Laurence Chaderton (''c''. September 1536 – 13 November 1640) was an English Puritan divine, the first Master of

Emmanuel College, Cambridge Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay, Chancellor of the Exchequer to Elizabeth I. The site on which the college sits was once a priory for Dominican mon ...

and one of the translators of the

King James Version of the Bible The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and published in 1611, by sponsorship of K ...

Life

Chaderton was born in Lees, or else Chadderton,. both near Oldham, Lancashire, England, probably during September 1536, a son of Thomas Chaderton, a Catholic. His birth preceded the institution of parish baptism registers in England in 1538. Under the tuition of

Laurence Vaux Laurence Vaux (Vose) (1519–1585) was an English canon regular. He died while imprisoned for being a Roman Catholic priest. Life Vaux was born in Blackrod, Lancashire. Educated at Manchester and the University of Oxford, he was ordained ...

, a Roman Catholic priest, he became an able scholar. In 1564 he entered

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, after a short time, he formally adopted the Reformed doctrines and was in consequence disinherited by his father. In 1567 he was elected a fellow of his college, and subsequently was chosen lecturer of

St Clement's Church, Cambridge St Clement's is a Church of England parish church in central Cambridge. The church is a Grade II* listed building. Location The church is located in Bridge Street, Cambridge, part of the central Cambridge conservation area. The churchyard provi ...

, where he preached to admiring audiences for many years. He married Cecily Culverwell, which entailed giving up his fellowship.Francis J. Bremer, Tom Webster, ''Puritans and Puritanism in Europe and America: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia'' (2006), p. 51. He was a man of moderate, puritan views, though numbering among his friends some of the greatest Puritan preachers and divines like Thomas Cartwright,

Richard Greenham Richard Greenham (also Grenham) (1535?–1594?) was an English clergyman of Puritan views, well known for his strong Puritan doctrine of the Sabbath. His many sermons and theological treatises had a significant influence on the Puritan movemen ...

Richard Rogers Richard George Rogers, Baron Rogers of Riverside (23 July 1933 – 18 December 2021) was a British architect noted for his modernist and Functionalism (architecture), functionalist designs in high-tech architecture. He was a senior partner a ...

, and William Perkins. So great was his reputation that when Sir Walter Mildmay,

Chancellor of the Exchequer The chancellor of the Exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and head of His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, the Chancellor is ...

to Elizabeth I, founded

in 1584, he chose Chaderton for the first master, and on his expressing some reluctance, declared that if he would not accept the office the foundation should not go on. In 1604 Chaderton was appointed one of the four divines for managing the cause of the Puritans at the

Hampton Court Conference The Hampton Court Conference was a meeting in January 1604, convened at Hampton Court Palace, for discussion between King James I of England and representatives of the Church of England, including leading English Puritans. The conference resulte ...

. He was also among the translators of the King James Version of the Bible. In 1578 he had taken the degree of B.D., and in 1613 he was created D.D. At this period he made provision for twelve fellows and above forty scholars in Emmanuel College. Fearing that he might have a successor who held

Arminian Arminianism is a branch of Protestantism based on the theological ideas of the Dutch Reformed theologian Jacobus Arminius (1560–1609) and his historic supporters known as Remonstrants. Dutch Arminianism was originally articulated in the ''Re ...

doctrines, he resigned the mastership in favour of

John Preston John Preston may refer to: Politicians * John Preston (died 1434), Member of Parliament (MP) for Sussex * John Preston (c. 1578 – c. 1642), MP for Lancaster * John Preston (alderman) (1611–1686), mayor of Dublin in 1654 * John Preston (died ...

in 1622, but survived him, and lived also to see the college presided over successively by William Sancroft and Richard Holdsworth. He died at the age of about 104, preserving his bodily and mental faculties to the end.

Works

Chaderton published a sermon preached at St Paul's Cross about 1580, and a treatise of his ''On Justification'' was printed by Anthony Thysius, professor of divinity at Leiden. Some other works by him on theological subjects remain in manuscript (as of 1911).

References

Bibliography

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chaderton, Laurence 1530s births 1640 deaths English centenarians Masters of Emmanuel College, Cambridge Men centenarians People from Lees, Greater Manchester People from Chadderton 16th-century English Puritan ministers Translators of the King James Version 17th-century English clergy 16th-century Anglican theologians 17th-century Anglican theologians