John Fry (regicide)
Encyclopedia
John Fry was a Member of the English Parliament and sat as a Commissioner (Judge) during the trial of King Charles I of England
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John Fry, son of William Fry of Iwerneminster, was born in 1609. He was Member of Parliament
for Shaftesbury in the Long
and Rump
Parliaments, sat through most of the trial of King Charles I, but did not take part in the sentencing, having been suspended from membership of the House of Commons and debarred from sitting on the High Court for heterodoxy
on 26 January 1649, one day before the sentence was pronounced. The suspicion raised by Colonel Downes was that Fry did not believe in the doctrine of the Trinity. Eight days later Fry declared in a written statement that he respected the Trinity and was readmitted to the House. Shortly afterwards Fry published a pamphlet against Downes, The Accuser Shamed, in which he expressed opinions far from orthodox. In 1650 Dr Cheynel of Oxford published a retort, to which Fry responded with another pamphlet, The Clergy in their Colours. On 22 February 1651 Parliament decided to burn the two books and expelled their author. John Fry died in 1657. At the restoration in 1660 he was excluded from the Indemnity and Oblivion Act
.
Dario Pfanner in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography states:
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
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John Fry, son of William Fry of Iwerneminster, was born in 1609. He was Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Shaftesbury in the Long
Long Parliament
The Long Parliament was made on 3 November 1640, following the Bishops' Wars. It received its name from the fact that through an Act of Parliament, it could only be dissolved with the agreement of the members, and those members did not agree to its dissolution until after the English Civil War and...
and Rump
Rump Parliament
The Rump Parliament is the name of the English Parliament after Colonel Pride purged the Long Parliament on 6 December 1648 of those members hostile to the Grandees' intention to try King Charles I for high treason....
Parliaments, sat through most of the trial of King Charles I, but did not take part in the sentencing, having been suspended from membership of the House of Commons and debarred from sitting on the High Court for heterodoxy
Heterodoxy
Heterodoxy is generally defined as "any opinions or doctrines at variance with an official or orthodox position". As an adjective, heterodox is commonly used to describe a subject as "characterized by departure from accepted beliefs or standards"...
on 26 January 1649, one day before the sentence was pronounced. The suspicion raised by Colonel Downes was that Fry did not believe in the doctrine of the Trinity. Eight days later Fry declared in a written statement that he respected the Trinity and was readmitted to the House. Shortly afterwards Fry published a pamphlet against Downes, The Accuser Shamed, in which he expressed opinions far from orthodox. In 1650 Dr Cheynel of Oxford published a retort, to which Fry responded with another pamphlet, The Clergy in their Colours. On 22 February 1651 Parliament decided to burn the two books and expelled their author. John Fry died in 1657. At the restoration in 1660 he was excluded from the Indemnity and Oblivion Act
Indemnity and Oblivion Act
The Indemnity and Oblivion Act 1660 is an Act of the Parliament of England , the long title of which is "An Act of Free and General Pardon, Indemnity, and Oblivion"....
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Dario Pfanner in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography states:
Further reading
- Douglas Brunton, Donald Henshaw Pennington, Members of the Long Parliament, Archon Books 1968
- John Hutchinson, 1902, Catalogue of Notable Middle Templars: With Brief Biographical Notices, The Lawbook Exchange Ltd. 2003, p. 99