English Puritan clergyman
Herbert Palmer
Herbert Palmer
(1601?1647) was an English
Puritan
clergyman, member of the
Westminster Assembly
, and President of
Queens' College, Cambridge
. He is now remembered for his work on the
Westminster Shorter Catechism
, and as a leading opponent of
John Milton's divorce tracts
.
Early life
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He was a younger son of Sir Thomas Palmer, knt. (
d
. 1625), and grandson of Sir
Thomas Palmer
(1540?1626) of
Wingham, Kent
. He was born at Wingham in 1601, and baptised on 29 March. His mother was the eldest daughter of Herbert Pelham of Crawley, Sussex. He learnt French almost as soon as English, and always spoke it fluently.
[1]
On 23 March 1616, he was admitted fellow-commoner in
St. John's College, Cambridge
; he graduated B.A. 1619, M.A. 1622, and was elected fellow of Queens' College, Cambridge on 17 July 1623. He took holy orders in 1624, and proceeded B.D. in 1631.
[2]
In 1626, on his way to visit his brother, Sir Thomas Palmer, Bart. (d. 1666), at Wingham, he preached at
Canterbury Cathedral
. The report of his sermon reached the ears of Philip Delme, minister of the French church at Canterbury, who made his acquaintance at Wingham, got him to preach again at St. George's, Canterbury, and made efforts to procure his settlement as lecturer. He was licensed by Archbishop
George Abbot
for a Sunday afternoon lectureship at St. Alphage's, Canterbury. He acted as a spiritual adviser, and did much religious visiting, though without pastoral charge. Occasionally he preached to the French congregation.
[1]
Political career
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While strongly opposing the separatist party, he resisted the innovations favoured by
William Laud
. He was articled for his puritanism, but the prosecution proved abortive. About 1630 the dean,
Isaac Bargrave
, put down his lectureship, on the ground that he had gone beyond his office by catechising and that his lecture drew 'factious persons' out of other parishes; the lecture was revived in consequence of an influentially signed petition to Abbot. His friends, headed by
Thomas Finch
, twice tried without success to secure for him a
prebend
at Canterbury.
[1]
On the resignation of
Thomas Turner
, Laud, then
Bishop of London
, presented Palmer, at the instance of 'a great nobleman' to the rectory of
Ashwell
,
Hertfordshire
, in 1632. Laud, at his trial a decade later, referred to this among other evidences of his impartial patronage of merit; he declined the religious ministrations of Palmer during his imprisonment in the
Tower
and at the block. In 1632 also, Palmer was made university preacher at Cambridge. At Ashwell he matured his system of catechising, giving prizes of bibles to those who could read, and 5
s
. to illiterates, on their reaching a proficiency which fitted them for admission to communion.
Robert Baillie
reckoned Palmer 'the best catechist in England.' He originated the method of breaking up the main answer into preparatory questions, to be answered by 'yes' or 'no.' In 1633 he refused to read the
Book of Sports
. He got his parishioners to bind themselves against compact against drunkenness and sabbath-breaking. He took in sons of noblemen and gentry as boarders, under a resident tutor. Preaching a visitation sermon at
Hitchin
in 1638, he spoke freely against 'innovations'.
[1]
On 19 July 1642 he was appointed by the
House of Commons
one of fifteen Tuesday lecturers at Hitchin; and then was appointed an original member of the
Westminster Assembly
by the ordinance of 12 June 1643. He moved to London, placing Ashwell in charge of John Crow, his half-brother, who became his successor (28 September 1647), and was ejected in 1662. On 28 June 1643 he preached a political sermon before the House of Commons, whose thanks he received through Sir Oliver Luke. He became preacher at
St. James's, Duke Place
, and afterwards at the 'new church' in the parish of St. Margaret's, Westminster (represented since 1843 by Christ Church, Westminster). He was also one of the seven morning lecturers at
Westminster Abbey
. On 11 April 1644 he was appointed by
Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl of Manchester
as Master of Queens' College, Cambridge, in place of
Edward Martin
. At the same time the entire fellowship of the college, strongly royalist, was expelled: Martin was already in the
Tower of London
. Manchester recruited nine new Fellows, seven being from
Emmanuel College, Cambridge
.
[3]
In his capacity as President Palmer was a disciplinarian, helped refugee students from Germany and Hungary, and gave benefactions to the college library.
[1]
In the Westminster Assembly, of which he was one of the assessors
pro tempore
in January 1646
[4]
and September 1646,
[5]
he had much to do with the drawing up of the 'directory,' and was anxious for a clause about pastoral visitation, which was not inserted. As regards ordination, he differed both from presbyterians and independents, holding (with
Richard Baxter
) that any company of ministers may ordain, and that designation to a congregation is unnecessary. He joined
John Lightfoot
in pleading for private baptism. His chief work was in connection with the assembly's
Shorter Catechism
, though he did not live till its completion. To him was due the method by which each answer forms a substantive statement, not needing to be helped out by the question.
[1]
He died in August or September 1647; he was unmarried. A portrait, in
Samuel Clarke
's
Lives of Thirty-two English Divines
(1677) shows an emaciated visage, sunk between his shoulders; he wears moustache and thin beard, skull-cap and ruff with academic gown, and leans on a cushion.
Symon Patrick
, a friend at college, calls him "a little crooked man", but says he was revered. He left a benefaction for poor scholars at Queens' College.
[1]
Works
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Since a book by
Alexander Grosart
in the nineteenth century, a work on the "Christian Paradoxes" has usually been attributed to Palmer; formerly it was considered to be by
Francis Bacon
. It was printed in 1645 as
The Characters of a believing Christian, in Paradoxes and seeming Contradictions
.
[6]
Also from 1645 is a sabbatarian work with
Daniel Cawdry
.
[1]
- Lord Bacon not the author of "The Christian paradoxes
Notes
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References
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External links
[
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]
- Hutchinson, John (1892).
"Herbert Palmer"
.
Men of Kent and Kentishmen
(Subscription ed.). Canterbury: Cross & Jackman. pp. 98?99.
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