Laurence Anderton, alias Scroop (1577–1643), was a learned English Jesuit. Anderton was born in Lancashire in 1577, being the son of Thomas Anderton, of

Horwich Horwich ( ) is a town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England. Prior to 1974 in the historic county of Lancashire. It is southeast of Chorley, northwest of Bolton and northwest of Manchester. It l ...

, and brother of Christopher Anderton, of Lostock, near

Bolton Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish people, Flemish weavers settled in the area i ...

. Having learned his rudiments at the grammar school of Blackburn, he was sent from thence to

Christ's College, Cambridge Christ's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college includes the Master, the Fellows of the College, and about 450 undergraduate and 170 graduate students. The college was founded by William Byngham in 1437 as ...

, where he was admired for his brilliant genius and ready eloquence, upon which account he was commonly called ‘Golden-mouth Anderton.’ He took the degree of

B.A. 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 ...

in 1596–7, and it is said that he became a clergyman of the established

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. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

. Dodd, the historian, relates that Anderton, ‘being much addicted to reading books of controversy, could not get over some difficulties he met with concerning the origin and doctrines of the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

, which at last ended in his conversion to the

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 ...

.’

Anthony à Wood Anthony Wood (17 December 1632 – 28 November 1695), who styled himself Anthony à Wood in his later writings, was an English antiquary. He was responsible for a celebrated ''Hist. and Antiq. of the Universitie of Oxon''. Early life Anthony W ...

, in reference to this turning-point in Anderton's career, observes that ‘his mind hanging after the Roman Catholic religion, he left that college (at Cambridge) and his country, and, shipping himself beyond the seas, entered into Roman Catholic orders, and became one of the learnedest among the papists.’ Proceeding to Rome, he entered the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

in 1604, and became a very distinguished member of the English province. His missionary life, which extended over nearly forty years, in times of difficulty and danger, was chiefly passed in his native county, where he died on 17 April 1643. He was remarkable for his talent in preaching, and gave proof of his ability in controversy in his publications.

Works

God, One Faith'', under the initials of W. B., 8vo, 1625Progenie of Catholics and Protestants, whereby on the one side is proved the lineal descent of Catholics, for the Roman faith and religion, from the Holie Fathers of the Primitive Church, even from Christs verie time until these our dayes, and on the other the never being of Protestants during al the foresayd time'', Rouen, 1633, 4toTriple Cord; or, a Treatise proving the Truth of the Roman Religion, by Sacred Scriptures, taken in the literal sense, expounded by ancient Fathers, interpreted by Protestant writers. With a Discouery of sundry subtile Sleights vsed by Protestants, for euading the force of strongest Arguments, taken from cleerest Texts of the foresaid Scriptures'', St. Omer, 1634, 4to, a stout volume of 801 pages.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderton, Laurence 1577 births 1643 deaths 17th-century English Jesuits 17th-century Roman Catholics 17th-century English writers 17th-century English male writers Alumni of Christ's College, Cambridge 16th-century English Anglican priests English religious writers People from Bolton English Roman Catholic missionaries Anglican priest converts to Roman Catholicism Roman Catholic missionaries in England