Richard Eedes (died 1686) was an English presbyterian minister and author.
Life
Eedes was born at
Feckenham,
Worcestershire. He went to
Corpus Christi College, Oxford, in 1626, graduated B.A. in February 1629, and took the curacy of
Bishop's Cleeve,
Gloucestershire, at
Michaelmas 1632. He proceeded M.A. 17 March 1634. He continued at Bishop's Cleeve as a conforming cleric, until the outbreak of the
English Civil War, when he subscribed to the
Solemn League and Covenant
The Solemn League and Covenant was an agreement between the Scottish Covenanters and the leaders of the English Parliamentarians in 1643 during the First English Civil War, a theatre of conflict in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. On 17 August 1 ...
. About 1647 he became vicar of Beckford, near Bishop's Cleeve, where he remained until 1658.
By the persuasion of a parliamentary officer who had a farm in Bishop's Cleeve, he returned to his old curacy there in the hope of succeeding to the rectory. From his published sermons it is evident that he had tired of presbyterianism and longed for the king's return. Immediately after the
Restoration
Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to:
* Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage
** Audio restoration
** Film restoration
** Image restoration
** Textile restoration
* Restoration ecology
...
he delivered an ultra-loyal harangue on the text, "As whatsoever the king did pleased all the people"
[2 Sam. iii. 36] before the mayor and aldermen of Gloucester, but all his attempts to conciliate the court party proved unavailing. He remained at Bishop's Cleeve as minister until the
Act of Uniformity 1662
The Act of Uniformity 1662 (14 Car 2 c 4) is an Act of the Parliament of England. (It was formerly cited as 13 & 14 Ch.2 c. 4, by reference to the regnal year when it was passed on 19 May 1662.) It prescribed the form of public prayers, adm ...
. He refused then to conform, and silenced himself; but he continued to attend services of the church.
Some years before his death he moved to
Gretton, in the parish of
Winchcomb
Winchcombe () is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Tewkesbury in the county of Gloucestershire, England, it is 6 miles north-east of Cheltenham. The population was recorded as 4,538 in the 2011 census and estimated at 5,347 in ...
, Gloucestershire, where he died in the beginning of April 1686, and was buried on the 6th in the middle of the north side of Bishop's Cleeve Church in the presence of a large crowd.
Works
Eedes was the author of:
*''Great Salvation by Jesus Christ'', a sermon (on ''Hebrews ii. 3''), London, 1656
*''Christ exalted and Wisdom justified; or, the Saints' Esteem of Jesus Christ, as most precious, handled; and their wise Choice and Subjection to Him as their Lord and Saviour vindicated'' (London, 1659), recommended by
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 ...
*''Great Britain's Resurrection; or, England's Complacencie in her Royal Soveraign King Charles the Second. A sermon
n ''2 Sam. iii. 36''preached in the Lecture at Gloucester, 5 June 1660,'' London, 1660
*Sermon (on 1 Peter ii. 7).
References
*
;Attribution
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eedes, Richard
Year of birth unknown
1686 deaths
English Presbyterian ministers of the Interregnum (England)
English subscribers to the Solemn League and Covenant 1643
Ejected English ministers of 1662
People from Redditch (district)
17th-century English writers
17th-century English male writers
People from Bishop's Cleeve
People from Winchcombe