Joseph Brookbank, Brooksbank, or Brookesbank (born 1612) was an English cleric and
schoolmaster.
Life
Brookbank was the son of
George Brookbank of
Halifax; at Michaelmas term 1632, when he entered
Brasenose College, Oxford
Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The library and chapel were added in the mi ...
as a batler (poor scholar), he was aged twenty. He graduated B.A. and took orders.
In the
Bodleian is the printed
petition to the king, in September 1647, from John Brookbank and thirty-three other ministers, expelled from
Ireland by the rebels. This John is probably identical with the subject of this article, who is called John on the title-pages of his ''Vitis Salutaris'' (1650) and ''Compleat School-Master'' (1660).
In 1650 Brookbank described himself as "at present preacher of the word" at
West Wycombe (he spells it Wickham).
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...
. It is probable that he was settled at Wycombe at the date (1648) of his sermon on the ''Saints' Imperfection'', and possible that he replaced Peel there, silenced either at
High
High may refer to:
Science and technology
* Height
* High (atmospheric), a high-pressure area
* High (computability), a quality of a Turing degree, in computability theory
* High (tectonics), in geology an area where relative tectonic uplift ...
or West Wycombe on 16 January 1640. Brookbank in 1651 was "presbyter and schoolmaster in Vine Court, in
High Holborn" where his books were to be bought. At this date he speaks of
Sir Edward Richards, knt., and his wife as patrons. In 1654 he was "minister and schoolmaster in Jerusalem Court, in
Fleet Street
Fleet Street is a major street mostly in the City of London. It runs west to east from Temple Bar at the boundary with the City of Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the London Wall and the River Fleet from which the street was na ...
".
By 1657 he had lost both employments, and on 4 July 1660 (while living in George Alley, Shoe Lane) he expressed his gratitude to
Sir Jeremiah Whitchcot. It is possible that he was the I. B. who, early in 1665, published ''A Tast of Catechetical-Preaching-Exercise for the instruction of families''. The writer speaks of himself as aged, and proposes a plan of religious services for the young. His name appears as Brookbank in his earliest publication; afterwards as Brooksbank, Brooksbanke, Brookesbanke, and on one of his title-pages as Broksbank. He
Latinises it into ''Riparius''. His
Christian name
A Christian name, sometimes referred to as a baptismal name, is a religious personal name given on the occasion of a Christian baptism, though now most often assigned by parents at birth. In English-speaking cultures, a person's Christian name ...
is sometimes printed Jo., and this is expanded into John by mistake. The explanation which he gives of his distance from the press may account for some of the variations in his title-pages. His
catechism
A catechism (; from grc, κατηχέω, "to teach orally") is a summary or exposition of doctrine and serves as a learning introduction to the Sacraments traditionally used in catechesis, or Christian religious teaching of children and adult c ...
gives the impression that he was an evangelical churchman: his educational works are careful.
Works
Brookbank published:
*''Joh. Amos Comenii Vestibulum Novissimum Linguæ Latinæ, &c. Joh. Amos Comenius His Last Porch of the Latin Tongue, &c.'', 1647. The Latin of Comenius is given on alternate pages with an English version from the Dutch of Henry Schoof compared with the original.
*''The Saints' Imperfection. &c.'', 1646 (but corrected by Thompson to 19 December 1648). A sermon on Heb. v. 12; the title-page is otherwise faulty; it was reissued with new title-page in 1656.
*''Vitis Salutaris: Or, the Vine of Catechetical Divinitie, and Saying Truth'', 1650. A catechism dedicated to parishioners of West Wycombe; a reissue in 1658 had a new title-page, and omitted the dedication.
*''An English Monosyllabary'', 1651. Dedicated to Susan, wife of
Edward Trussell, and her sister Philadelphia, daughters of Sir Edward Richards; containing in rhythmical form "all the words of one syllabl, in our English tongue drawne out into a legibl sens"; at the end are a few prayers in
monosyllables.
*''Plain. Brief, and Pertinent Rules for the Judicious and Artificial Syllabification of all English Words'', 1654. With an account of the author's plan for the management of a school.
References
;Attribution
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brookbank, Joseph
1612 births
Year of death unknown
People from Elland
Schoolteachers from London
English sermon writers
English male non-fiction writers