Ambrose Barnes (1627–1710), was an English

nonconformist Nonconformity or nonconformism may refer to: Culture and society * Insubordination, the act of willfully disobeying an order of one's superior *Dissent, a sentiment or philosophy of non-agreement or opposition to a prevailing idea or entity ** ...

and

Alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

Biography

Barnes, of Newcastle, the eldest son of Thomas Barnes, a prominent

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Catholic Church, Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become m ...

of Startforth, Yorkshire, was born there in 1627; was apprenticed to a merchant adventurer of Newcastle in 1646; showed remarkable aptitude for trade; became a merchant adventurer in 1654–5 and

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

of Newcastle in 1658. A

from his youth, Barnes strove to alleviate the sufferings of the nonconformists in the north during the reign of Charles II, and was for some time imprisoned in

Tynemouth Castle Tynemouth Castle is located on a rocky headland (known as Pen Bal Crag), overlooking Tynemouth Pier. The moated castle-towers, gatehouse and keep are combined with the ruins of the Benedictine priory where early kings of Northumbria were buri ...

for holding

prayer meeting A prayer meeting is a group of lay people getting together for the purpose of prayer as a group. Prayer meetings are typically conducted outside regular services by one or more members of the clergy or other forms of religious leadership, but the ...

s in his own house.Information contained in the updated version of the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, edited by Matthew, H C G & Harrison, B, 2004, vol 3 states that "... arnes'writings themselves perished in a fire at the Literary & Philosophical Society of Newcastle upon Tyne in 1893." Barnes was a close friend of

Richard Gilpin Richard Gilpin (1625–1700) was an English nonconformist minister and physician, prominent in the northern region. Life The second son of Isaac Gilpin of Strickland Ketel, in the parish of Kendal, Westmorland, and Ann, daughter of Ralph Tons ...

Simeon Ashe Simeon Ashe or Ash (died 1662) was an English nonconformist clergyman, a member of the Westminster Assembly and chaplain to the Parliamentary leader Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl of Manchester. Life He was educated at Emmanuel College, Cambridge. He b ...

, Edmund Calamy, and Joseph Caryll, and often met

Richard Baxter Richard Baxter (12 November 1615 – 8 December 1691) was an English Puritan church leader, poet, hymnodist, theologian, and controversialist. Dean Stanley called him "the chief of English Protestant Schoolmen". After some false starts, he ...

at the

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

house of Alderman Henry Ashurst. He died 23 March 1710.

Works

Barnes wrote a ''Breviate of the Four Monarchies'', an ''Inquiry into the Nature, Grounds, and Reasons of Religion'', and a ''Censure upon the Times and Age he lived in''. Extracts only from these works, which all display much learning, have been published; they went in

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printing, printed or repr ...

in the library of the Literary and Philosophical Society of Newcastle, together with a discursive life of Barnes (dated 1716) by an unidentified writer, who signs himself "M. R." Barnes's memoirs and works were printed in an abridged form by the Newcastle Typographical Society in 1828, and again in a more complete version, with full notes, by the

Surtees Society The Surtees Society is a text publication society and registered charity (No. 1003812) based in Durham in northern England. The society was established on 27 May 1834 by James Raine, following the death (on 11 February) of the renowned County D ...

in 1867, under the direction of W. H. D. Longstaffe. The ''Life'' shows Barnes to have been a man of independent character, and to have enjoyed the regard of men of all parties. He hated Charles II, whom he saw in London when he presented a petition to the

privy council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

in behalf of the municipal rights of Newcastle, but he showed some respect for

James II James II may refer to: * James II of Avesnes (died c. 1205), knight of the Fourth Crusade * James II of Majorca (died 1311), Lord of Montpellier * James II of Aragon (1267–1327), King of Sicily * James II, Count of La Marche (1370–1438), King C ...

Family

Barnes married Mary Butler in 1655, and had by her seven children. His eldest son Joseph was recorder of Newcastle from 1687 to 1711, and his son Thomas was minister of the independent congregation from 1698 until his death in 1731.

References

Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Barnes, Ambrose 1627 births 1710 deaths 17th-century English Puritans English religious writers People from Newcastle upon Tyne 17th-century English writers 17th-century English male writers 18th-century English non-fiction writers 18th-century English male writers People from Startforth Rural District