John Stephen Morrill (born 12 June 1946) is a British historian and academic who specialises in the political, religious, social, and cultural history of early-modern Britain from 1500 to 1750, especially 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 ...
. He is best known for his scholarship on early modern politics and his unique county studies approach which he developed at
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
. Morrill was educated at
Trinity College, Oxford
(That which you wish to be secret, tell to nobody)
, named_for = The Holy Trinity
, established =
, sister_college = Churchill College, Cambridge
, president = Dame Hilary Boulding
, location = Broad Street, Oxford OX1 3BH
, coordinates ...
, and became a fellow of
Selwyn College, Cambridge
Selwyn College, Cambridge (formally Selwyn College in the University of Cambridge) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1882 by the Selwyn Memorial Committee in memory of George Augustus Selwyn (18 ...
, in 1975.
Early life and education
Morrill was born on 12 June 1946 to William Henry Morrill and Marjorie (née Ashton).
He was educated at
Altrincham County Grammar, an all-boys
grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...
in Cheshire.
In 1964, he
matriculated
Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination.
Australia
In Australia, the term "matriculation" is seldom used now. ...
into
Trinity College, Oxford
(That which you wish to be secret, tell to nobody)
, named_for = The Holy Trinity
, established =
, sister_college = Churchill College, Cambridge
, president = Dame Hilary Boulding
, location = Broad Street, Oxford OX1 3BH
, coordinates ...
, to study history.
He graduated with a
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
(BA) degree in 1967, and a
Doctor of Philosophy
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...
(DPhil) degree in 1971.
Academic career
Morrill began his academic career with a number of short term appointments. For the 1970/71 academic year, he was Keasbey Lecturer in history at
Trinity College, Oxford
(That which you wish to be secret, tell to nobody)
, named_for = The Holy Trinity
, established =
, sister_college = Churchill College, Cambridge
, president = Dame Hilary Boulding
, location = Broad Street, Oxford OX1 3BH
, coordinates ...
. He held a
junior research fellowship
The JRF or JRF Junior Research Fellow is a letter awarded by the University Grants Commission (UGC) to the candidates who qualify in the National Eligibility Test
UGC NET or NTA-UGC-NET, is the examination for determining the eligibility ...
at Trinity from 1971 to 1974. He was also a college
lecturer
Lecturer is an List of academic ranks, academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. T ...
in history at
St Catherine's College, Oxford
St Catherine's College (colloquially called St Catz or Catz) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford and is the newest college admitting both undergraduate and graduate students. Tracing its roots back to 1868 (although th ...
, for the 1973/74 academic year. Then, from 1974 to 1975, he was a lecturer in modern history at the
University of Stirling
The University of Stirling (, gd, Oilthigh Shruighlea (abbreviated as Stir or Shruiglea, in post-nominals) is a public university in Stirling, Scotland, founded by royal charter in 1967. It is located in the Central Belt of Scotland, built w ...
.
Although his Stirling post had been a permanent appointment, Morrill moved to the
University of Cambridge
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
in 1975, having been appointed an assistant lecturer (later lecturer) in its
Faculty of History.
He was promoted to
reader
A reader is a person who reads. It may also refer to:
Computing and technology
* Adobe Reader (now Adobe Acrobat), a PDF reader
* Bible Reader for Palm, a discontinued PDA application
* A card reader, for extracting data from various forms of ...
in early modern history in 1992, and professor of British and Irish history in 1998.
He was deputy director of the
(CRASSH) from 2001 to 2004.
He has also been a
fellow
A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context.
In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements.
Within the context of higher education ...
of
Selwyn College, Cambridge
Selwyn College, Cambridge (formally Selwyn College in the University of Cambridge) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1882 by the Selwyn Memorial Committee in memory of George Augustus Selwyn (18 ...
, since 1975 and active in the college's administration:
he was director of studies in history from 1975 to 1992, a tutor from 1979 to 1992, admissions tutor from 1982 to 1987, the senior tutor from 1987 to 1992, and served as
vice-master from 1992 to 2001.
Having retired in 2015 from full-time academia, he was appointed
professor emeritus
''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...
by the University of Cambridge and emeritus fellow of Selwyn College.
He was elected a
Fellow of the British Academy
Fellowship of the British Academy (FBA) is an award granted by the British Academy to leading academics for their distinction in the humanities and social sciences. The categories are:
# Fellows – scholars resident in the United Kingdom
# C ...
(FBA) in 1995,
and served as Vice-President in 2001–09.
He is also an honorary
Member of the Royal Irish Academy
The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ga, Acadamh Ríoga na hÉireann), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier learned society and one its leading cultural ...
(HonMRIA) and the
Academy of Finland The Academy of Finland ( fi, Suomen Akatemia, sv, Finlands Akademi) is a governmental funding body for scientific research in Finland. It is based in Helsinki. Yearly, the Academy administers over 260 million euros to Finnish research activities. O ...
. He holds honorary degrees from several universities, and is an Honorary Fellow of
Trinity College, Oxford
(That which you wish to be secret, tell to nobody)
, named_for = The Holy Trinity
, established =
, sister_college = Churchill College, Cambridge
, president = Dame Hilary Boulding
, location = Broad Street, Oxford OX1 3BH
, coordinates ...
, and
Trinity College, Dublin
, name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin
, motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin)
, motto_lang = la
, motto_English = It will last i ...
. He was Chair of the Research Committee of the AHRB (2002–05), and also served as a Vice-President of
Royal Historical Society
The Royal Historical Society, founded in 1868, is a learned society of the United Kingdom which advances scholarly studies of history.
Origins
The society was founded and received its royal charter in 1868. Until 1872 it was known as the Histori ...
.
Morrill was President for 10 years of the
Cromwell Association, "a body that seeks to promote public knowledge about and interest in
Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...
and his age".
According to the online Bibliography of British and Irish History, he has published (up to July 2016) 116 books, essays and articles but some of his major contributions have been in developing online datasets – as General Editor of the Royal Historical Society Bibliography of British and Irish History and of the British Overseas (1992–99) — now the online Bibliography of British and Irish History, as Chair of the Management Committee of the project that put 8,000 survivor statements from the
1641 'massacres' in Ireland and as General Editor of an imminent (5 volume and online) edition of all the recorded words of Oliver Cromwell.
On 6 July 2009, Morrill delivered his lecture 'The British Revolution in the English Provinces, 1640-9' as part of
The Marc Fitch Lectures The Marc Fitch Lectures are a series of lectures first started in 1956 by Marc Fitch, historian and philanthropist.
History
The lectures were started by Marc Fitch in 1956, and are funded by the Marc Fitch Fund, an educational charity also set up i ...
.
Personal life
In 1996, Morrill was ordained as a
permanent deacon
A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...
in the
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
.
He has held several senior positions in the
Diocese of East Anglia
The Roman Catholic Diocese of East Anglia is a diocese of the Latin Church of the Roman Catholic Church covering the counties of Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, and Peterborough in eastern England. The diocese makes up part of the Catholic As ...
(e.g. Lourdes Pilgrimage Diocean Director, Chair of the Commission for Evangelisation and Assistant Director for Diaconal Formation), and teaches Church History and Pastoral Theology one weekend a month at
St John's Seminary, Wonersh
St John's Seminary was a Roman Catholic seminary located at Wonersh near Guildford in Surrey, in the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton, United Kingdom. St John's was the principal seminary for the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton and the Archdioc ...
.
Works
* ''Revolt of the Provinces: Conservatives and Radicals in the English Civil War, 1630–1650'' (
Allen & Unwin
George Allen & Unwin was a British publishing company formed in 1911 when Sir Stanley Unwin purchased a controlling interest in George Allen & Co. It went on to become one of the leading publishers of the twentieth century and to establish an ...
, 1976);
(review)*''The Civil War and Interregnum: Sources for Local Historians'' (with G.E. Aylmer) (Bedford Square Press, 1979
* ''Seventeenth Century Britain, 1603–1714'' (Dawson, 1980
* ''Reactions to the English Civil War, 1642–1649'' (
Palgrave Macmillan
Palgrave Macmillan is a British academic and trade publishing company headquartered in the London Borough of Camden. Its programme includes textbooks, journals, monographs, professional and reference works in print and online. It maintains off ...
, 1982);
(read online)* ''Charles I'' (with Christopher W. Daniels) (
Cambridge University Press
Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press
A university press is an academic publishing hou ...
, 1988);
(read online)* ''Oliver Cromwell and the English Revolution'' (
Longman
Longman, also known as Pearson Longman, is a publishing company founded in London, England, in 1724 and is owned by Pearson PLC.
Since 1968, Longman has been used primarily as an imprint by Pearson's Schools business. The Longman brand is also ...
, 1990);
(read online)* ''The Impact of the English Civil War'' (
Collins & Brown
HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News Corp ...
, 1991);
(read online)* ''The Nature of the English Revolution'' (
Longman
Longman, also known as Pearson Longman, is a publishing company founded in London, England, in 1724 and is owned by Pearson PLC.
Since 1968, Longman has been used primarily as an imprint by Pearson's Schools business. The Longman brand is also ...
, 1993);
(review)* ''The British Problem, ca. 1534–1707: State Formation in the Atlantic Archipelago'' (with
Brendan Bradshaw
The Royal New Zealand Ballet is a ballet company based in Wellington, New Zealand. It was originally known as The New Zealand Ballet Company.
History
New Zealand Ballet was established in 1953 as an independent charitable trust by Royal Danish ...
(
Palgrave Macmillan
Palgrave Macmillan is a British academic and trade publishing company headquartered in the London Borough of Camden. Its programme includes textbooks, journals, monographs, professional and reference works in print and online. It maintains off ...
, 1996);
* ''The Oxford Illustrated History of Tudor and Stuart Britain'' (Clarendon Press, 1996);
(review by Anthony Fletcher)* ''The Civil Wars: A Military History of England, Scotland, and Ireland 1638–1660'' (ed. John Morrill,
John Kenyon, and Jane Ohlmeyer) (Oxford University Press. 1988
(read online)* ''Revolt in the Provinces: The English People and the Tragedies of War, 1634–1648'' (
Longman
Longman, also known as Pearson Longman, is a publishing company founded in London, England, in 1724 and is owned by Pearson PLC.
Since 1968, Longman has been used primarily as an imprint by Pearson's Schools business. The Longman brand is also ...
, 1999
(read online)* ''Stuart Britain: A Very Short Introduction'' (
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...
Paperbacks, 2000);
(read online)* ''Uneasy Lies the Head That Wears a Crown: Dynastic Crises in Tudor and Stewart Britain, 1504–1746'' (
University of Reading
The University of Reading is a public university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as University College, Reading, a University of Oxford extension college. The institution received the power to grant its own degrees in 192 ...
, 2005
read online* ''Oliver Cromwell'' (
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...
, VIP series, 2007
read online* ''Firmly I Believe and Truly: The Spiritual Tradition of Catholic England, 1483–1999'' (with
John Saward
John Saward (born in 1947) is a Roman Catholic priest. He is Senior Research Fellow at Blackfriars in the University of Oxford in England. He previously held the posts of lecturer in dogmatic theology at St Cuthbert's College, Ushaw (1980–1992), ...
and Michael Tomko) (
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...
, 2011
read online* ''The Nature of the English Revolution Revisited: Essays in Honour of John Morrill'' (eds. Stephen Taylor and Grant Tapsell) (Boydell, 2013)
References
External links
Lecture on "Why the King James Bible was Necessary"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morrill, John (historian)
1946 births
Living people
Place of birth missing (living people)
British historians
British Roman Catholics
English Roman Catholic deacons
Fellows of Selwyn College, Cambridge
Fellows of the British Academy
People educated at Altrincham Grammar School for Boys