Awnsham Churchill (1658–1728), of the Black Swan, Paternoster Row, London and Henbury, Dorset, was an English bookseller and radical Whig politician who sat in the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

and

British House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 65 ...

from 1705 to 1710.

Early life

Churchill was the son of William Churchill of

Dorchester, Dorset Dorchester ( ) is the county town of Dorset, England. It is situated between Poole and Bridport on the A35 trunk route. A historic market town, Dorchester is on the banks of the River Frome to the south of the Dorset Downs and north of th ...

, and his wife Elizabeth Awnsham, daughter of Nicholas Awnsham of Isleworth, Middlesex. He was the brother of the MPs Joshua Churchill and William Churchill. He was apprenticed to George Sawbridge and became a Freeman of the

Stationers' Company The Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers (until 1937 the Worshipful Company of Stationers), usually known as the Stationers' Company, is one of the livery companies of the City of London. The Stationers' Company was formed in ...

in 1681. With another brother, John, he then entered into business as booksellers and stationers at the sign of the Black Swan in

Paternoster Row Paternoster Row was a street in the City of London that was a centre of the London publishing trade, with booksellers operating from the street. Paternoster Row was described as "almost synonymous" with the book trade. It was part of an area ca ...

, London. At the beginning of 1680 he signed a petition to the king asking for the recall of parliament; and in 1682 he published a sermon of

Samuel Bold Samuel Bolde (1649–1737) was an English clergyman and controversialist, a supporter of the arguments of John Locke for religious toleration. Life Apparently a native of Chester, he was brought up by William Cook, a nonconformist minister eject ...

against persecution.

Stationer

In the mid-1680s the Churchill brothers were involved in the opposition to

James II of England James VII and II (14 October 1633 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685. He was deposed in the Glorious Re ...

, visiting Amsterdam and consorting with those supporting

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 ...

. He was arrested in 1687 for printing Gaspar Fagel's ''Letter'', which outlined the position on

religious toleration Religious toleration may signify "no more than forbearance and the permission given by the adherents of a dominant religion for other religions to exist, even though the latter are looked on with disapproval as inferior, mistaken, or harmful". ...

of the

Prince of Orange Prince of Orange (or Princess of Orange if the holder is female) is a title originally associated with the sovereign Principality of Orange, in what is now southern France and subsequently held by sovereigns in the Netherlands. The titl ...

. Churchill was later stationer to William III of England, as the Prince became in 1689, and a leading bookseller of his time. He amassed a fortune, and was able to purchase, in 1704, the manor of Higher Henbury in

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...

from John Morton, and that of West Ringstead from James Huishe in 1723.

Political career

Churchill was returned in a contest as Whig

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

for at the 1705 English general election. He voted for the Court candidate for Speaker on 25 October 1705. He was distantly related to the other Dorchester member John Churchill and also was related to the Duke of Marlborough, but had little to do with him. He was closer to George Churchill, the Duke's brother. He was returned again unopposed as a Whig at the

1708 British general election The 1708 British general election was the first general election to be held after the Acts of Union had united the Parliaments of England and Scotland. The election saw the Whigs finally gain a majority in the House of Commons, and by November ...

. He kept a low profile in Parliament but voted in favour of naturalizing the Palatines in 1709 and for the impeachment of Sacheverell in 1710. This was enough to alienate the High Churchmen of Dorchester, and in 1710 they procured an address from the borough which pointedly condemned ‘republican principles and anti-monarchical notions’. They said they would take care to be represented in future Parliaments by eminently loyal and perspicuously zealous representatives. Churchill was defeated at the poll at the

1710 British general election The 1710 British general election produced a landslide victory for the Tories. The election came in the wake of the prosecution of Henry Sacheverell, which had led to the collapse of the previous government led by Godolphin and the Whig Junt ...

, and again in

1713 Events January–March * January 17 – Tuscarora War: Colonel James Moore leads the Carolina militia out of Albemarle County, North Carolina, in a second offensive against the Tuscarora. Heavy snows force the troops to take ref ...

. He made no further attempts to enter Parliament

Relationship with John Locke

John Locke John Locke (; 29 August 1632 – 28 October 1704) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers and commonly known as the "father of liberalism". Considered one of ...

met Churchill in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte (river), Rotte'') is the second largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the Prov ...

. They remained on friendly terms for many years. Churchill was Locke's publisher, and Edward Clarke acted as an intermediary at some point. The ''

Two Treatises of Government ''Two Treatises of Government'' (or ''Two Treatises of Government: In the Former, The False Principles, and Foundation of Sir Robert Filmer, and His Followers, Are Detected and Overthrown. The Latter Is an Essay Concerning The True Original, ...

'' and ''

A Letter Concerning Toleration ''A Letter Concerning Toleration'' by John Locke was originally published in 1689. Its initial publication was in Latin, and it was immediately translated into other languages. Locke's work appeared amidst a fear that Catholicism might be taking ...

'' of 1689 were published by Churchill, with other works by Locke. Churchill also managed money and business for Locke. As Locke was dying in 1704 they parted at

High Laver High Laver is a village and civil parish in the Epping Forest district of the county of Essex, England. The parish is noted for its association with the philosopher John Locke. History High Laver is historically a rural agricultural parish, pred ...

, and Churchill was a trustee for money Locke was leaving to Francis Cudworth Masham, son of

Damaris Cudworth Masham ] Damaris, Lady Masham (18 January 1659 – 20 April 1708) was an English writer, philosopher, theologian, and advocate for women's education who is characterized as a proto-feminist. She overcame some weakness of eyesight and lack of access to ...

Death and legacy

Churchill died unmarried on 24 April 1728, and his brother John succeeded to his estate. A library at Henbury was formed by the two brothers.

Publications

The Churchill brothers published in 1695 the edition of

William Camden William Camden (2 May 1551 – 9 November 1623) was an English antiquarian, historian, topographer, and herald, best known as author of ''Britannia'', the first chorographical survey of the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, and the ''Ann ...

's ''Britannia'' by

Edmund Gibson Edmund Gibson (16696 September 1748) was a British divine who served as Bishop of Lincoln and Bishop of London, jurist, and antiquary. Early life and career He was born in Bampton, Westmorland. In 1686 he was entered a scholar at Queen's Col ...

, from a manuscript of

John Aubrey John Aubrey (12 March 1626 – 7 June 1697) was an English antiquary, natural philosopher and writer. He is perhaps best known as the author of the '' Brief Lives'', his collection of short biographical pieces. He was a pioneer archaeologist ...

. A second edition of Gibson's Camden was issued by Awnsham alone in 1722. Their ''Collection of Voyages and Travels'' was well known,''A Collection of Voyages and Travels, some now first printed from original MSS., others translated out of foreign languages and now first published in English; in four volumes, with an original preface giving an account of the progress of navigation,'' &c., 1704, 4 vols. and was issued to subscribers in 1704. Two more volumes came out in 1732, when the first four volumes were reissued; a "third edition" of the six volumes is dated 1744–6; and another by Thomas Osborne, 1752. ''A Collection from the Library of the Earl of Oxford'', London, T. Osborne, 1745 and 1747, 2 vols, known as the "Harleian Collection", and a similar collection by John Harris (1744–8 as 2 vols.), are often grouped with Churchill's collection, as reprints of voyages and travels. Locke was involved, and it was stated on the title-page of the third edition that the preliminary essay on the history of navigation was attributed to him, which was later questioned; but it was included in Locke's works in 1812. The brothers also published the first edition of

Thomas Rymer Thomas Rymer (c. 1643 – 14 December 1713) was an English poet, critic, antiquary and historian. His lasting contribution was to compile and publish 16 volumes of the first edition of ''Foedera'', a work in 20 volumes conveying agreements betwe ...

's ''Fœdera'' (16 vols. 1701–15); the seventeenth volume (1717) was issued by William Churchill, and the last three (1726–1735) by

Jacob Tonson Jacob Tonson, sometimes referred to as Jacob Tonson the Elder (1655–1736), was an eighteenth-century English bookseller and publisher. Tonson published editions of John Dryden and John Milton, and is best known for having obtained a copyrigh ...

Notes

Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Churchill, Awnsham 1658 births 1728 deaths English booksellers English MPs 1705–1707 People from Dorchester, Dorset British MPs 1707–1708 British MPs 1708–1710