James Cranford
Encyclopedia
James Cranford was an English presbyterian clergyman. He was active as a licenser of theological publications under the Commonwealth, and belonged to the heresy-hunting wing of the London presbyterians, writing a preface to the Gangraena
of Thomas Edwards
.
, and was born there about 1592. He entered Balliol College, Oxford, in 1617, and proceeded B.A. 17 October 1621, and M.A. 20 June 1624. He took holy orders, became rector of Brockhall, Northamptonshire
, and on 16 January 1643 rector of St. Christopher, London.
Under the Commonwealth he was a licenser for the press, and prefixed many epistles to the books which he allowed to go to the press. The licensing process was part of a broader power struggle; Cranford became a target for the Independents
who disliked his palpable bias, and was singled out by Henry Robinson
in developing his arguments for religious tolerance, for skewing the debate. The widening discussion drew in William Fiennes, 1st Viscount Saye and Sele
, whom Cranford maligned, and who said that Cranford was beholden to the Scots such as Robert Baillie
, and Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex
. Cranford controversially licensed works by David Buchanan. In 1649 the presbyterians played their hand to the utmost against the army, and in March of that year Cranford was removed from his post.
Early in 1652 he held two disputations at the house of William Webb in Bartholomew Lane, with Peter Chamberlen
, on the questions: '1. Whether or no a private person may preach without ordination? 2. Whether or no the presbyterian ministers be not the true ministers of the gospel?' Cranford argued in the negative on the first question, and in the affirmative on the second. A full report of the debate was published 8 June 1652. He died 27 April 1657, and was buried in the church of St. Christopher. A son, James Cranford, was also in holy orders and succeeded his father in the living of St. Christopher, but died in August 1660.
Cranford also contributed a preface to the Tears of Ireland, 1642, the whole of which is usually attributed to him. It is an exaggerated account of the cruelties inflicted on the Protestants in Ireland in the Irish Rebellion of 1641
, with vivid engravings. Prefatory epistles by Cranford appear in Richard Stock
's Stock of Divine Knowledge (addressed to Lady Anne Yelverton), London, 1641; in Thomas Edwards's Gangraena, pt. i. and pt. ii. London, 1646; Christopher Love
's The Soul's Cordiall, 1652; and in Benjamin Woodbridge
's Sermons on Justification, 1652. In 1653 the last contribution was severely criticised by William Eyre
in his Vindiciae Justificationis Gratuitae, in which Cranford's doctrine of conditional justification by faith is condemned.
Gangraena
Gangraena is a book by Thomas Edwards, published in 1646. A notorious work of "heresiography", i.e. the description in detail of heresy, it appeared the year after Ephraim Pagitt's Heresiography. These two books attempted to catalogue the fissiparous Protestant congregations of the time, in England...
of Thomas Edwards
Thomas Edwards (Heresiographer)
Thomas Edwards was an English Puritan clergyman. He was a very influential preacher in London of the 1640s, and also one of the most ferocious polemical writers of the time, arguing from a conservative Presbyterian point of view against the Independents.-Life:He graduated M.A. from Queens'...
.
Life
He was son of James Cranford, master of the free school of CoventryCoventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
, and was born there about 1592. He entered Balliol College, Oxford, in 1617, and proceeded B.A. 17 October 1621, and M.A. 20 June 1624. He took holy orders, became rector of Brockhall, Northamptonshire
Brockhall, Northamptonshire
Brockhall is a civil parish and village in the Daventry district of Northamptonshire in England. Brockhall, like many estate villages, is a small settlement based around the hall...
, and on 16 January 1643 rector of St. Christopher, London.
Under the Commonwealth he was a licenser for the press, and prefixed many epistles to the books which he allowed to go to the press. The licensing process was part of a broader power struggle; Cranford became a target for the Independents
Independent (religion)
In English church history, Independents advocated local congregational control of religious and church matters, without any wider geographical hierarchy, either ecclesiastical or political...
who disliked his palpable bias, and was singled out by Henry Robinson
Henry Robinson (writer)
Henry Robinson was an English merchant and writer. He is best known for a work on religious toleration, Liberty of Conscience from 1644.-Life:He was educated at St John's College, Oxford, and was a freeman of the Mercers' Company...
in developing his arguments for religious tolerance, for skewing the debate. The widening discussion drew in William Fiennes, 1st Viscount Saye and Sele
William Fiennes, 1st Viscount Saye and Sele
William Fiennes, 1st Viscount Saye and Sele was born at the family home of Broughton Castle near Banbury, in Oxfordshire. He was the only son of Richard Fiennes, seventh Baron Saye and Sele...
, whom Cranford maligned, and who said that Cranford was beholden to the Scots such as Robert Baillie
Robert Baillie
Robert Baillie was a Scottish divine and historical writer.-Life:Baillie was born at Glasgow, the son of Baillie of Jerviston...
, and Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex
Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex
Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex was an English Parliamentarian and soldier during the first half of the seventeenth century. With the start of the English Civil War in 1642 he became the first Captain-General and Chief Commander of the Parliamentarian army, also known as the Roundheads...
. Cranford controversially licensed works by David Buchanan. In 1649 the presbyterians played their hand to the utmost against the army, and in March of that year Cranford was removed from his post.
Early in 1652 he held two disputations at the house of William Webb in Bartholomew Lane, with Peter Chamberlen
Peter Chamberlen
Peter Chamberlen was the name of two brothers, the sons of William Chamberlen , a Huguenot surgeon who fled from Paris to England in 1576. They are famous for inventing the modern use of obstetrical forceps...
, on the questions: '1. Whether or no a private person may preach without ordination? 2. Whether or no the presbyterian ministers be not the true ministers of the gospel?' Cranford argued in the negative on the first question, and in the affirmative on the second. A full report of the debate was published 8 June 1652. He died 27 April 1657, and was buried in the church of St. Christopher. A son, James Cranford, was also in holy orders and succeeded his father in the living of St. Christopher, but died in August 1660.
Works
Cranford wrote:- Confutation of the Anabaptists, London, n. d.
- Expositions on the Prophecies of Daniel, London, 1644.
- Haereseomachia, or the Mischief which Heresies do, London, 1646, a sermon preached before the lord mayor 1 February 1646, to which a reply was issued in broadsheet form, under the title of The Clearing of Master Cranford's Text (8 May 1646).
Cranford also contributed a preface to the Tears of Ireland, 1642, the whole of which is usually attributed to him. It is an exaggerated account of the cruelties inflicted on the Protestants in Ireland in the Irish Rebellion of 1641
Irish Rebellion of 1641
The Irish Rebellion of 1641 began as an attempted coup d'état by Irish Catholic gentry, who tried to seize control of the English administration in Ireland to force concessions for the Catholics living under English rule...
, with vivid engravings. Prefatory epistles by Cranford appear in Richard Stock
Richard Stock
Richard Stock was an English clergyman and one of the Puritan founders of the Feoffees for Impropriations. He was minister at All Hallows, Bread Street in London, from 1611 to 1626.-Life:...
's Stock of Divine Knowledge (addressed to Lady Anne Yelverton), London, 1641; in Thomas Edwards's Gangraena, pt. i. and pt. ii. London, 1646; Christopher Love
Christopher Love
Christopher Love was a Welsh Protestant preacher and advocate of Presbyterianism at the time of the English Civil War. In 1651 he was executed by the government, after it was discovered that he had been in correspondence with the exiled Stuart court...
's The Soul's Cordiall, 1652; and in Benjamin Woodbridge
Benjamin Woodbridge
Benjamin Woodbridge was an English clergyman and controversialist, Harvard College's first-ever graduate, and participant in the Savoy Conference.-Life:...
's Sermons on Justification, 1652. In 1653 the last contribution was severely criticised by William Eyre
William Eyre
William Eyre was an English landscape painter. He exhibited at the Croydon Art Society for 20 years but travelled extensively. From early on it the 1970s he lived in North Wales and continued to paint and exhibit. Eyre was a most accomplished artist working in both oil and watercolour. His work is...
in his Vindiciae Justificationis Gratuitae, in which Cranford's doctrine of conditional justification by faith is condemned.