Thomas Case (1598–30 May 1682) was an English clergyman of

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

beliefs, a member of the

Westminster Assembly The Westminster Assembly of Divines was a council of divines (theologians) and members of the English Parliament appointed from 1643 to 1653 to restructure the Church of England. Several Scots also attended, and the Assembly's work was adopt ...

, where he was one of the strongest advocates of Christian government. Although earlier a strong defender of the Parliamentary cause, he fell out of sympathy with the

regicides Regicide is the purposeful killing of a monarch or sovereign of a polity and is often associated with the usurpation of power. A regicide can also be the person responsible for the killing. The word comes from the Latin roots of ''regis'' ...

and became a supporter of the Restoration of the Stuart monarchy.

Life

He was born in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, the son of George Case, vicar at Boxley. He was educated at

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...

and Merchant Taylors' School. A student of Christ Church, Oxford in 1616, he graduated M.A. in 1623. A curate at North Repps,

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

, he became incumbent of

Erpingham Erpingham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. Its area of had a population of 541 in 210 households at the 2001 Census. Including Ingworth it increased to 700 at the 2011 Census. Governance For the purposes of loca ...

. He was a preacher at Manchester and Salford in 1635 but was prosecuted for contempt of church ceremonies in both dioceses (Norwich and Chester). His marriage to Anne Mosley of Ancoats in 1637 brought him into an influential family, connecting him to Salford chapel by her late husband Robert Booth and to John Angier. His stepson Sir Robert Booth was

Lord Chief Justice of Ireland The Court of King's Bench (or Court of Queen's Bench during the reign of a Queen) was one of the senior courts of common law in Ireland. It was a mirror of the Court of King's Bench in England. The Lord Chief Justice was the most senior judge ...

1679-80: Case supervised his education, and instilled his own Presbyterian beliefs in him. He was a lecturer in several London churches 1641-2, and a member of the Westminster Assembly from 1643. He was intruded rector of Stockport, Cheshire, in 1645-6. He was ejected by Parliament from the rectory of St. Mary Magdalen, Milk Street in 1649, after he refused the engagement. Then he spent time as a lecturer in Aldermanbury and

Cripplegate Cripplegate was a gate in the London Wall which once enclosed the City of London. The gate gave its name to the Cripplegate ward of the City which straddles the line of the former wall and gate, a line which continues to divide the ward into ...

. He was arrested on 2 May 1651, becoming one of the ministers imprisoned as being privy to the presbyterian plot to recall Charles II, along with William Blackmore, Roger Drake, Matthew Haviland, Arthur Jackson,

William Jenkyn William Jenkyn (1613–1685) was an English clergyman, imprisoned during the Interregnum for his part in the 'Presbyterian plot' of Christopher Love, ejected minister in 1662, and imprisoned at the end of his life for nonconformity. Life Jenkyn w ...

, Christopher Love who was singled out as ringleader, Ralph Robinson, and Thomas Watson. He spent about six months in the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is sep ...

. Subsequently he was rector of St. Giles-in-the-Fields, London, from about 1652. He was deputed by presbyterians to congratulate Charles II at

the Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

, 1660, at the time of the Restoration, and became chaplain to the king. He took part in the

Savoy conference The Savoy Conference of 1661 was a significant liturgical discussion that took place, after the Restoration of Charles II, in an attempt to effect a reconciliation within the Church of England. Proceedings It was convened by Gilbert Sheldo ...

1661, but was ejected for nonconformity at the time of the Act of Uniformity 1662. When he died in 1682, he was the last of the surviving dissenting member of the Westminster Assembly.

Works

*''Correction, Instruction: or, A Treatise of Afflictions'' (1653) *''Imitation of the Saints opened in Practical Meditations'' (1666) *''Mount Pisgah: or, A Prospect of Heaven'' (1670).

References

*''Concise Dictionary of National Biography''

Notes

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Case, Thomas 1598 births 1682 deaths English ministers refusing the engagement of 1649 Participants in the Savoy Conference Ejected English ministers of 1662 Westminster Divines People educated at Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford People from Kent English Calvinist and Reformed theologians 17th-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians