Simeon Ashe
Encyclopedia
Simeon Ashe or Ash was an English nonconformist clergyman, a member of the Westminster Assembly
and chaplain to the Parliamentary leader Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl of Manchester
.
. He began his career as minister in Staffordshire
, but was ejected from his living on account of his refusal to read the Book of Sports and to conform to other ceremonies. On his dismissal Sir John Burgoyne
befriended him and allowed him the use of an 'exempt' church at Wroxhall
; and he was afterwards under the protection of Robert Greville, 2nd Baron Brooke
. He was a regular Sunday preacher at Warwick Castle
, and friend of Thomas Dugard.
When the First English Civil War
broke out, he became chaplain to the Earl of Manchester. At the close of the war he received the living of St. Austin, and was also one of the Cornhill lecturers. He was nominated to the Westminster assembly after the death in 1643 of Josias Shute
.
Although he had joined the side of the parliament, Ashe was strongly opposed to the extreme party of the Cromwellians; and when the time was ripe for the English Restoration
he was among the divines who went to Breda
to meet Charles II of England
He died a few days before the passing of the Act of Uniformity
, and was buried on 24 August 1662. Had he lived to see the passing of the act, he would have vacated his living. Ashe was a man of some property, and while he held the living of St. Austin, his house was always open to his clerical brethren. Walker charges him with exercising severity against the conforming clergy.
's Parliamentary Chronicle there is a letter of his, describing the proceedings of the Earl of Manchester in reducing several garrisons after the battle of Marston Moor
.
Ashe was the author of sermons, including
He also edited some treatises of John Ball
, John Brinsley
, Ralph Robinson, and others.
Westminster Assembly
The Westminster Assembly of Divines was appointed by the Long Parliament to restructure the Church of England. It also included representatives of religious leaders from Scotland...
and chaplain to the Parliamentary leader Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl of Manchester
Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl of Manchester
Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl of Manchester KG, KB, FRS was an important commander of Parliamentary forces in the First English Civil War, and for a time Oliver Cromwell's superior.-Life:...
.
Life
He was educated at Emmanuel College, CambridgeEmmanuel College, Cambridge
Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay on the site of a Dominican friary...
. He began his career as minister in Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
, but was ejected from his living on account of his refusal to read the Book of Sports and to conform to other ceremonies. On his dismissal Sir John Burgoyne
Sir John Burgoyne, 1st Baronet
Sir John Burgoyne, 1st Baronet was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1645 to 1648. He supported the Parliamentarian cause in the English Civil War....
befriended him and allowed him the use of an 'exempt' church at Wroxhall
Wroxall, Warwickshire
Wroxall is a small village in the civil parish of Beausale, Haseley, Honiley and Wroxall in the county of Warwickshire, England. It is from Kenilworth, and from Coventry on the A4141 road. According to the 2001 census the village had a population of 94. It has its own cemetery to the north of the...
; and he was afterwards under the protection of Robert Greville, 2nd Baron Brooke
Robert Greville, 2nd Baron Brooke
Robert Greville, 2nd Baron Brooke was an English Civil War Roundhead General.Greville was the cousin and adopted son of Fulke Greville, 1st Baron Brooke, and thus became 2nd Lord Brooke, and owner of Warwick Castle. He was born in 1607, and entered parliament for Warwickshire in 1628...
. He was a regular Sunday preacher at Warwick Castle
Warwick Castle
Warwick Castle is a medieval castle in Warwick, the county town of Warwickshire, England. It sits on a bend on the River Avon. The castle was built by William the Conqueror in 1068 within or adjacent to the Anglo-Saxon burh of Warwick. It was used as a fortification until the early 17th century,...
, and friend of Thomas Dugard.
When the First English Civil War
First English Civil War
The First English Civil War began the series of three wars known as the English Civil War . "The English Civil War" was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations that took place between Parliamentarians and Royalists from 1642 until 1651, and includes the Second English Civil War and...
broke out, he became chaplain to the Earl of Manchester. At the close of the war he received the living of St. Austin, and was also one of the Cornhill lecturers. He was nominated to the Westminster assembly after the death in 1643 of Josias Shute
Josias Shute
Josias Shute was an English churchman, for many years rector of St Mary Woolnoth in London, archdeacon of Colchester, and elected a member of the Westminster Assembly.-Life:...
.
Although he had joined the side of the parliament, Ashe was strongly opposed to the extreme party of the Cromwellians; and when the time was ripe for the English Restoration
English Restoration
The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...
he was among the divines who went to Breda
Breda
Breda is a municipality and a city in the southern part of the Netherlands. The name Breda derived from brede Aa and refers to the confluence of the rivers Mark and Aa. As a fortified city, the city was of strategic military and political significance...
to meet Charles II of England
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
He died a few days before the passing of the Act of Uniformity
Act of Uniformity 1662
The Act of Uniformity was an Act of the Parliament of England, 13&14 Ch.2 c. 4 ,The '16 Charles II c. 2' nomenclature is reference to the statute book of the numbered year of the reign of the named King in the stated chapter...
, and was buried on 24 August 1662. Had he lived to see the passing of the act, he would have vacated his living. Ashe was a man of some property, and while he held the living of St. Austin, his house was always open to his clerical brethren. Walker charges him with exercising severity against the conforming clergy.
Works
In 1644 he joined with William Goode, another chaplain of the Earl of Manchester, in writing a pamphlet entitled A particular Relation of the most Remarkable Occurrences from the United Forces in the North. This was followed by another pamphlet, for which Ashe alone was responsible, entitled A True Relation of the most Chiefe Occurrences at and since the late Battell at Newbery. The writer's object in both cases was to vindicate the conduct of his patron. In John VicarsJohn Vicars
John Vicars was an English contemporary biographer, poet and polemicist of the English Civil War...
's Parliamentary Chronicle there is a letter of his, describing the proceedings of the Earl of Manchester in reducing several garrisons after the battle of Marston Moor
Battle of Marston Moor
The Battle of Marston Moor was fought on 2 July 1644, during the First English Civil War of 1642–1646. The combined forces of the Scottish Covenanters under the Earl of Leven and the English Parliamentarians under Lord Fairfax and the Earl of Manchester defeated the Royalists commanded by Prince...
.
Ashe was the author of sermons, including
- 'A Sermon on Ps. ix. 9,' preached before the House of Commons on 30 March 1642.
- 'A Sermon before the House of Lords,' 26 Feb. 1644.
- 'A Funeral Sermon on the Death of the Countess of Manchester,' 12 Oct. 1658, &c.
He also edited some treatises of John Ball
John Ball (Puritan)
John Ball was an English puritan divine.-Life:He was born in Cassington, Oxfordshire.After taking his BA degree from St Mary Hall, Oxford, in 1608, he went into Cheshire to act as tutor to the children of Lady Cholmondeley...
, John Brinsley
John Brinsley the younger
John Brinsley the younger was an English nonconforming clergyman, an ejected minister in 1662.-Life:He was born at Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire, son of John Brinsley the elder. Having been taught by his father, he was admitted to Emmanuel College, Cambridge, at the age of thirteen years and...
, Ralph Robinson, and others.