Dorothy Hazard was a seventeenth-century English religious reformer who played a part in the defence of the city of

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

during the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

. Despite her marriage to a

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 ...

minister, she founded a

Dissenter A dissenter (from the Latin ''dissentire'', "to disagree") is one who dissents (disagrees) in matters of opinion, belief, etc. Usage in Christianity Dissent from the Anglican church In the social and religious history of England and Wales, and ...

church in Bristol, which became the city's first

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

church,

Broadmead Baptist Church Broadmead Baptist Church is a Baptist church in the Broadmead area of Bristol, England. The church was the first dissenting church in Bristol, founded by Dorothy Hazard and four other dissenters in 1640. In its early years the church was persec ...

Religious life

Little is known of Hazard's early life. She was married to a grocer named Anthony Kelly, and after his death continued to manage their shop in Bristol. At this time, she was a supporter of the

Separatist movement Separatism is the advocacy of cultural, ethnic, tribal, religious, racial, governmental or gender separation from the larger group. As with secession, separatism conventionally refers to full political separation. Groups simply seeking greate ...

, and as such was the target of persecution for her beliefs; on at least one occasion her shop was vandalised and the windows broken. In the late 1630s a Puritan preacher named Matthew Hazard took up residence in the city, and the widow Dorothy Kelly was persuaded to marry him. Her husband later became the minister of

Christ Church with St Ewen Christ Church with St Ewen () is a Church of England parish church in Broad Street, Bristol, England. Christ Church was built between 1786 and 1791. The tower appears to have been designed by Thomas Paty who was architect to the vestry, and th ...

. Dorothy Hazard was torn between her personal religious beliefs and her role as a clergyman's wife, a dichotomy which was finally resolved when she opened her Bible at random and read the verse "If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand / The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God ..." from . This persuaded her to split completely with the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

and join the Separatists. Along with four men - Mr Atkins, Mr Poole, Mr Moone and Rev. Bacon - she founded the first Dissenter church in Bristol in 1640; meetings were held at both the Hazard residence and at Rev. Bacon's house. The church became affiliated with the Baptist movement, and has survived for over 300 years.

English Civil War

During the English Civil War, Bristol was besieged by the

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governme ...

troops of Sir Ralph Hopton. During the storming of the city, Hazard and her friend Joan Batten led a group of women to the city's Frome Gate, where they barricaded breaches in the walls with sandbags, and encouraged the soldiers in the defence of the city. However, despite Hazard's offer to Bristol's governor, Nathaniel Fiennes, to gather a group of women and act as a

human shield A human shield is a non-combatant (or a group of non-combatants) who either volunteers or is forced to shield a legitimate military target in order to deter the enemy from attacking it. The use of human shields as a resistance measure was popula ...

, Fiennes, subsequently surrendered to the Royalists. Hazard's defence of the wall subsequently became the subject for a mural by

Gerald Moira Gerald Edward Moira (26 January 1867 – 2 August 1959) was an English painter who became best known for his murals. Gerald Moira was born in London, the son of a former Portuguese diplomat who became a miniature painter. He first exhibited at ...

, which was commissioned by Sir Claude Phillips for the decoration of Bristol's Old Council House in 1923.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hazard, Dorothy 17th-century Protestant religious leaders 17th-century English businesspeople English Dissenters People from Bristol Women in the English Civil War 17th-century English businesswomen Female religious leaders