William Pell (1634–1698) was an English

nonconformist Nonconformity or nonconformism may refer to: Culture and society * Insubordination, the act of willfully disobeying an order of one's superior *Dissent, a sentiment or philosophy of non-agreement or opposition to a prevailing idea or entity ** ...

minister, ejected in 1662, a tutor of

Durham College Durham College of Applied Arts and Technology is located in the Durham Region The Regional Municipality of Durham (), informally referred to as Durham Region, is a regional municipality in Southern Ontario, Canada. Located east of Toronto a ...

subsequently imprisoned for illegal preaching.

Life

The son of William Pell, he was born at

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

in 1634. After passing through the grammar school at

Rotherham Rotherham () is a large minster and market town in South Yorkshire, England. The town takes its name from the River Rother which then merges with the River Don. The River Don then flows through the town centre. It is the main settlement of ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

, he was admitted as

sizar At Trinity College, Dublin and the University of Cambridge, a sizar is an undergraduate who receives some form of assistance such as meals, lower fees or lodging during his or her period of study, in some cases in return for doing a defined jo ...

at the age of seventeen on 29 March 1651 to

Magdalene College, Cambridge Magdalene College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary ...

. There his tutor was Joseph Hill. He graduated M.A., was elected scholar 2 June 1654 and fellow 3 November 1656. He received orders from

Ralph Brownrig Ralph Brownrigg or Brownrig (1592–1659) was bishop of Exeter from 1642 to 1646. He spent that time largely in exile from his see, which he perhaps never visited. He did find a position there for Seth Ward. He was both a Royalist in politics, ...

bishop of Exeter The Bishop of Exeter is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Exeter in the Province of Canterbury. Since 30 April 2014 the ordinary has been Robert Atwell.

, probably at Sunning,

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

. He held the sequestered rectory of Easington,

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

, and a tutorship in the college at Durham recently founded by

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...

. At 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 ...

Durham College collapsed, and Clark, the sequestered rector of Easington, was restored. Pell was appointed to the rectory of

Great Stainton Great Stainton is a village in the borough of Darlington and ceremonial county of County Durham, England. It is situated to the north of Darlington, and to the west of Stockton-on-Tees. Elstob is a hamlet, just north of Great Stainton, which ...

, Durham, which he held until ejected in 1662. After ejection he preached in

conventicle 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 ...

s, and was imprisoned at Durham for nonconformity. Taken to London by ''

habeas corpus ''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a recourse in law through which a person can report an unlawful detention or imprisonment to a court and request that the court order the custodian of the person, usually a prison official, t ...

'', he was discharged by

Sir Matthew Hale Sir Matthew Hale (1 November 1609 – 25 December 1676) was an influential English barrister, judge and jurist most noted for his treatise ''Historia Placitorum Coronæ'', or ''The History of the Pleas of the Crown''. Born to a barrister and ...

. He then went to the

North Riding of Yorkshire The North Riding of Yorkshire is a subdivision of Yorkshire, England, alongside York, the East Riding and West Riding. The riding's highest point is at Mickle Fell with 2,585 ft (788 metres). From the Restoration it was used as ...

, and practised medicine. He had a reputation as an orientalist, though he published nothing, leaving unfinished collections including

rabbinical Rabbinic Judaism ( he, יהדות רבנית, Yahadut Rabanit), also called Rabbinism, Rabbinicism, or Judaism espoused by the Rabbanites, has been the mainstream form of Judaism since the 6th century CE, after the codification of the Babylonian ...

studies. Friends asked him to resume the work of teaching at university level. He considered himself constrained: by the terms of his graduation oath, as he understood it, he should not lecture outside the ancient universities. The project of instituting a new ‘northern academy’ passed into the hands of

Richard Frankland Richard Joseph Frankland is an Australian playwright, scriptwriter and musician. He is an Aboriginal Australian of Gunditjmara origin from Victoria. He has worked significantly for the Aboriginal Australian cause. Biography Richard J. Frank ...

, who founded in

Rathmell Academy Rathmell Academy was a Dissenting academy set up at Rathmell, North Yorkshire, and was the oldest non-conformist seat of learning in the north of England. The academy was established in 1670 by Richard Frankland M.A. (Christ's College,Cambridge) ...

one of the first

dissenting academies The dissenting academies were schools, colleges and seminaries (often institutions with aspects of all three) run by English Dissenters, that is, those who Nonconformist (Protestantism), did not conform to the Church of England. They formed a sign ...

. After the indulgence of 1672 he preached in public at

Tattershall Tattershall is a village and civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated on the A153 Horncastle to Sleaford road, east from the point where that road crosses the River Witham. At its eastern end, Tatters ...

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...

, and was protected by holding the office of domestic steward to Edward Clinton, 5th Earl of Lincoln. A London merchant of the same surname, but not a kinsman, became his benefactor. On James II's declaration for liberty of conscience (1687), he became pastor to the nonconformists at

Boston, Lincolnshire Boston is a market town and inland port in the borough of the same name in the county of Lincolnshire, England. Boston is north of London, north-east of Peterborough, east of Nottingham, south-east of Lincoln, south-southeast of Hull ...

. He moved in 1694 to become the assistant of Richard Gilpin, at Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Here he died on 2 December 1698, in his sixty-third year. He was buried on 6 December at St. Nicholas's Church, Newcastle. He married Elizabeth (buried 30 January 1708), daughter of George Lilburn of

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pell, William 1634 births 1698 deaths Fellows of Magdalene College, Cambridge English Presbyterian ministers of the Interregnum (England) Ejected English ministers of 1662 Alumni of Magdalene College, Cambridge