Thomas Vincent
Encyclopedia
Thomas Vincent was an English Puritan
minister and author.
, born at Hertford
in May 1634. After passing through Westminster School
, and Felsted grammar school
in Essex
, he entered as a student at Christ Church, Oxford
, in 1648, matriculated 27 February 1650–1, and graduated B.A. 16 March 1652, M.A. 1 June 1654, when he was chosen catechist. Leaving the university, he became chaplain to Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester
. In 1656 he was incorporated at Cambridge. He was soon put into the sequestered rectory of St. Mary Magdalene, Milk Street, London (he was probably ordained by the sixth London classis), and held it till the Uniformity Act of 1662 ejected him.
He retired to Hoxton
, where he preached privately, and at the same time assisted Thomas Doolittle
in his school at Bunhill Fields
. During 1665, the year of the Great Plague of London
, he preached constantly in parish churches. His account of the plague in ‘God's Terrible Voice in the City by Plague and Fire,’ 1667, is graphic; seven in his own household died. Subsequently he gathered a large congregation at Hoxton, apparently in a wooden meeting-house, of which for a time he was dispossessed.
The following year was the Great Fire of London
and as an eyewitness, he recorded the details of the event in his writings.
He was among the signers of the 1673 Puritan Preface to the Scots Metrical Psalter. He did not escape imprisonment for his nonconformity. He died on 15 October 1678, and was buried (27 October) in the churchyard of St Giles-without-Cripplegate
. His funeral sermon was preached by Samuel Slater.
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 and author.
Life
Both his father and brother were prominent ministers. He was the second son of John Vincent and elder brother of Nathaniel VincentNathaniel Vincent
Nathaniel Vincent was English a nonconformist minister, ejected in 1662 and several times imprisoned.-Life:He was probably born in Cornwall about 1639, son of John Vincent , who was nominated by the committee of the Westminster Assembly to the rectory of Sedgefield, Durham...
, born at Hertford
Hertford
Hertford is the county town of Hertfordshire, England, and is also a civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of the county. Forming a civil parish, the 2001 census put the population of Hertford at about 24,180. Recent estimates are that it is now around 28,000...
in May 1634. After passing through 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...
, and Felsted grammar school
Felsted School
Felsted School, an English co-educational day and boarding independent school, situated in Felsted, Essex. It is in the British Public School tradition, and was founded in 1564 by Richard Rich, 1st Baron Rich who, as Lord Chancellor and Chancellor of the Court of Augmentations, acquired...
in Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, he entered as a student 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...
, in 1648, matriculated 27 February 1650–1, and graduated B.A. 16 March 1652, M.A. 1 June 1654, when he was chosen catechist. Leaving the university, he became chaplain to Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester
Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester
Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester was an English aristocrat and diplomat.-Life:He was the son of Robert Sidney, 1st Earl of Leicester, and his first wife, Barbara Gamage...
. In 1656 he was incorporated at Cambridge. He was soon put into the sequestered rectory of St. Mary Magdalene, Milk Street, London (he was probably ordained by the sixth London classis), and held it till the Uniformity Act of 1662 ejected him.
He retired to Hoxton
Hoxton
Hoxton is an area in the London Borough of Hackney, immediately north of the financial district of the City of London. The area of Hoxton is bordered by Regent's Canal on the north side, Wharf Road and City Road on the west, Old Street on the south, and Kingsland Road on the east.Hoxton is also a...
, where he preached privately, and at the same time assisted Thomas Doolittle
Thomas Doolittle
-Early life:Doolittle was the third son of Anthony Doolittle, a glover, and was born at Kidderminster in 1632 or the latter half of 1631. While at the grammar school of his native town he heard Richard Baxter preach as lecturer the sermons later published as ‘The Saint's Everlasting Rest’ . These...
in his school at Bunhill Fields
Bunhill Fields
Bunhill Fields is a cemetery in the London Borough of Islington, north of the City of London, and managed by the City of London Corporation. It is about 4 hectares in extent, although historically was much larger....
. During 1665, the year of the Great Plague of London
Great Plague of London
The Great Plague was a massive outbreak of disease in the Kingdom of England that killed an estimated 100,000 people, 20% of London's population. The disease is identified as bubonic plague, an infection by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, transmitted through a flea vector...
, he preached constantly in parish churches. His account of the plague in ‘God's Terrible Voice in the City by Plague and Fire,’ 1667, is graphic; seven in his own household died. Subsequently he gathered a large congregation at Hoxton, apparently in a wooden meeting-house, of which for a time he was dispossessed.
The following year was the Great Fire of London
Great Fire of London
The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through the central parts of the English city of London, from Sunday, 2 September to Wednesday, 5 September 1666. The fire gutted the medieval City of London inside the old Roman City Wall...
and as an eyewitness, he recorded the details of the event in his writings.
He was among the signers of the 1673 Puritan Preface to the Scots Metrical Psalter. He did not escape imprisonment for his nonconformity. He died on 15 October 1678, and was buried (27 October) in the churchyard of St Giles-without-Cripplegate
St Giles-without-Cripplegate
St Giles-without-Cripplegate is a Church of England church in the City of London, located within the modern Barbican complex. When built it stood without the city wall, near the Cripplegate. The church is dedicated to St Giles, patron saint of beggars and cripples...
. His funeral sermon was preached by Samuel Slater.
Published works
Among his publications were, besides many sermons:- The True Christians Love to the Unseen Christ
- The Shorter CatechismWestminster Shorter CatechismThe Westminster Shorter Catechism was written in the 1640s by English and Scottish divines. The assembly also produced the Westminster Confession of Faith and the Westminster Larger Catechism...
Explained 1675 - God's Terrible Voice in the City
- Fire and Brimstone in Hell, to Burn the Wicked (1670)
- A Spiritual Antidote for a Dying Soul (1665)
- The only Deliverer from the Wrath to Come
- The Foundation of God standeth Sure (1668) against William PennWilliam PennWilliam Penn was an English real estate entrepreneur, philosopher, and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, the English North American colony and the future Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He was an early champion of democracy and religious freedom, notable for his good relations and successful...
. - Wells of Salvation Opened, (1669).
- Holy and Profitable Sayings (1680), posthumous broadsheet.