William Jenkyn (1613–1685) was an English clergyman, imprisoned during the

Interregnum An interregnum (plural interregna or interregnums) is a period of discontinuity or "gap" in a government, organization, or social order. Archetypally, it was the period of time between the reign of one monarch and the next (coming from Latin '' ...

for his part in the 'Presbyterian plot' of

Christopher Love Christopher Love (1618, Cardiff, Wales – 22 August 1651, London) was a Welsh Presbyterian preacher and activist during the English Civil War. In 1651, he was executed by the English government for plotting with the exiled Stuart court. The ...

, ejected minister in 1662, and imprisoned at the end of his life for nonconformity.

Life

Jenkyn was the eldest son of William Jenkyn (d. 1618), vicar of All Saints', Sudbury,

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

, born at Sudbury and baptised at All Saints' Church in December 1613. His father, son of a gentleman of landed property at

Folkestone Folkestone ( ) is a port town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour and shipping port for most of the 19th and 20t ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, had been disinherited for his

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Catholic Church, Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become m ...

ism. His mother was daughter of Richard Rogers of Wethersfield, Essex. On his father's death his grandfather sent for him to Folkestone; when he was nine years old his mother, who had remarried, claimed him, gave him a good education, and sent him to

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corpo ...

, where he matriculated on 3 July 1628. He graduated B.A. 1632, migrated to Emmanuel College in 1634, and graduated M.A. 1635. Some time afterwards he began to preach. Having held a lectureship at

St. Nicholas Acons St Nicholas Acons was a parish church in the City of London. In existence by the late 11th century, it was destroyed during the Great Fire of London of 1666 and not rebuilt. History The church was situated on the west side of Nicholas Lane in ...

, London, he was presented by the crown (27 Jan. 1641) to the rectory of St. Leonard's (or the Hythe),

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colches ...

. Fear of the ague brought him back to London about 1642. On 1 February 1643 he was admitted to the vicarage of Christ Church, Newgate, which had been vacated by the death of Edward Finch A few months later he obtained in addition a lectureship at St. Anne's, Blackfriars, of which

William Gouge William Gouge (1575–1653) was an English Puritan clergyman and author. He was a minister and preacher at St Ann Blackfriars for 45 years, from 1608, and a member of the Westminster Assembly from 1643. Life He was born in Stratford-le-Bow, Mi ...

, was rector. His controversy (1647-8) with John Goodwin exhibits him as a strong advocate of the presbyterian discipline. Jenkyn was one of the Presbyterian

remonstrants The Remonstrants (or the Remonstrant Brotherhood) is a Protestant movement that had split from the Dutch Reformed Church in the early 17th century. The early Remonstrants supported Jacobus Arminius, and after his death, continued to maintain his ...

against the

trial of Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

, and would not observe the parliamentary thanksgiving for the destruction of the monarchy. His living was sequestrated (June 1650), and he was suspended from the ministry; his preferments were given to

Christopher Feake Christopher Feake (1612–1683) was an English Independent minister and Fifth-monarchy man. He was imprisoned for maligning Oliver Cromwell in his preaching. He is a leading example of someone sharing both Leveller views and the millenarian appro ...

. He retired for six months to

Billericay Billericay ( ) is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Basildon, Essex, England. It lies within the London Basin and constitutes a commuter town east of Central London. The town has three secondary schools and a variety of open spaces. It is ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

. Returning to London he joined in the abortive plot of Christopher Love for the restoration of Charles II.

Thomas Cawton Thomas Cawton the elder (1605–1659) was an English clergyman of presbyterian and royalist views. After the discovery of the plot of Christopher Love, he went into exile in the Netherlands. Life He was born at Rainham, Norfolk in 1605. He was s ...

, who had married his sister Elizabeth, was another of the plotters. Jenkyn was committed to the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...

, and escaped execution only by help of a very submissive petition to the government. John Arthur, D.D., rector of Clapham, Surrey, drew it up for him, and parliament ordered it to be printed (15 October 1651; on 21 July 1688 it was burned by order of the convocation of Oxford University). Jenkyn was released from prison, and his sequestration removed, He allowed Feake to retain the vicarage of Christ Church, but conducted a Sunday-morning lectureship there (at seven o'clock), and another at St. Anne's, Blackfriars. On Gouge's death he succeeded him (1654) as rector of St. Anne's, but resigned this preferment on being again presented, some time (probably 1655) after Feake's deprival, to the vicarage of Christ Church. His popularity was now at its height: he preached before parliament (24 September 1656), and ceased to meddle with dangerous topics.

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 ...

calls him a 'sententious, elegant preacher.' He welcomed 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 ...

, but was ejected by the

Uniformity Act of 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 ...

. Jenkyn preached two farewell sermons at Christ Church on 17 August 1662. He resolved to continue his ministry, and held

conventicles A conventicle originally signified no more than an assembly, and was frequently used by ancient writers for a church. At a semantic level ''conventicle'' is only a good Latinized synonym of the Greek word church, and points to Jesus' promise in M ...

in 1663. On the passing of the Conventicle Act (1664) he retired to a house of his own at

King's Langley Kings Langley is a village, former manor and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England, north-west of Westminster in the historic centre of London and to the south of the Chiltern Hills. It now forms part of the London commuter belt. The villa ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

, and continued to preach there every Sunday. The indulgence of 1672 brought him back to London; his license (2 April) for 'a howse or chamber in Home Alley, in Aldersgate Street,' was the first registered under the indulgence. In the same year he was chosen one of the first conductors of the 'merchants' lecture,' established jointly by Presbyterians and Independents at Pinners' Hall. His congregation built a meeting-house for him in Jewin Street; he always prayed for the king and government, and his service were connived at from the withdrawal of the indulgence in 1673 until 1682. Edmund Calamy was present when his meeting was disturbed in the latter year by a band of soldiers. After this he still preached privately, but was at length arrested (2 September 1684) while attending a prayer-meeting with three other ministers. His friends escaped; Jenkyn owed his arrest to his politeness in stopping for a lady whose train blocked the stair. Refusing the Oxford oath (binding him to endeavour to make no change in church or state), he was committed to

Newgate Prison Newgate Prison was a prison at the corner of Newgate Street and Old Bailey Street just inside the City of London, England, originally at the site of Newgate, a gate in the Roman London Wall. Built in the 12th century and demolished in 1904, t ...

without option of a fine. His health soon failed; an ineffectual petition for his release was backed by medical certificate confirming that his life was in danger. He was forbidden to pray with any visitors, even his own daughter. He died in Newgate on 19 January 1685, and was buried in

Bunhill Fields Bunhill Fields is a former burial ground in central London, in the London Borough of Islington, just north of the City of London. What remains is about in extent and the bulk of the site is a public garden maintained by the City of London Cor ...

burial ground.

Personal life

He was twice married, one of his wives being a daughter of Daniel Rogers; his only son, William, was executed at

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...

, on 30 September 1685, aged about 22, for complicity in

Monmouth's rebellion The Monmouth Rebellion, also known as the Pitchfork Rebellion, the Revolt of the West or the West Country rebellion, was an attempt to depose James II, who in February 1685 succeeded his brother Charles II as king of England, Scotland and Ir ...

Works

Jenkyn published a number of separate sermons, 1643–75, including a Latin ''concio ad theologos Londinensos'' (1659), funeral sermons for

(1654), and

Lazarus Seaman Lazarus Seaman (died 1675), was an English clergyman, supporter in the Westminster Assembly of the Presbyterian party, intruded Master of Peterhouse, Cambridge, and nonconformist minister. Life He was a native of Leicester, where he was born of ...

(1675). Also: *''The Busie Bishop, or the Visitor Visited'', &c., 1648, and ''The Blind Guide, or Doling Doctor'', &.. 1648, (these two against John Goodwin). *''Certain Conscientious Queries'', &c., 1651, (a defence of his petition after Love's plot). *''An Exposition of the Epistle of Jude'', &c, 1652-4, 2 vols.; reprinted 1658, fol. 1 vol.; also Glasgow, 1783, and London, 1840, 8vo, edited by James Sherman ( Robert Grove, afterwards

bishop of Chichester The Bishop of Chichester is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chichester in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers the counties of East and West Sussex. The see is based in the City of Chichester where the bishop's seat ...

, accused him of plagiarising from

Thomas Adams Thomas Adams may refer to: Politicians * Thomas Adams (MP), Member of Parliament for Bedford *Sir Thomas Adams, 1st Baronet (1586–1667/68), Lord Mayor of London * Thomas Adams (politician) (1730–1788), Virginia delegate to the Continental Cong ...

. *''Celeuma; seu Clamor ad Coelum adversus Theologos Hierarchiae Anglicanae'', &c., 1679, (a vindication of the strong language used in his funeral sermon for Seaman). *''Refutatio eujusdem Scripti . . . Rob. Grovii'', &c., 1681, fol. (defence of the foregoing from the ''Responsio'', 1680, of Grove). Verses by him are prefixed to the ''Marrow of Ecclesiastical History'', 1654, by

Samuel Clarke Samuel Clarke (11 October 1675 – 17 May 1729) was an English philosopher and Anglican cleric. He is considered the major British figure in philosophy between John Locke and George Berkeley. Early life and studies Clarke was born in Norwich, ...

. He prefixed an epistle to Jonathan Clapham's ''Full Discovery ... of the Quakers'', &c., 1656; and subscribed the epistle prefixed to the second edition (1676) of ''Quakerism no Christianity'', by John Faldo. His farewell sermons are in the ''Compleat Collection'', &c., 1663; three of his sermons are in ''A Supplement to the Morning Exercise at Cripplegate'', 1674-1676. He dissuaded

Louis du Moulin Lewis Du Moulin (''Ludovicus Molinaeus''; pseudonym: ''Ludiomaeus Colvinus''; 1606–1680) was a French Huguenot physician and controversialist, who settled in England. He became Camden Professor of History at the University of Oxford. Life H ...

from translating into Latin John Durel's ''View of the Government ... in the Reformed Churches'' (1662), threatening him, according to

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 ...

, with eternal damnation if he did it.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jenkyn, William 1613 births 1685 deaths Ejected English ministers of 1662 English Presbyterian ministers of the Interregnum (England) Burials at Bunhill Fields Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge People from Sudbury, Suffolk People from Kings Langley