John Rowe (1626–1677) was an English clergyman, minister to an important Congregationalist church in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

Life

He was born in Crediton, Devon. He was educated at Emmanuel College, Cambridge and Oxford, where he attended

New Inn Hall New Inn Hall was one of the earliest medieval halls of the University of Oxford. It was located in New Inn Hall Street, Oxford. History Trilleck's Inn The original building on the site was Trilleck's Inn, a medieval hall or hostel for stu ...

. His 1653 book ''Tragi-comoedia'' took an incident in his parish of

Witney Witney is a market town on the River Windrush in West Oxfordshire in the county of Oxfordshire, England. It is west of Oxford. The place-name "Witney" is derived from the Old English for "Witta's island". The earliest known record of it is as ...

as a judgement on those attending dramatic productions. The floor of an upper room of The White Hart Inn collapsed during a performance by travelling players of ''

Mucedorus ''A Most pleasant Comedie of Mucedorus the Kings Sonne of Valentia, and Amadine the Kinges daughter of Aragon'', commonly called ''Mucedorus'', is an Elizabethan romantic comedy, first performed around 1590 and regularly revived until the Rest ...

''. In 1654 he was appointed lecturer to

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the Unite ...

. In October 1656 he preached to Parliament, then giving thanks for a naval victory in the Caribbean. In 1659 at the State Funeral of John Bradshaw, the President of the Court that had condemned Charles I, he gave the eulogy. However, he was displaced from his position by the Restoration of 1660, and in 1662 refused to conform, losing his status and being ejected as Anglican minister. After some moves, he established a church in

Holborn Holborn ( or ) is a district in central London, which covers the south-eastern part of the London Borough of Camden and a part ( St Andrew Holborn Below the Bars) of the Ward of Farringdon Without in the City of London. The area has its root ...

, London, where he was assisted by

Theophilus Gale Theophilus Gale (1628–1678) was an English educationalist, nonconformist and theologian of dissent. Early life Gale was born at Kingsteignton, Devon, the son of Bridget Gale (née Walrond) and Theophilus Gale D. D. (died 1639), vicar of Kingste ...

Thomas Rowe Thomas Rowe (20 July 1829 – 14 January 1899) was a British-born architect, builder and goldminer who became one of Australia's leading architects of the Victorian era. He was also a politician, who was the first Mayor of Manly. Early life ...

(1657–1705) was his son. He took over the church after Gale’s death, and moved it to Girdlers’ Hall, which opened in 1681 in Basinghall Street. It had

Isaac Watts Isaac Watts (17 July 1674 – 25 November 1748) was an English Congregational minister, hymn writer, theologian, and logician. He was a prolific and popular hymn writer and is credited with some 750 hymns. His works include "When I Survey the ...

in its congregation.

Henry Grove Henry Grove (4 January 1684 – 27 February 1738) was an English nonconformist minister, theologian, and dissenting tutor. Life He was born at Taunton, Somerset, on 4 January 1684. His grandfather was the ejected vicar of Pinhoe, Devon, whose so ...

, friend of Watts, was Rowe’s nephew.Alan P. F. Sell, Testimony and Tradition: Studies in Reformed and Dissenting Thought (2005), p. 91.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rowe, John 1626 births 1677 deaths Ejected English ministers of 1662 People from Crediton Alumni of Emmanuel College, Cambridge Alumni of New Inn Hall, Oxford Burials at Bunhill Fields