Hilkiah Bedford (1663–1724) was an English clergyman, a nonjuror and writer, imprisoned as the author of a book really by George Harbin.

Life

He was born in Hosier Lane, near

West Smithfield Smithfield, properly known as West Smithfield, is a district located in Central London, part of Farringdon Without, the most westerly ward of the City of London, England. Smithfield is home to a number of City institutions, such as St Bartho ...

, London, where his father was a mathematical instrument maker. The family originally came from

Sibsey Sibsey is a village, civil parish and Wards and electoral divisions of the United Kingdom, electoral ward in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated at the junction of the A16 road (England), A16 and B1184 roads, nor ...

, near

Boston, Lincolnshire Boston is a market town and inland port in the borough of the same name in the county of Lincolnshire, England. Boston is north of London, north-east of Peterborough, east of Nottingham, south-east of Lincoln, south-southeast of Hull ...

, from where Hilkiah's grandfather, a quaker, moved to London and settled there as a stationer in the seventeenth century. He was educated at Bradley, Suffolk, and in 1679 proceeded to

St. John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corporation established by a charter dated 9 April 1511. The ...

, where he was elected as the first scholar on the foundation of his maternal grandfather, William Plat. He was elected fellow of St. John's, and having received holy orders was instituted to the rectory of Wittering. At the

Glorious Revolution The Glorious Revolution; gd, Rèabhlaid Ghlòrmhor; cy, Chwyldro Gogoneddus , also known as the ''Glorieuze Overtocht'' or ''Glorious Crossing'' in the Netherlands, is the sequence of events leading to the deposition of King James II and ...

he refused to take the oaths to the new monarchs, and was ejected from his living. He then kept a successful boarding house at

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

for the scholars of

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

. He became chaplain to Dr.

Thomas Ken Thomas Ken (July 1637 – 19 March 1711) was an English cleric who was considered the most eminent of the English non-juring bishops, and one of the fathers of modern English hymnody. Early life Ken was born in 1637 at Little Berkhampstead, ...

, the deprived

bishop of Bath and Wells The Bishop of Bath and Wells heads the Church of England Diocese of Bath and Wells in the Province of Canterbury in England. The present diocese covers the overwhelmingly greater part of the (ceremonial) county of Somerset and a small area of Do ...

, and began to write. He made a translation of ''An Answer to Fontenelle's History of Oracles'', edited Peter Barwick's ''Vita Joannis Barwick'', and translated it with notes. He published in 1710 a ''Vindication of the Church of England'', and also an ''Essay on the Thirty-nine Articles.'' The book which made Hilkiah Bedford famous was one which he did not write. In 1713 a folio volume was published anonymously, entitled ''The Hereditary Right of the Crown of England asserted'', in an answer to William Higden, who had been a nonjuror, but recanted, and defended his recantation in a work entitled ''A View of the English Constitution.'' Bedford was suspected of having written the ''Hereditary Right'', and was found guilty of writing, printing, and publishing it. He was fined 1,000

marks Marks may refer to: Business * Mark's, a Canadian retail chain * Marks & Spencer, a British retail chain * Collective trade marks, trademarks owned by an organisation for the benefit of its members * Marks & Co, the inspiration for the novel '' ...

and imprisoned for three years, and after the expiration of the period was to find sureties for his good behaviour during life. He was also condemned to appear before the court with a paper on his hat confessing the crime; but this part of the sentence was remitted in consideration of his being a clergyman. The real author was George Harbin, also a nonjuror; it is said that Hilkiah Bedford knew this, but preferred to suffer unjustly rather than betray Harbin.

Thomas Thynne, 1st Viscount Weymouth Thomas Thynne, 1st Viscount Weymouth (1640 – 28 July 1714) was a British peer in the peerage of England. Biography He was born the son of Sir Henry Frederick Thynne of Caus Castle, Shropshire, and Kempsford, Gloucestershire, and his wife, ...

sent Harbin to Bedford with £100, not knowing that Harbin (his chaplain) was responsible for the book. Hilkiah Bedford became a bishop among the nonjurors; he left a son Thomas Bedford.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bedford, Hilkiah 1663 births 1724 deaths British nonjuror bishops Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Fellows of St John's College, Cambridge 17th-century English clergy