Peter Peckard
Encyclopedia
Peter Peckard was an English Whig, Church of England
minister and abolitionist.
From 1781 he was Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge
. He was incorporated at Cambridge in 1782, appointed vice-chancellor in 1784, and created D.D. per literas regias in 1785. In April 1792 he became Dean of Peterborough.
, Lincolnshire
, he matriculated at Corpus Christi College, Oxford
on 20 July 1734, then aged 16, and was admitted on 9 October He graduated B.A. 1738, M.A. March 1741–2, and became scholaris, or probationary fellow, in 1744. After having been ordained in the Church of England
, he seems to have become a chaplain in the army, to have married about 1752, and to have settled for a time at Huntingdon
.
He was appointed in 1760 to the rectory of Fletton
and the vicarage of Yaxley
, both near Peterborough
. A dispensation for the holding of these two livings at the same time was needed, and it was obtained with difficulty from Thomas Secker
, the Archbishop of Canterbury
. Peckard was considered heterodoxpon the question concerning an intermediate or separate state of conscious existence between death and the resurrection, and his examination was several times adjourned. He obtained his dispensation at last, but only after he had signed four articles to some extent modifying his views, and it was given at a date when the second benefice was within a day or two of lapsing. Edward Law
commented that ‘Peter Peckard has escaped out of Lollard's tower with the loss of his tail.’
In 1766 Peckard became chaplain to the first troop of Grenadier Guards
, and served with it in Germany. The rectory of Fletton was held by him until his death, but he vacated the vicarage of Yaxley in 1777. He was prebendary of Clifton in Lincoln Cathedral
from 9 May 1774, and of Rampton in Southwell Minster
from 23 October 1777 to his death. He was also appointed in 1777, under dispensation, to the rectory of Tansor
in Northamptonshire
, and from 1793 to 1797 he retained the rectory of Abbots' Ripton, near Huntingdon.
In 1781 he was appointed to the mastership of Magdalene College, Cambridge
, by Sir John Griffin Griffin, afterwards Lord Howard de Walden, who had the right of presentation, as owner of the estate of Audley End. He was incorporated at Cambridge in 1782, appointed vice-chancellor in 1784, and created D.D. per literas regias in 1785. In April 1792 he was advanced by the crown to the deanery of Peterborough. He built a new parsonage-house at Fletton, and was permitted by the patron, Lord Carysfort, to nominate his successor to the benefice. Peckard died on 8 December 1797, and was buried at Peterborough. His wife was Martha (1729–1805), eldest daughter of Edward Ferrar, attorney at Huntingdon. Peckard left property to Magdalene College, and also founded two scholarships.
Peckard published sermons of a liberal tendency, and those of later life drew attention to the evils of the slave trade. The views which Archbishop Secker deemed heterodox were set out in:
Peckard's opinions were also criticised by Caleb Fleming
, in his ‘Survey of the Search of the Souls,’ 1759, and defended by him in ‘Observations on Mr. Fleming's Survey,’ 1759, which provoked from Fleming ‘A Defence of the Conscious Scheme against that of the Mortalist.’
Among Peckard's other sermons and tracts were:
He published anonymously in 1776 a treatise on ‘Subscription with Historical Extracts,’ and in 1778 a pamphlet ‘Am I not a Man and a Brother?’
Peckard's father-in-law, Edward Ferrar, left him by will many books and papers, including a Life by John Ferrar of Nicholas Ferrar
. It was published by him in 1790 as ‘Memoirs of the Life of Mr. Nicholas Ferrar,’ but with some heavy edits. It was reprinted, with a few omissions, in Christopher Wordsworth
's Ecclesiastical Biography (v. 69–266), and published separately in an abridged form in 1852. Some of Peckard's manuscripts, which were helpful to students of the genealogy of the early New England
settlers, are referred to in John Wingate Thornton
's First Records of Anglo-American Colonisation, Boston, 1859.
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
minister and abolitionist.
From 1781 he was Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge
Magdalene College, Cambridge
Magdalene College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary Magdalene...
. He was incorporated at Cambridge in 1782, appointed vice-chancellor in 1784, and created D.D. per literas regias in 1785. In April 1792 he became Dean of Peterborough.
Life
The son of the Rev. John Peckard of WelbournWelbourn
Welbourn is a village in North Kesteven, central Lincolnshire on the A607 between Leadenham and Wellingore.-Village:The village church is St Chad's, part of the Loveden Deanery of the Diocese of Lincoln: the incumbent is the Revd Dr Alan Megahey....
, Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
, he matriculated at Corpus Christi College, Oxford
Corpus Christi College, Oxford
Corpus Christi College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom...
on 20 July 1734, then aged 16, and was admitted on 9 October He graduated B.A. 1738, M.A. March 1741–2, and became scholaris, or probationary fellow, in 1744. After having been ordained in the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
, he seems to have become a chaplain in the army, to have married about 1752, and to have settled for a time at Huntingdon
Huntingdon
Huntingdon is a market town in Cambridgeshire, England. The town was chartered by King John in 1205. It is the traditional county town of Huntingdonshire, and is currently the seat of the Huntingdonshire district council. It is known as the birthplace in 1599 of Oliver Cromwell.-History:Huntingdon...
.
He was appointed in 1760 to the rectory of Fletton
Fletton
Fletton is a residential area and electoral ward of the city of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire in the United Kingdom. For parliamentary purposes it falls within North West Cambridgeshire constituency...
and the vicarage of Yaxley
Yaxley
Yaxley may refer to:*George Wooster, Lord Yaxley, a minor fictional character in the Jeeves and Wooster stories of Pelham Grenville Wodehouse*Yaxley, Cambridgeshire near Peterborough*Yaxley, Suffolk...
, both near Peterborough
Peterborough
Peterborough is a cathedral city and unitary authority area in the East of England, with an estimated population of in June 2007. For ceremonial purposes it is in the county of Cambridgeshire. Situated north of London, the city stands on the River Nene which flows into the North Sea...
. A dispensation for the holding of these two livings at the same time was needed, and it was obtained with difficulty from Thomas Secker
Thomas Secker
Thomas Secker , Archbishop of Canterbury, was born at Sibthorpe, Nottinghamshire.-Early life and studies:In 1699, Secker went to Richard Brown's free school in Chesterfield, staying with his half-sister and her husband, Elizabeth and Richard Milnes...
, the Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
. Peckard was considered heterodoxpon the question concerning an intermediate or separate state of conscious existence between death and the resurrection, and his examination was several times adjourned. He obtained his dispensation at last, but only after he had signed four articles to some extent modifying his views, and it was given at a date when the second benefice was within a day or two of lapsing. Edward Law
Edward Law
Edward Law may refer to one of two Barons Ellenborough:* Edward Law, 1st Baron Ellenborough * Edward Law, 1st Earl of Ellenborough , son of the above...
commented that ‘Peter Peckard has escaped out of Lollard's tower with the loss of his tail.’
In 1766 Peckard became chaplain to the first troop of Grenadier Guards
Grenadier Guards
The Grenadier Guards is an infantry regiment of the British Army. It is the most senior regiment of the Guards Division and, as such, is the most senior regiment of infantry. It is not, however, the most senior regiment of the Army, this position being attributed to the Life Guards...
, and served with it in Germany. The rectory of Fletton was held by him until his death, but he vacated the vicarage of Yaxley in 1777. He was prebendary of Clifton in Lincoln Cathedral
Lincoln Cathedral
Lincoln Cathedral is a historic Anglican cathedral in Lincoln in England and seat of the Bishop of Lincoln in the Church of England. It was reputedly the tallest building in the world for 249 years . The central spire collapsed in 1549 and was not rebuilt...
from 9 May 1774, and of Rampton in Southwell Minster
Southwell Minster
Southwell Minster is a minster and cathedral, in Southwell, Nottinghamshire, England. It is six miles away from Newark-on-Trent and thirteen miles from Mansfield. It is the seat of the Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham and the Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham.It is considered an outstanding...
from 23 October 1777 to his death. He was also appointed in 1777, under dispensation, to the rectory of Tansor
Tansor
Tansor is a village and civil parish in the English county of Northamptonshire. Lying near the River Nene, three miles north-east of the town of Oundle, Tansor forms part of the district of East Northamptonshire. At the time of the 2001 census, the parish's population was 185 people...
in Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
, and from 1793 to 1797 he retained the rectory of Abbots' Ripton, near Huntingdon.
In 1781 he was appointed to the mastership of Magdalene College, Cambridge
Magdalene College, Cambridge
Magdalene College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary Magdalene...
, by Sir John Griffin Griffin, afterwards Lord Howard de Walden, who had the right of presentation, as owner of the estate of Audley End. He was incorporated at Cambridge in 1782, appointed vice-chancellor in 1784, and created D.D. per literas regias in 1785. In April 1792 he was advanced by the crown to the deanery of Peterborough. He built a new parsonage-house at Fletton, and was permitted by the patron, Lord Carysfort, to nominate his successor to the benefice. Peckard died on 8 December 1797, and was buried at Peterborough. His wife was Martha (1729–1805), eldest daughter of Edward Ferrar, attorney at Huntingdon. Peckard left property to Magdalene College, and also founded two scholarships.
Works
A poetical essay on Peckard is in the Gentleman's Magazine, 1799 (pt. i. p. 325), and two poems, one by him and one by his wife, are in that periodical for 1789 (pt. ii. p. 748).Peckard published sermons of a liberal tendency, and those of later life drew attention to the evils of the slave trade. The views which Archbishop Secker deemed heterodox were set out in:
- ‘Observations on the Doctrine of an Intermediate State,’ 1756.
- ‘Further Observations on the Doctrine of an Intermediate State,’ 1757. This was in reply to the queries of Thomas Morton, rector of BassinghamBassinghamBassingham is a village and civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, with a population of 1308.-Geography:It is about mid-way between Newark-on-Trent and Lincoln. The parish is defined by the River Witham to the west, and the River Brant to the east...
.
Peckard's opinions were also criticised by Caleb Fleming
Caleb Fleming
Caleb Fleming, D.D. was an English dissenting minister and polemicist.-Life:Fleming was born at Nottingham on 4 November 1698. His father was a hosier; his mother, whose maiden name was Buxton, was a daughter of the lord of the manor of Chelmerton, Derbyshire. Brought up in Calvinism, Fleming's...
, in his ‘Survey of the Search of the Souls,’ 1759, and defended by him in ‘Observations on Mr. Fleming's Survey,’ 1759, which provoked from Fleming ‘A Defence of the Conscious Scheme against that of the Mortalist.’
Among Peckard's other sermons and tracts were:
- ‘The popular Clamour against the Jews indefensible,’ 1753.
- ‘A Dissertation on Revelation, chap. xi. ver. 13,’ 1756. This was written to prove that the passage was prophetical, and fulfilled by the Lisbon earthquake. It was criticised at some length in the Gentleman's Magazine, 1756 (pp. 138–139), and defended by the author in the same periodical (pp. 213–14).
- ‘The proper Stile of Christian Oratory,’ 1770 (against theatrical declamation).
- ‘National Crimes the Cause of National Punishments,’ 1795. It passed through three editions, and referred mainly to the slave trade, on which subject Peckard often preached. On becoming vice-chancellor at Cambridge he put the question, ‘Anne liceat invitos in servitutem dare?’ The first prize went to Thomas ClarksonThomas ClarksonThomas Clarkson , was an English abolitionist, and a leading campaigner against the slave trade in the British Empire. He helped found The Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade and helped achieve passage of the Slave Trade Act of 1807, which ended British trade in slaves...
, later an activist in the cause of abolition.
He published anonymously in 1776 a treatise on ‘Subscription with Historical Extracts,’ and in 1778 a pamphlet ‘Am I not a Man and a Brother?’
Peckard's father-in-law, Edward Ferrar, left him by will many books and papers, including a Life by John Ferrar of Nicholas Ferrar
Nicholas Ferrar
Nicholas Ferrar was an English scholar, courtier, businessman and man of religion. Ordained deacon in the Church of England, he retreated with his extended family to the manor of Little Gidding in Huntingdonshire, where he lived the rest of his life.-Early life:Nicholas Ferrar was born in London,...
. It was published by him in 1790 as ‘Memoirs of the Life of Mr. Nicholas Ferrar,’ but with some heavy edits. It was reprinted, with a few omissions, in Christopher Wordsworth
Christopher Wordsworth
Christopher Wordsworth was an English bishop and man of letters.-Life:Wordsworth was born in London, the youngest son of the Rev. Dr. Christopher Wordsworth, Master of Trinity and a nephew of the poet William Wordsworth...
's Ecclesiastical Biography (v. 69–266), and published separately in an abridged form in 1852. Some of Peckard's manuscripts, which were helpful to students of the genealogy of the early New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
settlers, are referred to in John Wingate Thornton
John Wingate Thornton
John Wingate Thornton was a United States lawyer, historian, antiquarian, book collector and author.-Early life:He was born August 12, 1818 at the home of his grandfather, Thomas Gilbert Thornton in Saco, Maine...
's First Records of Anglo-American Colonisation, Boston, 1859.