Edward Pierce (or Edward Pearse) (1630 or 1631–1694) was a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

priest and writer.

Life

Pierce was born in Wales in 1630 or 1631 (the location and date is uncertain) and was educated at Jesus College, Oxford, from 1650 to 1657 before his ordination in 1659. He ministered in various parishes in Northamptonshire (at St Sepulchre's,

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...

, 1660 to 1663; Duston, 1662 to 1663; All Saints, Aldwincle and Cottesbrooke, 1663 to 1694) under the patronage of a Northamptonshire landowner, Sir John Langham, who was from Cottesbrooke. Pierce died in the

rectory A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of religion. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, parsonage, rectory or vicarage. Function A clergy house is typically ow ...

of Cottesbrooke on 2 September 1694 and was buried in the chancel of the church. His eldest son, John, succeeded him as

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of Cottesbrooke.

Writings

In 1675, Pierce described the

Great Fire of Northampton The Great Fire of Northampton occurred in September 1675 in Northampton in Northamptonshire, England. The blaze was caused by sparks from an open fire on St. Mary’s Street, near Northampton Castle. The fire devastated the town centre, destroying ...

and continued to write thereafter, with anonymous works in the 1680s criticising persecution of dissenters such as ''The Conformists Plea for the Nonconformists'' (1681), which went through three editions. His viewpoint attracted criticism and some church leaders saw him as dangerous. In his ministry, he endeavoured to keep dissenters within the Church of England through his

tolerance Tolerance or toleration is the state of tolerating, or putting up with, conditionally. Economics, business, and politics * Toleration Party, a historic political party active in Connecticut * Tolerant Systems, the former name of Veritas Software ...

and his refusal to insist on following all the requirements of the rites of the Church. His last work, published in 1691, was a sermon preached to the prisoners sentenced to death at the

Assizes The courts of assize, or assizes (), were periodic courts held around England and Wales until 1972, when together with the quarter sessions they were abolished by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced by a single permanent Crown Court. The assizes e ...

in September 1690, entitled ''Christ Alone our Life''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pierce, Edward 1630s births 1694 deaths 17th-century Welsh Anglican priests Welsh non-fiction writers Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford People from Cottesbrooke