George Hughes (1603–1667) was an English

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 ...

priest and writer.

Life

Born in

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

, he was sent to

Corpus Christi College, Oxford Corpus Christi College (formally, Corpus Christi College in the University of Oxford; informally abbreviated as Corpus or CCC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1517, it is the 12th ...

at the beginning of 1619. He was admitted B.A. on 19 February 1623, and proceeded M.A. on 23 June 1625 as a Fellow of Pembroke College. About 1628 he was ordained, and, after serving curacies in and near Oxford, he was chosen in 1631 lecturer at

All Hallows, Bread Street All Hallows Bread Street was a parish church in the Bread Street ward of the City of London, England. It stood on the east side of Bread Street, on the corner with Watling Street. First mentioned in the 13th century, the church was destroyed in ...

, London, where he was popular as a preacher. He commenced B.D. on 10 July 1633. For his refusal to comply with the rubrics he was suspended by

William Laud William Laud (; 7 October 1573 – 10 January 1645) was a bishop in the Church of England. Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury by Charles I in 1633, Laud was a key advocate of Charles I's religious reforms, he was arrested by Parliament in 1640 ...

, and would have emigrated to America had he not been dissuaded by

John Dod John Dod (c. 1549 – 1645), known as "Decalogue Dod", was a non-conforming English clergyman, taking his nickname for his emphasis on the Ten Commandments. He is known for his widely circulated writings. Although he lost one means of livelihood ...

, on whose recommendation he was appointed chaplain to

Robert Greville, 2nd Baron Brooke Robert Greville, 2nd Baron Brooke (May 1607 – 4 March 1643) was a radical Puritan activist and leading member of the opposition to Charles I of England prior to the outbreak of the First English Civil War in August 1642. Appointed Roundhead, Pa ...

Warwick Castle Warwick Castle is a medieval castle developed from a wooden fort, originally built by William the Conqueror during 1068. Warwick is the county town of Warwickshire, England, situated on a meander of the River Avon. The original wooden motte-an ...

. During his residence there he married a Coventry lady. The mother of John Maynard persuaded

Francis Russell, 4th Earl of Bedford Francis Russell, 4th Earl of Bedford PC (1587 – 9 May 1641) was an English nobleman and politician. He built the square of Covent Garden, with the piazza and church of St. Paul's, employing Inigo Jones as his architect. He is also known fo ...

to obtain for him the vicarage of

St Eustachius' Church, Tavistock St Eustachius' Church, Tavistock is a Grade II* listed parish church in 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. I ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

, and the earl also made him his chaplain. The outbreak of the First Civil War obliged Hughes to move to

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

, where his wife died. Here

Prince Rupert Prince Rupert of the Rhine, Duke of Cumberland, (17 December 1619 (O.S.) / 27 December (N.S.) – 29 November 1682 (O.S.)) was an English army officer, admiral, scientist and colonial governor. He first came to prominence as a Royalist cavalr ...

and his staff heard him preach. On his deciding to leave the city the prince provided him with safe-conducts, which enabled him to travel in peace to

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...

. On 21 October 1643 the corporation of

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

elected him vicar of St. Andrew's Church. He dedicated to the corporation a work;

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 ...

considered it the best of its kind. In 1647 he was appointed to preach before the House of Commons, and received a vote of thanks. The following year he subscribed with seventy-two other ministers to the

Solemn League and Covenant The Solemn League and Covenant was an agreement between the Scottish Covenanters and the leaders of the English Parliamentarians in 1643 during the First English Civil War, a theatre of conflict in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. On 17 August 1 ...

.''The joint testimonie of the Ministers of Devon … with … the Ministers of the province of London unto the truth of Jesus … in pursuance of the solemn League and Covenant of the three nations,'' London, 1648. In 1654 he was made one of the assistants to the commissioners of Devon. Though expelled from his living in August 1662, he continued to reside at Plymouth. For holding services in secret he was arrested in 1665 and, with his brother-in-law and assistant Thomas Martyn, confined on St. Nicholas Island for about nine months. His health was now failing. Friends managed to procure his release by giving security; but he was forbidden to live within twenty miles of Plymouth. He lived at Kingsbridge, Devon, where he died on 4 July 1667, and was buried in the church. A memorial tablet was erected to him about 1670 by Thomas Crispin, for which Hughes's son-in-law John Howe wrote a Latin inscription. His son Obadiah (1640-1704) was grandfather of

Obadiah Hughes Obadiah Hughes (1695–1751) was an English Presbyterian minister. Life Education He was the son of George Hughes (died in November 1719), minister at Canterbury, and was born in 1695. His father was grandson of George Hughes (priest), George Hu ...

(1695-1751).

Works

On his island prison he wrote a reply to John Sergeant's 'Sure-footing in Christianity,' 1665, which appeared after his death under the title of 'Sure-footing in Christianity examined,' London 1668. His other writings are, besides sermons preached at the funerals 'of … Captaine Henry Waller,' London, 1632, and 'of Master William Crompton … pastor of Lanceston, Cornwall,' London, 1642: * 'Aphorisms, or Select Propositions of the Scripture, shortly determining the Doctrine of the Sabbath' (edited by 0. Hughes), London, 1670. * 'An Analytical Exposition of … Genesis and of xxiii. chap. of Exodus,' fol., Amsterdam, 1672. He also edited R. Head's 'Threefold Cord to unite Soules for ever unto God,' 1647.

References

Notes

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Hughes, George 1603 births 1667 deaths Ejected English ministers of 1662