as the 'usagers,' led by Jeremy Collier
, advocated.
. On 9 July 1670 he matriculated at Trinity College, Cambridge
; in 1673 he migrated to Jesus College
where he was elected scholar on the Rustat foundation. He graduated B.A. in 1674, and M.A. in 1677.
On 21 May 1676 he was ordained deacon by Henry Compton, bishop of London
, in the chapel of London House, and on 22 December 1678 priest by Thomas Barlow
, bishop of Lincoln
, at St. Margaret's Church, Westminster. He acted for some time as chaplain to Sir Richard Edgcomb in Devon
. He moved to Petersham
, and became in 1681 chaplain to John Maitland, 1st Duke of Lauderdale
, forming a lifelong friendship with his fellow chaplain, George Hickes
. On the Duke's death in August 1682, he went to London and became curate and lecturer at St. Stephen's, Walbrook. In 1685 he was presented by the dean and chapter of Peterborough to the rectory of Peakirk-cum-Glinton
in the north corner of Northamptonshire. There he married Dorothy, daughter of Thomas Rutland of London. On 21 July 1687 he was installed in the prebend of Major Pars Altaris in Salisbury Cathedral
, and on 24 September 1687 was instituted to the rectory of St. Martin's, Salisbury, of which Francis Hill was patron.
After the Glorious Revolution
he declined to take the oath of allegiance to William and Mary
, and was deprived of all his preferments in 1690. He had inherited a small patrimony from his father, who died in 1671, but this was not sufficient to maintain his family. He received support from the more wealthy nonjurors. Among the many friends of Spinckes was Robert Nelson
, who made him a bequest.
He was entrusted with the management of the fund raised by the deprived bishops; and on Ascension day 1713 he was consecrated bishop, together with Jeremy Collier
and Samuel Hawes, by his friend Hickes, as suffragan-bishop of Thetford, assisted by two Scottish bishops, Archibald Campbell
and James Gadderar
, at Hickes's own private chapel in St. Andrew's, Holborn. Spinckes died 28 July 1727, and was buried in the cemetery of the parish of St. Faith, on the north side of St. Paul's, in London, his wife surviving him only one week. Of a large family, only two survived their parents: William, who became a successful merchant; and Anne, who married Anthony Cope.
Besides these works, Spinckes wrote a preface to his friend Hickes's 'Sermons on Several Subjects,' 2 vols. published in 1713, aad also published a volume of posthumous discourses by Hickes, with a preface, in 1726. He is said to have assisted in the publication of John Ernest Grabe
's Septuagint, of Richard Newcourt's Repertorium Ecclesiasticum, of Laurence Howell's Canons, of John Potter's Clemens Alexandrinus, and of John Walker
's Sufferings of the Clergy.
Nonjuring schism
The nonjuring schism was a split in the Church of England in the aftermath of the Glorious Revolution of 1688, over whether William of Orange and his wife Mary could legally be recognised as King and Queen of England....
clergyman, the leader in the dispute about the 'usages' which split the nonjurors of the 'non-usagers,' (those who advocated the retention of the prayer-book as it was), against returning to the first prayer-book of Edward VI, as the 'usagers,' led by Jeremy Collier
Jeremy Collier
Jeremy Collier was an English theatre critic, non-juror bishop and theologian.-Life:Born in Stow cum Quy, Cambridgeshire, Collier was educated at Caius College, University of Cambridge, receiving the BA and MA . A supporter of James II, he refused to take the oath of allegiance to William and...
, advocated.
Life
He was born at Castor, Northamptonshire, where his father, Edmund Spinckes, was rector of the parish. His mother was Martha, eldest daughter of Thomas Elmes of Lilford, to whom Edmund Spinckes was chaplain. Nathaniel received his early education from a neighbouring clergyman, Samuel Morton, rector of HaddonHaddon
-People:*Alfred Cort Haddon , British anthropologist*Elizabeth Haddon *Mark Haddon, English novelist* Dr. William Haddon Jr., the inventor of the Haddon Matrix, the most common tool in the injury prevention field-England:...
. On 9 July 1670 he matriculated 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...
; in 1673 he migrated to Jesus College
Jesus College, Cambridge
Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The College was founded in 1496 on the site of a Benedictine nunnery by John Alcock, then Bishop of Ely...
where he was elected scholar on the Rustat foundation. He graduated B.A. in 1674, and M.A. in 1677.
On 21 May 1676 he was ordained deacon by Henry Compton, 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...
, in the chapel of London House, and on 22 December 1678 priest by Thomas Barlow
Thomas Barlow (bishop)
Thomas Barlow was an English academic and clergyman, who became Provost of The Queen's College, Oxford and Bishop of Lincoln. He was considered, in his own times and by Edmund Venables writing in the Dictionary of National Biography, to have been a trimmer, a reputation mixed in with his academic...
, bishop of Lincoln
Bishop of Lincoln
The Bishop of Lincoln is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Lincoln in the Province of Canterbury.The present diocese covers the county of Lincolnshire and the unitary authority areas of North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire. The Bishop's seat is located in the Cathedral...
, at St. Margaret's Church, Westminster. He acted for some time as chaplain to Sir Richard Edgcomb in 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...
. He moved to Petersham
Petersham
Petersham is a place in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames on the east of the bend in the River Thames south of Richmond, which it shares with neighbouring Ham. It provides the foreground of the scenic view from Richmond Hill across Petersham Meadows, with Ham House further along the River...
, and became in 1681 chaplain to John Maitland, 1st Duke of Lauderdale
John Maitland, 1st Duke of Lauderdale
Sir John Maitland, 1st Duke and 2nd Earl of Lauderdale, 3rd Lord Thirlestane KG PC , was a Scottish politician, and leader within the Cabal Ministry.-Background:...
, forming a lifelong friendship with his fellow chaplain, George Hickes
George Hickes
George Hickes was an English divine and scholar.-Biography:Hickes was born at Newsham, near Thirsk, Yorkshire, in 1642...
. On the Duke's death in August 1682, he went to London and became curate and lecturer at St. Stephen's, Walbrook. In 1685 he was presented by the dean and chapter of Peterborough to the rectory of Peakirk-cum-Glinton
Peakirk, Cambridgeshire
Peakirk is a civil parish in the city of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire in the United Kingdom. For local government purposes it forms part of Newborough ward; for parliamentary purposes it falls within North West Cambridgeshire constituency. In 2001, the parish had a population of 321 persons and 139...
in the north corner of Northamptonshire. There he married Dorothy, daughter of Thomas Rutland of London. On 21 July 1687 he was installed in the prebend of Major Pars Altaris in Salisbury Cathedral
Salisbury Cathedral
Salisbury Cathedral, formally known as the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an Anglican cathedral in Salisbury, England, considered one of the leading examples of Early English architecture....
, and on 24 September 1687 was instituted to the rectory of St. Martin's, Salisbury, of which Francis Hill was patron.
After the Glorious Revolution
Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688, is the overthrow of King James II of England by a union of English Parliamentarians with the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau...
he declined to take the oath of allegiance to William and Mary
William and Mary
The phrase William and Mary usually refers to the coregency over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland, of King William III & II and Queen Mary II...
, and was deprived of all his preferments in 1690. He had inherited a small patrimony from his father, who died in 1671, but this was not sufficient to maintain his family. He received support from the more wealthy nonjurors. Among the many friends of Spinckes was Robert Nelson
Robert Nelson (nonjuror)
Robert Nelson was an English lay religious writer and nonjuror.-Life:He was born in London on 22 June 1656, the only surviving son of John Nelson, a merchant in the Turkey trade, by Delicia, daughter of Lewis and sister of Sir Gabriel Roberts, who, like John Nelson, was a member of the Levant...
, who made him a bequest.
He was entrusted with the management of the fund raised by the deprived bishops; and on Ascension day 1713 he was consecrated bishop, together with Jeremy Collier
Jeremy Collier
Jeremy Collier was an English theatre critic, non-juror bishop and theologian.-Life:Born in Stow cum Quy, Cambridgeshire, Collier was educated at Caius College, University of Cambridge, receiving the BA and MA . A supporter of James II, he refused to take the oath of allegiance to William and...
and Samuel Hawes, by his friend Hickes, as suffragan-bishop of Thetford, assisted by two Scottish bishops, Archibald Campbell
Archibald Campbell (bishop)
Archibald Campbell was a clergyman of the Scottish Episcopal Church who served as Bishop of Aberdeen. He was the son of Lord Neill Campbell by his wife Lady Vere Ker; his grandfathers were Archibald Campbell, 1st Marquess of Argyll, and William Kerr, 1st Earl of Lothian.He was a student of the...
and James Gadderar
James Gadderar
James Gadderar was a clergyman of the Scottish Episcopal Church. Previously a minister at Kilmaurs, he was consecrated a Bishop on 24 February 1712 by Bishop George Hickes, though without a diocese. In November 1721 he traveled to Aberdeen and acted as Bishop Archibald Campbell's vicar-depute...
, at Hickes's own private chapel in St. Andrew's, Holborn. Spinckes died 28 July 1727, and was buried in the cemetery of the parish of St. Faith, on the north side of St. Paul's, in London, his wife surviving him only one week. Of a large family, only two survived their parents: William, who became a successful merchant; and Anne, who married Anthony Cope.
Works
He was a voluminous writer. His major publications were:- 'The Essay towards a Proposal for Catholick Communion, &c., answered Chapter by Chapter' [against reconciliation of the church of England with the church of Rome, proposed by Mr. Bassett], 1705.
- 'The New Pretenders to Prophecy re-examined, and their Pretences shown to be Groundless and False,' 1705.
- 'Mr. Hoadly's Measures of Submission to the Civil Magistrates enquired into and disproved,' pt. i. 1711; pt. ii. 1712.
- 'The Sick Man visited, and furnished with Instructions, Meditations, and Prayers,' 1st ed. 1712; 2nd ed. 1718; 3rd ed. 1722; 4th ed. 1731.
- 'The Case truly stated; wherein "The Case re-stated" is fully considered' [i.e., the case between the church of Rome and the church of England]. 'By a Member of the Church of England,' 1714.
- 'A Collection of Meditations and Devotions in Three Parts,' 1717.
- 'The Case farther stated between the Church of Rome and the Church of England, wherein the Chief Point about the Supremacy is fully discussed in a Dialogue between a Roman Catholic and a member of the Church of England,' 1718.
- 'No Sufficient Reason for Restoring the Prayers and Directions of King Edward VI's First Liturgy,' 2 parts, 1718.
- 'No Just Grounds for introducing the New Communion Office, or denying Communion to those who cannot think themselves at liberty to reject the Liturgy of the Church of England for its sake. In answer to a late Appendix and to Dr. Brett's Postscript,' 1719.
- 'The Article of Romish Transubstantiation inquired into and disproved from Sense, Scripture, Antiquity, and Reason,' 1719.
- 'The Church of England Man's Companion in the Closet, with a Preface by N. Spinckes,' 1721; a manual of private devotions collected, probably by Spinckes himself, from the writings of William LaudWilliam LaudWilliam Laud was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1633 to 1645. One of the High Church Caroline divines, he opposed radical forms of Puritanism...
, Lancelot AndrewesLancelot AndrewesLancelot Andrewes was an English bishop and scholar, who held high positions in the Church of England during the reigns of Queen Elizabeth I and King James I. During the latter's reign, Andrewes served successively as Bishop of Chichester, Ely and Winchester and oversaw the translation of the...
, Thomas KenThomas KenThomas Ken was an English cleric who was considered the most eminent of the English non-juring bishops, and one of the fathers of modern English hymnology.-Early life:...
, George Hickes, John KettlewellJohn KettlewellJohn Kettlewell was an English clergyman, nonjuror and devotional writer. He is now known for his arguments against William Sherlock, who had justified the change of monarch of 1688-9 and his own switch of sides in The Case of the Allegiance. According to J. P...
, and Spinckes, which reached a fifteenth edition in 1772, and was republished in 1841.
Besides these works, Spinckes wrote a preface to his friend Hickes's 'Sermons on Several Subjects,' 2 vols. published in 1713, aad also published a volume of posthumous discourses by Hickes, with a preface, in 1726. He is said to have assisted in the publication of John Ernest Grabe
John Ernest Grabe
John Ernest Grabe , Anglican divine, was born at Königsberg, where his father, Martin Sylvester Grabe, was professor of theology and history....
's Septuagint, of Richard Newcourt's Repertorium Ecclesiasticum, of Laurence Howell's Canons, of John Potter's Clemens Alexandrinus, and of John Walker
John Walker (clerical historian)
John Walker was an English clergyman and ecclesiastical historian, known for his biographical work on the Church of England priests during the English Civil War and Interregnum.-Life:...
's Sufferings of the Clergy.