Peter Smart
Encyclopedia
Peter Smart was an English Puritan
clergyman, kept imprisoned for 12 years after he preached against innovations in the ceremonies at Durham Cathedral
.
, Warwickshire
, the son of a clergyman William Smart (Daniel Smart, presented in 1624 to the rectory of Oxhill
, Warwickshire being a brother). He was educated at Westminster School
under Gabriel Goodman
and Edward Grant
, with Richard Neile
. On 25 October 1588, aged 19, he matriculated as a batler (poor scholar) at Broadgates Hall, Oxford and was elected (before April 1589) to a studentship at Christ Church, Oxford
where he wrote some Latin verse, and commenced B.A. 26 June 1592, M.A. 9 July 1595.
William James, promoted in 1596 from Dean of Christ Church to Dean of Durham, appointed Smart in 1598 to the mastership of Durham Grammar School. James, when he became bishop of Durham (1606), ordained Smart, made him his chaplain, and gave him the rectory of Boldon, co. Durham in 1609, with a prebend at Durham Cathedral. At some time before 1610 Smart was made master of St. Edmund's Hospital, Gateshead. He was present when James I
communicated at Durham on Easter Day (20 April 1617), and noted the ceremonial details: by royal order there was no chanting or organ-playing; two plain cope
s were worn.
Smart absented himself from communions at Durham Cathedral, his reason being that Richard Neile, from 1617 the new bishop of Durham, had brought in ceremonial changes (altars and embroidered copes). In 1626, and again in 1627, he was placed on the high commission for the province of York
, and was a member of it when he was summoned for 'a seditious invective sermon'. The renovation of the cathedral and enrichment of the service had drawn from Smart on Sunday morning, 27 July 1628, a sermon (on Psalms xxxi. 7). It was published 1628, and reprinted at Edinburgh the same year, as The Vanitie and Downefall of Superstitious Popish Ceremonies, and again in 1640 with an appended Narrative of the Acts and Speeches ... of Mr. John Cosins.
A quorum of the high commission commenced proceedings against Smart. John Cosin
, a particular target in the sermon and a leader in the group of Neile's chaplains and prebendaries pushing for more "high church" ceremonial, was one of his judges. On 2 September the commissioners suspended Smart, and sequestered his prebend. On 29 January 1629 the case was transmitted to the high commission of the province of Canterbury
, sitting at Lambeth
, Smart was held in custody, and his sermon (now in print) was burned. He had influential friends: Sir Henry Yelverton admired his sermon, and Archbishop George Abbot is said to have agreed on the ceremonies. But his bitterness before the commission harmed him. On his own petition, he was removed back (August 1630) to the high commission at York. In the end for contumacy
he was in 1631 degraded, and fined. Refusing to pay the fine, he was sent to the King's Bench Prison
. Friends raised £400 a year to support him and his family.
On 3 November 1640, having been close on twelve years in custody, he drew up a petition (presented 12 November) to the Long Parliament
for his release. The Commons resolved (22 January 1641) that his sentence was illegal and void, and directed the prosecution of Cosin. In his Short Treatise (1641), Smart charged Cosin with "unseemly" words and actions. Francis Rous
, in his speech of 16 March 1641 impeaching Cosin, styled Smart "a Proto-Martyr."
Smart recovered his preferments and up to 1648 he was suing for arrears. He took the Solemn League and Covenant
in 1643, and gave evidence at the trial of William Laud
(1644). In 1645 he obtained, in place of Thomas Gawen, the sequestered rectory of Bishopstoke
, Hampshire
, and in 1646 he had, or claimed to have, the sequestered vicarage of Great Aycliffe, co. Durham.
He was living in London on 31 October 1648. Christopher Hunter heard that he died at Baxterwood, an outlying hamlet in the parish of St. Oswald, Durham, but failed find a record of his death, which probably took place in 1652.
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...
clergyman, kept imprisoned for 12 years after he preached against innovations in the ceremonies at Durham Cathedral
Durham Cathedral
The Cathedral Church of Christ, Blessed Mary the Virgin and St Cuthbert of Durham is a cathedral in the city of Durham, England, the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Durham. The Bishopric dates from 995, with the present cathedral being founded in AD 1093...
.
Life
He was born at LighthorneLighthorne
Lighthorne is a village in Warwickshire, England. It is about south of Leamington Spa.Lighthorne is a small village in a valley and is near Moreton Morrell, Kineton and Wellesbourne....
, Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
, the son of a clergyman William Smart (Daniel Smart, presented in 1624 to the rectory of Oxhill
Oxhill
Oxhill or Ox Hill may refer to the following places:*Oxhill, County Durham, a village in England*Oxhill, Warwickshire, a village in England*Ox Hill, a subordinate peak of Mount Toby, in Massachusetts...
, Warwickshire being a brother). He was 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...
under Gabriel Goodman
Gabriel Goodman
Gabriel Goodman was the Dean of Westminster and the re-founder of Ruthin School, in Ruthin, Denbighshire.-Early years:...
and Edward Grant
Edward Grant (headmaster)
Edward Grant was an English classical scholar, Latin poet, and headmaster of Westminster School. He was also the first biographer of Roger Ascham.-Life:...
, with 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:...
. On 25 October 1588, aged 19, he matriculated as a batler (poor scholar) at Broadgates Hall, Oxford and was elected (before April 1589) to a studentship at Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church or house of Christ, and thus sometimes known as The House), is one of the largest constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England...
where he wrote some Latin verse, and commenced B.A. 26 June 1592, M.A. 9 July 1595.
William James, promoted in 1596 from Dean of Christ Church to Dean of Durham, appointed Smart in 1598 to the mastership of Durham Grammar School. James, when he became bishop of Durham (1606), ordained Smart, made him his chaplain, and gave him the rectory of Boldon, co. Durham in 1609, with a prebend at Durham Cathedral. At some time before 1610 Smart was made master of St. Edmund's Hospital, Gateshead. He was present when James I
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
communicated at Durham on Easter Day (20 April 1617), and noted the ceremonial details: by royal order there was no chanting or organ-playing; two plain cope
Cope
The cope is a liturgical vestment, a very long mantle or cloak, open in front and fastened at the breast with a band or clasp. It may be of any liturgical colour....
s were worn.
Smart absented himself from communions at Durham Cathedral, his reason being that Richard Neile, from 1617 the new bishop of Durham, had brought in ceremonial changes (altars and embroidered copes). In 1626, and again in 1627, he was placed on the high commission for the province of York
Province of York
The Province of York is one of two ecclesiastical provinces making up the Church of England, and consists of 14 dioceses which cover the northern third of England and the Isle of Man. York was elevated to an Archbishopric in 735 AD: Ecgbert of York was the first archbishop...
, and was a member of it when he was summoned for 'a seditious invective sermon'. The renovation of the cathedral and enrichment of the service had drawn from Smart on Sunday morning, 27 July 1628, a sermon (on Psalms xxxi. 7). It was published 1628, and reprinted at Edinburgh the same year, as The Vanitie and Downefall of Superstitious Popish Ceremonies, and again in 1640 with an appended Narrative of the Acts and Speeches ... of Mr. John Cosins.
A quorum of the high commission commenced proceedings against Smart. John Cosin
John Cosin
John Cosin was an English churchman.-Life:He was born at Norwich, and was educated at Norwich grammar school and at Caius College, Cambridge, where he was scholar and afterwards fellow. On taking orders he was appointed secretary to Bishop Overall of Lichfield, and then domestic chaplain to...
, a particular target in the sermon and a leader in the group of Neile's chaplains and prebendaries pushing for more "high church" ceremonial, was one of his judges. On 2 September the commissioners suspended Smart, and sequestered his prebend. On 29 January 1629 the case was transmitted to the high commission of the province of Canterbury
Province of Canterbury
The Province of Canterbury, also called the Southern Province, is one of two ecclesiastical provinces making up the Church of England...
, sitting at Lambeth
Lambeth
Lambeth is a district of south London, England, and part of the London Borough of Lambeth. It is situated southeast of Charing Cross.-Toponymy:...
, Smart was held in custody, and his sermon (now in print) was burned. He had influential friends: Sir Henry Yelverton admired his sermon, and Archbishop George Abbot is said to have agreed on the ceremonies. But his bitterness before the commission harmed him. On his own petition, he was removed back (August 1630) to the high commission at York. In the end for contumacy
Contumacy
Contumacy is a stubborn refusal to obey authority or, particularly in law, the wilful contempt of the order or summons of a court The term is derived from the Latin word contumacia, meaning firmness or stubbornness....
he was in 1631 degraded, and fined. Refusing to pay the fine, he was sent to the King's Bench Prison
King's Bench Prison
The King's Bench Prison was a prison in Southwark, south London, from medieval times until it closed in 1880. It took its name from the King's Bench court of law in which cases of defamation, bankruptcy and other misdemeanours were heard; as such, the prison was often used as a debtor's prison...
. Friends raised £400 a year to support him and his family.
On 3 November 1640, having been close on twelve years in custody, he drew up a petition (presented 12 November) to the Long Parliament
Long Parliament
The Long Parliament was made on 3 November 1640, following the Bishops' Wars. It received its name from the fact that through an Act of Parliament, it could only be dissolved with the agreement of the members, and those members did not agree to its dissolution until after the English Civil War and...
for his release. The Commons resolved (22 January 1641) that his sentence was illegal and void, and directed the prosecution of Cosin. In his Short Treatise (1641), Smart charged Cosin with "unseemly" words and actions. Francis Rous
Francis Rous
Francis Rous or Rouse was an English politician and a prominent Puritan. He was also Provost of Eton, and wrote several theological and devotional works.-Early life:...
, in his speech of 16 March 1641 impeaching Cosin, styled Smart "a Proto-Martyr."
Smart recovered his preferments and up to 1648 he was suing for arrears. He took 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....
in 1643, and gave evidence at the trial of 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...
(1644). In 1645 he obtained, in place of Thomas Gawen, the sequestered rectory of Bishopstoke
Bishopstoke
Bishopstoke, a village recorded in the Domesday Book, is a civil parish in the borough of Eastleigh in Hampshire, England. Bishopstoke was also mentioned when King Alfred the Great's grandson King Eadred, granted land at "Stohes" to Thegn Aelfric in 948 AD. The village is about a mile east of...
, Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
, and in 1646 he had, or claimed to have, the sequestered vicarage of Great Aycliffe, co. Durham.
He was living in London on 31 October 1648. Christopher Hunter heard that he died at Baxterwood, an outlying hamlet in the parish of St. Oswald, Durham, but failed find a record of his death, which probably took place in 1652.
Works
He published, besides the sermon of 1628:- The Humble Petition of Peter Smart, a poore Prisoner in the King's Bench, [1640?];
- A Short Treatise of Altars, Altar-fumiture, (probably printed 1641, but written 1628);
- A Catalogue of Superstitious Innovations . . . Violations of the locall Statutes of Durham Cathedrall, 1642;
- Septugenarii Senis iterantis Cantus Epithalamicus, 1643 (dedicated to the Westminster Assembly).