Thomas Knaggs was a preacher

Preacher

Preacher is a term for someone who preaches sermons or gives homilies. A preacher is distinct from a theologian by focusing on the communication rather than the development of doctrine. Others see preaching and theology as being intertwined...

 and publisher of sermon

Sermon

A sermon is an oration by a prophet or member of the clergy. Sermons address a Biblical, theological, religious, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law or behavior within both past and present contexts...

s.

He was born about 1661 somewhere in County Durham

County Durham

County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, and nothing is known of his early life.

He was educated at Durham School

Durham School

Durham School, headmaster Martin George , is an independent British day and boarding school for boys and girls in Durham....

, and admitted as a sizar

Sizar

At Trinity College, Dublin and the University of Cambridge, a sizar is a student who receives some form of assistance such as meals, lower fees or lodging during his or her period of study, in some cases in return for doing a defined job....

 at Emmanuel College

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...

, Cambridge 1 June 1676. He matriculated in 1677, earned his BA

Bachelor of Arts

A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 in 1679 and MA

Master of Arts (postgraduate)

A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...

 in 1683. He had been ordained as a deacon

Deacon

Deacon is a ministry in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...

 of York

York

York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...

 in 1681 and was Vicar

Vicar

In the broadest sense, a vicar is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior . In this sense, the title is comparable to lieutenant...

 of Merrington in County Durham from 1682 to 1720. He was afternoon lecturer

Lecturer

Lecturer is an academic rank. In the United Kingdom, lecturer is a position at a university or similar institution, often held by academics in their early career stages, who lead research groups and supervise research students, as well as teach...

 at All Saints, Newcastle

Newcastle upon Tyne

Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...

 from 1687 to 1697.

He was Chaplain

Chaplain

Traditionally, a chaplain is a minister in a specialized setting such as a priest, pastor, rabbi, or imam or lay representative of a religion attached to a secular institution such as a hospital, prison, military unit, police department, university, or private chapel...

 to Ford Grey, Lord Grey. He was Vicar of Croft, Lincolnshire

Croft, Lincolnshire

Croft is a small village and civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. The village lies about north east from Wainfleet, and west of Skegness....

 from 1720 and a lecturer at St Giles in the Fields

St Giles in the Fields

St Giles in the Fields, Holborn, is a church in the London Borough of Camden, in the West End. It is close to the Centre Point office tower and the Tottenham Court Road tube station. The church is part of the Diocese of London within the Church of England...

 in London

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...

. He was an officiating minister at Holy Trinity, Knightsbridge

Knightsbridge

Knightsbridge is a road which gives its name to an exclusive district lying to the west of central London. The road runs along the south side of Hyde Park, west from Hyde Park Corner, spanning the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea...

 from 1699 to 1713.
He died 12 May 1724 at the age of 63.

It is not known who he married, but his son (also Thomas) was baptised 5 March 1691 in Newcastle. This son was also admitted to Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and died there 31 July 1709.

Sermons Published

Taken from the British Library

British Library

The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom, and is the world's largest library in terms of total number of items. The library is a major research library, holding over 150 million items from every country in the world, in virtually all known languages and in many formats,...

online catalogue.

• 1689 - An Exhortation to a Personal and National Repentance. A sermon preached at St. James Church, Westminster, Feb. 5. 1688/9.
• 1693 - A sermon [on Psal. lxiv. 9] preached before the ... Lord Mayor ... [of London] ... Nov. 5, 1693.
• 1696 - A sermon [on 1 Thess. v. 19] preacht ... on the 16th day of April, 1696, being the thanksgiving day to Almighty God for ... disappointing a ... conspiracy of Papists ... to assassinate ... his ... Majesty’s royal person, etc.
• 1697 - An Assize Sermon [on Acts xxiv. 16] preach’d at St Edmunds-Bury ... March 23, 1696/7, etc.
• 1698 - A sermon [on Prov. xxvii. 1] preached ... at Colchester, ... at the funeral of Mrs. E. Knaggs.
• 1700 - A Sermon preach’d at Trinity-Chappel in the Parish of St. Martins in the Fields, Feb. 4th. 1700.
• 1701 - A sermon [on Heb. iv. 13] against profaneness & immorality, ... preach’d at the Assizes, at Kingston upon Thames, April 9, etc.
• 1701 - A sermon [on Prov. xiv. 9] against atheism, preach’d ... Novemb. 24, 1700.
• 1702 - Divine Providence. A sermon [on Prov. xxiii. 17, 18], etc.
• 1702 - The vanity of the world. A sermon preach’d at Trinity-Chappel in the parish of St. Martin in the Fields, the Wednesday after the funeral of King William the Third ...
• 1705 - A sermon [on 2 Cor. xiii. 11] against the French King.
• 1706 - God with us: A sermon [on 1 Pet. iii. 13] preach’d ... May 19, 1706, in a thankful remembrance for ... the late glorious victory obtain’d in Brabant, ... under the command of the duke of Marlborough, etc.
• 1708 - The Excellency of a Good Name. A sermon [on Prov. xxii. 1] preach’d October 31, 1708. After the ... death of ... Prince George of Denmark ...
• 1708 - A sermon [on 1 Kings xix. 4] against self-murder, etc.
• 1708 - A sermon [on Heb. xii. 5, 6] being a perswasive to contentment under afflictions.
• 1708 - A sermon [on Mark vi. 12] being an exhortation to a personal and national repentance.
• 1708 - A sermon [on Ps. cvi. 21] preach’d ... Aug. 19, 1708, being the thanksgiving day for the late great victory obtain’d ... near Audenarde, by her Majesties forces, ... under the command of the duke of Marlborough.
• 1709 - A thanksgiving sermon [on Luke xvii. 15, 16] for our many deliverances, particularly the Victory obtain’d, near Mons, etc.
• 1710 - A sermon [on Ps. xvi. 12] preach’d ... at the funeral of the Honourable Mrs E. Roberts, etc.
• 1712 - God governs the World ... a sermon [on Matt. vi. 34] preach’d ... Jan. 16, 1711/12, being the day appointed for a publick fast to implore a blessing on a secure and lasting peace, or a successful war.
• 1714 - A sermon [on Luke viii. 52] preach’d on the death of the Princess Sophia, Electress Dowager of Hanover, etc.
• 1714 - A sermon preach’d in the Parish-Church of St. Giles’s in the Fields ... the seventh of February, 1713/14. being the Sunday after the death of His Grace, Dr. John Sharp, Lord Archbishop of York, etc.
• 1716 - A Sermon [on John v. 14] preach’d ... the tenth of June ... 1716, etc.
• 1716 - Haman and Mordecai. A sermon [on Esther v. 13].
• 1717 - A sermon [on Heb. xii. 14] preach’d on ... the anniversary of His Majesty’s ... Coronation.
• 1717 - The Martyrdom of King Charles the First. In a Sermon [on 2 Sam. xviii. 3], etc.
• 1718 - The true Fear of the Lord and the King. A sermon [on Prov. xxiv. 21, 22] preach’d ... the day of His Majesty’s ... Accession, etc.
• 1720 - The Cruelty and Tyranny of Popery, a sermon [on Ps cxxiv. 5] preach’d before the ... Lord Mayor, on the fifth of November.
• 1721 - Religion the properest means to Peace of Conscience, Honour, Profit, Pleasure, and Health: A sermon [on Isa. lvii. 21], etc.