Thomas Rosewell
Encyclopedia
Reverend Thomas Rosewell (3 May 1630 – 14 February 1692) was a non-conformist
minister of Rotherhithe
, Surrey who was found guilty of treason but subsequently pardoned by King Charles II.
, Somerset
. He was the only son of Richard Rosewell (d. 1640) of Dunkerton, gentleman, and Grace Melborn (d. 1646). Thomas was raised by his uncle, James Rosewell, of Combe Hay
, Somerset and attended King Edward's School, Bath
. In 1645 he was sent to London to learn to be a silk-weaver. In 1646 a distant relation (father-in-law of first cousin), Humphrey Chambers, one of the Westminster Divines, and his first cousin, Reverend Walter Rosewell, persuaded James to educate him for the ministry. Thomas entered Pembroke College
, Oxford in 1648 where he graduated B.A. in 1651.
, Solicitor General to Queen Elizabeth I. He was father to Reverend Samuel Rosewell
, London Presbyterian
minister and also a first cousin to Reverend Walter Rosewell, Puritan minister of Chatham, Kent.
, Wiltshire
on 29 May 1656 and (2) a widow, Anne Godsalve (née Wanley) on 9 Jan 1677. He had three children by his first wife: Susannah; Elizabeth; and Margaret, who married the nonconformist bookseller John Lawrence; and four by the second: Susannah; Rhoda; Samuel; and Eliezer.
He was ejected by the uniformity act in 1662 and became, in 1663, chaplain and tutor in Lady Hungerford's family at Corsham
, Wiltshire. He suffered a slight mental disturbance in 1671 and moved as tutor to the family of Thomas Grove of Ferne near Berwick St John, Wiltshire. He developed depression and went to live in the house of Luke Rugeley, M.D. from October 1673 to February 1674 when he was completly recovered.
During his life, Thomas Rosewell published two books: An Answer unto Thirty Questions Propounded by the Quakers (1656) and The Causes and Cure of the Pestilence (1665).
In 5 May 1674 he was elected as non-conformist
minister at Rotherhithe
, Surrey.
The charge against him, that of treasonable preaching pointing to the king's death, was absurdly at variance with the whole of his previous character and known opinions. Thomas conducted his own defence and argued over the meaning of the charges written in Latin compared to the English words that he actually used. Evidence against him was tendered by three women of disreputable character, one of whom admitted that she had been paid to collect evidence. It is not clear from their sworn testimony whether they wilfully distorted his words or mistook his meaning. Despite clear counter-evidence presented by numerous witnesses, the jury, directed by Jeffreys, found him guilty of treason for which the penalty would have been death by beheading. However, he was not sentenced.
When he came for sentence on 24 November, he argued his exception to the indictment as being deficient in the the English interpretation of the original Latin. Jeffries acceded to Thomas's appeal for Counsel to argue a case about the sentence but would not agree to provide a copy of the indictment. Jeffries took Counsel's arguement under consideration and released Thomas on bail.
His arrest and conviction had shocked and enraged Presbyterians and Anglicans alike. On 28 January 1685 Charles II
, who had been told by Sir John Talbot, ‘If your majesty suffers this man to die, we are none of us safe in our houses,’ granted him a pardon.
The whole proceedings of this trial was reported and is referred to in more recent works on the proper conduct of trial by jury.
, Surrey on 14 Feb 1692 and was buried at Bunhill Fields
, London. The funeral service was conducted by three Presbyterian and three Independent ministers. Mathew Mead, Independent minister of Stepney
, preached his funeral sermon.
The original headstone was inscribed in Latin. Some time later, a new headstone was erected at the rear of the original and it was inscribed with an English translation of the Latin text as follows:
Here is buried THOMAS ROSEWELL a most distinguished divine.
Born at Dunkerton in the county of Somerset:
A graduate of Pembroke College, Oxford:
Who administered the sacraments first at Rode in the aforesaid county:
Then in the town of Sutton Mandeville in the county of Wiltshire until St Bartholomew’s day in the year 1662:
Finally he was appointed pastor of the church at Rotherhithe near London in the county of Surrey.
A man no less esteemed for his piety and modesty than for his learning;
a preacher outstanding in skill, eloquence and zeal;
an assiduous and most expert interpreter of Holy Scripture.
Who after many labours and most grievous troubles arising from the injustice of the times,
which he had borne for Christ’s sake with the greatest fortitude,
died peacefully at the aforesaid Rotherhithe on February 14th.
In the 52nd year of his life and the year of the Lord 1692.
Nonconformism
Nonconformity is the refusal to "conform" to, or follow, the governance and usages of the Church of England by the Protestant Christians of England and Wales.- Origins and use:...
minister of Rotherhithe
Rotherhithe
Rotherhithe is a residential district in inner southeast London, England and part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is located on a peninsula on the south bank of the Thames, facing Wapping and the Isle of Dogs on the north bank, and is a part of the Docklands area...
, Surrey who was found guilty of treason but subsequently pardoned by King Charles II.
Early years and education
Thomas was born 3 May 1630 at DunkertonDunkerton, Somerset
Dunkerton is a small village and civil parish north east of Radstock, and south west of Bath, in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary authority, Somerset, England. The parish has a population of 479.-History:...
, Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
. He was the only son of Richard Rosewell (d. 1640) of Dunkerton, gentleman, and Grace Melborn (d. 1646). Thomas was raised by his uncle, James Rosewell, of Combe Hay
Combe Hay
Combe Hay is a village and civil parish in the English county of Somerset. It falls within the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The parish has a population of 149.-History:Combe Hay was known in the Domesday Book as Cumb...
, Somerset and attended King Edward's School, Bath
King Edward's School, Bath
King Edward's School , Bath, Somerset, England is an independent school providing education for 950 pupils aged 3 to 18.The school is a member of The Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference....
. In 1645 he was sent to London to learn to be a silk-weaver. In 1646 a distant relation (father-in-law of first cousin), Humphrey Chambers, one of the Westminster Divines, and his first cousin, Reverend Walter Rosewell, persuaded James to educate him for the ministry. Thomas entered Pembroke College
Pembroke College, Oxford
Pembroke College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, located in Pembroke Square. As of 2009, Pembroke had an estimated financial endowment of £44.9 million.-History:...
, Oxford in 1648 where he graduated B.A. in 1651.
Relations
He was the 2nd great grandson of William Rosewell of Dunkerton (d. 1568) who was a brother to William Rosewell (Rowswell) of Loxton, father of William RosewellWilliam Rosewell
William Rosewell was the Solicitor-General to Queen Elizabeth between 1559 and 1566.William Rosewell was born about 1520, the son of William Rosewell of Loxton, Somerset, England. He came to some prominence as Solicitor-General to Queen Elizabeth. He appears in the list of Queen’s Counsel between...
, Solicitor General to Queen Elizabeth I. He was father to Reverend Samuel Rosewell
Samuel Rosewell
Reverend Samuel Rosewell was a Presbyterian minister born at Rotherhithe, Surrey.-Early years and education:Samuel was the eldest son of Reverend Thomas Rosewell and his second wife, Anne Godsalve . He was only 12 years old when his father died. He was a scholar at St Paul's School, London and...
, London Presbyterian
Presbyterianism
Presbyterianism refers to a number of Christian churches adhering to the Calvinist theological tradition within Protestantism, which are organized according to a characteristic Presbyterian polity. Presbyterian theology typically emphasizes the sovereignty of God, the authority of the Scriptures,...
minister and also a first cousin to Reverend Walter Rosewell, Puritan minister of Chatham, Kent.
Marriages
Thomas married (1) Susannah Strickland (d. 1661) daughter of John Strickland of SalisburySalisbury
Salisbury is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England and the only city in the county. It is the second largest settlement in the county...
, Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
on 29 May 1656 and (2) a widow, Anne Godsalve (née Wanley) on 9 Jan 1677. He had three children by his first wife: Susannah; Elizabeth; and Margaret, who married the nonconformist bookseller John Lawrence; and four by the second: Susannah; Rhoda; Samuel; and Eliezer.
Career and Ministries
In 1652 he took the post of tutor to the nephew of John Dodridge at Weare Gifford, Devon. He was presented to the rectory of Rode, Somerset by the widow of Sir Edward Hungerford in May 1653 and was ordained at Salisbury in 1654 by the Presbyterians John Strickland rector of Salisbury, Wiltshire and Peter Ince rector of Donhead St Andrew, Wiltshire. He exchanged ministries for Sutton Mandeville, Wiltshire in 1657 in order for his wife to be nearer to her father in Salisbury.He was ejected by the uniformity act in 1662 and became, in 1663, chaplain and tutor in Lady Hungerford's family at Corsham
Corsham
Corsham is a historic market town and civil parish in north west Wiltshire, England. It is at the south western extreme of the Cotswolds, just off the A4 which was formerly the main turnpike road from London to Bristol, between Bath and Chippenham ....
, Wiltshire. He suffered a slight mental disturbance in 1671 and moved as tutor to the family of Thomas Grove of Ferne near Berwick St John, Wiltshire. He developed depression and went to live in the house of Luke Rugeley, M.D. from October 1673 to February 1674 when he was completly recovered.
During his life, Thomas Rosewell published two books: An Answer unto Thirty Questions Propounded by the Quakers (1656) and The Causes and Cure of the Pestilence (1665).
In 5 May 1674 he was elected as non-conformist
Nonconformism
Nonconformity is the refusal to "conform" to, or follow, the governance and usages of the Church of England by the Protestant Christians of England and Wales.- Origins and use:...
minister at Rotherhithe
Rotherhithe
Rotherhithe is a residential district in inner southeast London, England and part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is located on a peninsula on the south bank of the Thames, facing Wapping and the Isle of Dogs on the north bank, and is a part of the Docklands area...
, Surrey.
Tried for treason
His fame rests on his sensational trial for high treason in 1684. In a sermon preached on 14 September that year Rosewell allegedly declared that ‘we have had two wicked kings now together who have suffered popery to be introduced under their noses…'. He was arrested on 18 September and was tried in Westminster Hall by “Hanging” Judge Jeffries.The charge against him, that of treasonable preaching pointing to the king's death, was absurdly at variance with the whole of his previous character and known opinions. Thomas conducted his own defence and argued over the meaning of the charges written in Latin compared to the English words that he actually used. Evidence against him was tendered by three women of disreputable character, one of whom admitted that she had been paid to collect evidence. It is not clear from their sworn testimony whether they wilfully distorted his words or mistook his meaning. Despite clear counter-evidence presented by numerous witnesses, the jury, directed by Jeffreys, found him guilty of treason for which the penalty would have been death by beheading. However, he was not sentenced.
When he came for sentence on 24 November, he argued his exception to the indictment as being deficient in the the English interpretation of the original Latin. Jeffries acceded to Thomas's appeal for Counsel to argue a case about the sentence but would not agree to provide a copy of the indictment. Jeffries took Counsel's arguement under consideration and released Thomas on bail.
His arrest and conviction had shocked and enraged Presbyterians and Anglicans alike. On 28 January 1685 Charles II
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...
, who had been told by Sir John Talbot, ‘If your majesty suffers this man to die, we are none of us safe in our houses,’ granted him a pardon.
The whole proceedings of this trial was reported and is referred to in more recent works on the proper conduct of trial by jury.
Death
He died at BermondseyBermondsey
Bermondsey is an area in London on the south bank of the river Thames, and is part of the London Borough of Southwark. To the west lies Southwark, to the east Rotherhithe, and to the south, Walworth and Peckham.-Toponomy:...
, Surrey on 14 Feb 1692 and was buried at Bunhill Fields
Bunhill Fields
Bunhill Fields is a cemetery in the London Borough of Islington, north of the City of London, and managed by the City of London Corporation. It is about 4 hectares in extent, although historically was much larger....
, London. The funeral service was conducted by three Presbyterian and three Independent ministers. Mathew Mead, Independent minister of Stepney
Stepney
Stepney is a district of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in London's East End that grew out of a medieval village around St Dunstan's church and the 15th century ribbon development of Mile End Road...
, preached his funeral sermon.
The original headstone was inscribed in Latin. Some time later, a new headstone was erected at the rear of the original and it was inscribed with an English translation of the Latin text as follows:
Here is buried THOMAS ROSEWELL a most distinguished divine.
Born at Dunkerton in the county of Somerset:
A graduate of Pembroke College, Oxford:
Who administered the sacraments first at Rode in the aforesaid county:
Then in the town of Sutton Mandeville in the county of Wiltshire until St Bartholomew’s day in the year 1662:
Finally he was appointed pastor of the church at Rotherhithe near London in the county of Surrey.
A man no less esteemed for his piety and modesty than for his learning;
a preacher outstanding in skill, eloquence and zeal;
an assiduous and most expert interpreter of Holy Scripture.
Who after many labours and most grievous troubles arising from the injustice of the times,
which he had borne for Christ’s sake with the greatest fortitude,
died peacefully at the aforesaid Rotherhithe on February 14th.
In the 52nd year of his life and the year of the Lord 1692.