Walter Cradock
Encyclopedia
Walter Cradock (c.1606-1659) was a Welsh Anglican clergyman, who became a travelling evangelical
preacher. He was a founder of the first Independent
church in Wales in 1638, at Llanvaches
, with William Wroth
and William Thomas
, an early Baptist.
, and is believed to have been educated at the University of Oxford
. His first position was as a curate, at Peterston-super-Ely
, Glamorgan
.
In 1633 William Erbery
, Vicar of St.Mary's, Cardiff, Cradock his curate there, and William Wroth, were reported to William Laud
, and the Court of High Commission
turned them out for unorthodox preaching, and on the technical grounds and acid test of orthodoxy, of refusing to read the Book of Sports. From late in 1634 Cradock spent almost a year in Wrexham
, preaching, and making a convert of Morgan Llwyd
. From there Cradock had to move to Herefordshire
, where he met Vavasor Powell
. With John Miles
(1621-1684), Cradock, Erbery, Powell, and Llwyd are the group of recognised Puritan leaders, who founded the later Welsh Nonconformist congregations, whether Baptist
, Congregationalist, Presbyterian or Quaker.
He was also at Shrewsbury
at this period. Sir Robert Harley
, of Brampton Bryan
, Herefordshire, took Cradock in, during 1639. He moved on to Llanfair Waterdine
, and an independent congregation there. On the outbreak of the English Civil War
the Llanvaches congregation, an independent conventicle
, moved with Cradock to Bristol
, where there was an independent church at Broadmead
. Since royalist forces then occupied Bristol, in 1643, some moved again to London, and made contact with Henry Jessey
, who had been a supporter of the congregation from the start; Cradock preached with Jessey at All-Hallows-the-Great
.
In 1641 Cradock was in the group of preachers for Wales authorized by the Long Parliament
: others were Erbery, Ambrose Mostyn, Richard Symonds, and Henry Walter
. These Welsh radicals formed a tight and effective lobbying group, and held together until the mid-1650s. Parliament renewed similar authority, in 1645 and 1646, with funding; it was also specified that Symonds, Henry Walter and Cradock should preach in Welsh. Cradock had already shown he could do that in 1645, preaching to captured royalist Welshman after the battle of Naseby
.
He was one of the “Welsh saints”, who commanded troops of Thomas Harrison with Vavasor Powell and Jenkin Jones
. He was later appointed the regular preacher to Barebone's Parliament, at St. Margaret's, Westminster
.
He was a supporter of Oliver Cromwell
, and when controversy arose over Cromwell's Protectorate
, he condemned Vavasor Powell's anti-Cromwell pamphlet The Word of God. The majority of the Welsh Puritan group of which he had been a founder agreed with him. He withdrew, to a living at Llangwm.
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
preacher. He was a founder of the first Independent
Independent (religion)
In English church history, Independents advocated local congregational control of religious and church matters, without any wider geographical hierarchy, either ecclesiastical or political...
church in Wales in 1638, at Llanvaches
Llanvaches
Llanvaches is a village and community parish located within the boundaries of the city of Newport, Wales. It lies to the east of the urban area, in the historic county of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent.- Location :...
, with William Wroth
William Wroth
William Wroth , a minister of the Church of England, is generally credited with the establishment of the first Independent Church in Wales in 1639...
and William Thomas
William Thomas
-Politics:* William Thomas , clerk of Edward VI's privy council, executed for treason after Edward's death* Sir William Thomas, 1st Baronet , British Member of Parliament for Seaford and Sussex...
, an early Baptist.
Life
He was born at Trefela, near Llangwm, MonmouthshireLlangwm, Monmouthshire
Llangwm is a small rural parish and village in Monmouthshire, south east Wales, United Kingdom. It is located 3 miles east of Usk, on the B4235 Chepstow to Usk road. The main village is at Llangwm Uchaf , with a smaller and more dispersed settlement about 1 mile to the north-east at Llangwm Isaf...
, and is believed to have been educated at the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
. His first position was as a curate, at Peterston-super-Ely
Peterston-super-Ely
Peterston-super-Ely is a village in the Welsh county of the Vale of Glamorgan.As its name suggests, the village lies on the River Ely, on the other side of which is the Coryton estate. The local parish church is dedicated to Saint Peter...
, Glamorgan
Glamorgan
Glamorgan or Glamorganshire is one of the thirteen historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. It was originally an early medieval kingdom of varying boundaries known as Glywysing until taken over by the Normans as a lordship. Glamorgan is latterly represented by the three...
.
In 1633 William Erbery
William Erbery
William Erbery or Erbury was a Welsh clergyman and radical Independent theologian.-Life:He graduated from Brasenose College, Oxford, England in 1623.....
, Vicar of St.Mary's, Cardiff, Cradock his curate there, and William Wroth, were reported to 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...
, and the Court of High Commission
Court of High Commission
The Court of High Commission was the supreme ecclesiastic court in England. It was instituted by the crown during the Reformation and finally dissolved by parliament in 1641...
turned them out for unorthodox preaching, and on the technical grounds and acid test of orthodoxy, of refusing to read the Book of Sports. From late in 1634 Cradock spent almost a year in Wrexham
Wrexham
Wrexham is a town in Wales. It is the administrative centre of the wider Wrexham County Borough, and the largest town in North Wales, located in the east of the region. It is situated between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley close to the border with Cheshire, England...
, preaching, and making a convert of Morgan Llwyd
Morgan Llwyd
Morgan Llwyd , was a Welsh Puritan preacher, poet and prose writer.- Biography :...
. From there Cradock had to move to Herefordshire
Herefordshire
Herefordshire is a historic and ceremonial county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire" NUTS 2 region. It also forms a unitary district known as the...
, where he met Vavasor Powell
Vavasor Powell
Vavasor Powell was a Welsh Nonconformist Puritan preacher, evangelist, church leader and writer.-Life:He was born in Knucklas, Radnorshire and was educated at Jesus College, Oxford...
. With John Miles
John Miles
John Miles may refer to:* John Miles , Australian politician and member of the Victorian Legislative Council* John Miles , British former Formula One driver...
(1621-1684), Cradock, Erbery, Powell, and Llwyd are the group of recognised Puritan leaders, who founded the later Welsh Nonconformist congregations, whether Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
, Congregationalist, Presbyterian or Quaker.
He was also at Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England. Lying on the River Severn, it is a civil parish home to some 70,000 inhabitants, and is the primary settlement and headquarters of Shropshire Council...
at this period. Sir Robert Harley
Robert Harley (1579-1656)
Sir Robert Harley was an English statesman who served as Master of the Mint for Charles I and later supported the parliamentarians during the English Civil War.He was the son of Thomas Harley of Brampton Bryan in Herefordshire...
, of Brampton Bryan
Brampton Bryan
Brampton Bryan is a small village and civil parish situated in north Herefordshire, England close to the Shropshire and Welsh borders.Brampton Bryan lies mid-way between Leintwardine and Knighton on the A4113 road. The village has had a complex history and its buildings reflect this...
, Herefordshire, took Cradock in, during 1639. He moved on to Llanfair Waterdine
Llanfair Waterdine
Llanfair Waterdine, sometimes written as Llanvair Waterdine interpreted as Saint Mary's Waterdine, is a small village and parish in Shropshire, England, on the north side of the Teme valley and just a few hundred metres from the modern Wales-England border.-Place name:"Llanfair" is a typical Welsh...
, and an independent congregation there. On the outbreak of the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
the Llanvaches congregation, an independent conventicle
Conventicle
A conventicle is a small, unofficial and unofficiated meeting of laypeople, to discuss religious issues in a non-threatening, intimate manner. Philipp Jakob Spener called for such associations in his Pia Desideria, and they were the foundation of the German Evangelical Lutheran Pietist movement...
, moved with Cradock to Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, where there was an independent church at Broadmead
Broadmead
Broadmead is a street in the central area of Bristol, England, which has given its name to the principal shopping district of the city.- History :The name of the street was first recorded in 1383 as Brodemede...
. Since royalist forces then occupied Bristol, in 1643, some moved again to London, and made contact with Henry Jessey
Henry Jessey
Henry Jessey or Jacie was one of many English Dissenters. He was a founding member of the Puritan religious sect, the Jacobites. Jessey was considered a Hebrew and a rabbinical scholar.-Life:...
, who had been a supporter of the congregation from the start; Cradock preached with Jessey at All-Hallows-the-Great
All-Hallows-the-Great
All-Hallows-the-Great was a church in the City of London, located on what is now Upper Thames Street, first mentioned in 1235. Destroyed in the Great Fire of London of 1666, the church was rebuilt by the office of Sir Christopher Wren...
.
In 1641 Cradock was in the group of preachers for Wales authorized by 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...
: others were Erbery, Ambrose Mostyn, Richard Symonds, and Henry Walter
Henry Walter
Henry Walter was a Welsh Anglican priest who became a Puritan.-Life:Walter was born in the parish of St. Arvans, Monmouthshire, south Wales in 1611 and studied at the University of Oxford, matriculating as a member of Jesus College, Oxford in 1633 and obtaining his Bachelor of Civil Law degree in...
. These Welsh radicals formed a tight and effective lobbying group, and held together until the mid-1650s. Parliament renewed similar authority, in 1645 and 1646, with funding; it was also specified that Symonds, Henry Walter and Cradock should preach in Welsh. Cradock had already shown he could do that in 1645, preaching to captured royalist Welshman after the battle of Naseby
Battle of Naseby
The Battle of Naseby was the key battle of the first English Civil War. On 14 June 1645, the main army of King Charles I was destroyed by the Parliamentarian New Model Army commanded by Sir Thomas Fairfax and Oliver Cromwell.-The Campaign:...
.
He was one of the “Welsh saints”, who commanded troops of Thomas Harrison with Vavasor Powell and Jenkin Jones
Jenkin Jones
Jenkin Jones was a Welsh captain in the army of the Parliamentarians during the English Civil War, and a Puritan cleric and preacher.-Life:Jones was born in the parish of Llanddetty, Brecknockshire and matriculated at Jesus College, Oxford in 1639...
. He was later appointed the regular preacher to Barebone's Parliament, at St. Margaret's, Westminster
St. Margaret's, Westminster
The Anglican church of St. Margaret, Westminster Abbey is situated in the grounds of Westminster Abbey on Parliament Square, and is the parish church of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom in London...
.
He was a supporter of Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
, and when controversy arose over Cromwell's Protectorate
The Protectorate
In British history, the Protectorate was the period 1653–1659 during which the Commonwealth of England was governed by a Lord Protector.-Background:...
, he condemned Vavasor Powell's anti-Cromwell pamphlet The Word of God. The majority of the Welsh Puritan group of which he had been a founder agreed with him. He withdrew, to a living at Llangwm.
Works
- The Saints Fulnesse of Joy (1646)
- Gospel-Libertie (1648)
- Mount Sion or the Privilege and Practice of the Saints (1649)
- Divine Drops (1650)
- Gospel-Holinesse (1655)
Further reading
- Geoffrey F. Nuttall, The Welsh Saints 1640-1660: Walter Cradock, Vavasor Powell, Morgan Llwyd (Cardiff, 1957)
- T. Charles, T.; D. Oliver. The works of the late Rev. Walter Cradock, with a short account of his life (Chester, 1800)