Margaret Baxter or Margaret Charlton (1636 – 14 June 1681) was a noble born English religious nonconformist during 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 ...

. She became a follower and later wife and patron of the preacher Richard Baxter.

Life

Baxter was born in

Apley Castle Apley Castle was a medieval fortified manor in the village of Hadley, Shropshire, England. History Apley Castle was a moated, fortified manor house in Hadley near Wellington. By the early 14th century the manor was owned by the Charlton family, ...

and baptised on 18 September 1636. Her parents were Mary and Francis Charlton. The castle was their family seat. Her father died in 1642 and her mother quickly married Thomas Hamner in order that her children would have a protector. With the outbreak of the

that year between the supporters of King Charles and

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

, Hanmer, a royalist, fortified the mansion, which formed a valuable strategic stronghold close to Shrewsbury. Margaret was there when her home, the castle, was sacked by Parliamentary forces during the war. Her step-father, Thomas Hamner, was taken prisoner and the children were taken under the care of Robert Charlton who was Francis's brother. Margaret's mother, Mary Hamner, managed to recover both her children and the castle in order that her son Francis Charlton could become its heir in 1656 or 1657 when he married. At that time her mother and the rest of the family moved to Kiddiminster. Her mother had chosen Kiddiminster because that was where the non-conformist

Richard Baxter Richard Baxter (12 November 1615 – 8 December 1691) was an English Puritan church leader, poet, hymnodist, theologian, and controversialist. Dean Stanley called him "the chief of English Protestant Schoolmen". After some false starts, he ...

was preaching. Her mother's enthusiasm for Baxter was not encouraged by her brother, Francis. Margaret moved from Oxford in 1658 to live with her mother. She was already confused about her beliefs and in Kiddiminster she became physically ill as well. While she was ill she created a scrapbook containing extracts of Baxter's letters that he sent her. On 10 April 1660 a thanksgiving was organised to celebrate her recovery. Within days Baxter had left for London and Margaret and her mother quickly followed. They organised to live close to each other and the rumours of a relationship and her mother's death were in 1661. The following year Margaret and Richard Baxter married in September at

St Benet Fink St Benet Fink was a church and parish in the City of London located on what is now Threadneedle Street. Recorded since the 13th century, the church was destroyed in the Great Fire of London of 1666, then rebuilt to the designs of Sir Christop ...

church in what is now

Threadneedle Street Threadneedle Street is a street in the City of London, England, between Bishopsgate at its northeast end and Bank junction in the southwest. It is one of nine streets that converge at Bank. It lies in the ward of Cornhill. History The stree ...

. Over the next few years Baxter would preach at different locations and Margaret's wealth made this possible. Baxter recorded his regard for his wife's steadfastness and his biographer suspects that she may have had a hand in his book ''A Christian Directory''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baxter, Margaret 1636 births 1681 deaths People from Shropshire