Awnsham Churchill (1658–1728), of the Black Swan, Paternoster Row, London and

Henbury, Dorset Henbury is a hamlet (place), hamlet in the civil parish of Sturminster Marshall in Dorset, England. It lies on the A31 road. Henbury House is a classical Georgian architecture, Georgian house built in 1770. In the 19th century the estate was ...

, was an English bookseller and radical Whig politician who sat in the English and

British House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 memb ...

from 1705 to 1710.

Early life

Churchill was the son of William Churchill of

Dorchester, Dorset Dorchester ( ) is the county town of Dorset, England. It is situated between Poole and Bridport on the A35 trunk route. A historic market town, Dorchester is on the banks of the River Frome, Dorset, River Frome to the south of the Dorset Dow ...

, and his wife Elizabeth Awnsham, daughter of Nicholas Awnsham of Isleworth, Middlesex. He was the brother of the MPs Joshua Churchill and William Churchill. He was apprenticed to George Sawbridge and became a Freeman of the

Stationers' Company The Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers (until 1937 the Worshipful Company of Stationers), usually known as the Stationers' Company, is one of the livery companies of the City of London. The Stationers' Company was formed in 1 ...

in 1681. With another brother, John, he then entered into business as booksellers and stationers at the sign of the Black Swan in

Paternoster Row Paternoster Row is a street in the City of London that was a centre of the London publishing trade, with booksellers operating from the street. Paternoster Row was described as "almost synonymous" with the book trade. It was part of an area call ...

, London. At the beginning of 1680 he signed a petition to the king asking for the recall of parliament; and in 1682 he published a sermon of Samuel Bold against persecution.

Stationer

In the mid-1680s the Churchill brothers were involved in the opposition to

James II of England James II and VII (14 October 1633 – 16 September 1701) was King of England and Monarchy of Ireland, Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II of England, Charles II, on 6 February 1 ...

, visiting Amsterdam and consorting with those supporting Monmouth's Rebellion. He was arrested in 1687 for printing Gaspar Fagel's '' Letter'', which outlined the position on

religious toleration Religious tolerance or religious toleration may signify "no more than forbearance and the permission given by the adherents of a dominant religion for other religions to exist, even though the latter are looked on with disapproval as inferior, ...

of the

Prince of Orange Prince of Orange (or Princess of Orange if the holder is female) is a title associated with the sovereign Principality of Orange, in what is now southern France and subsequently held by the stadtholders of, and then the heirs apparent of ...

. Churchill was later stationer to William III of England, as the Prince became in 1689, and a leading bookseller of his time. He amassed a fortune, and was able to purchase, in 1704, the manor of Higher Henbury in

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

from John Morton, and that of West Ringstead from James Huishe in 1723.

Political career

Churchill was returned in a contest as Whig Member of Parliament for Dorchester at the

1705 English general election The 1705 English general election saw contests in 110 United Kingdom constituencies, constituencies in England and Wales, roughly 41% of the total. The election was fiercely fought, with mob violence and cries of "Church in Danger" occurring in ...

. He voted for the Court candidate for Speaker on 25 October 1705. He was distantly related to the other Dorchester member John Churchill and also was related to the Duke of Marlborough, but had little to do with him. He was closer to George Churchill, the Duke's brother. He was returned again unopposed as a Whig at the

1708 British general election The 1708 British general election was the first general election to be held after the Acts of Union had united the Parliaments of England and Scotland. The election saw the Whigs gain a majority in the House of Commons, and by November the Whi ...

. He kept a low profile in Parliament but voted in favour of naturalizing the Palatines in 1709 and for the impeachment of Sacheverell in 1710. This was enough to alienate the High Churchmen of Dorchester, and in 1710 they procured an address from the borough which pointedly condemned ‘republican principles and anti-monarchical notions’. They said they would take care to be represented in future Parliaments by eminently loyal and perspicuously zealous representatives. Churchill was defeated at the poll at the 1710 British general election, and again in

1713 Events January–March * January 17 – Tuscarora War: Colonel James Moore leads the Carolina militia out of Albemarle County, North Carolina, in a second offensive against the Tuscarora. Heavy snows force the troops to take ...

. He made no further attempts to enter Parliament

Relationship with John Locke

John Locke John Locke (; 29 August 1632 (Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.) – 28 October 1704 (Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.)) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of the Enlightenment thi ...

met Churchill in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

. They remained on friendly terms for many years. Churchill was Locke's publisher, and Edward Clarke acted as an intermediary at some point. The ''

Two Treatises of Government ''Two Treatises of Government'' (full title: ''Two Treatises of Government: In the Former, The False Principles, and Foundation of Sir Robert Filmer, and His Followers, Are Detected and Overthrown. The Latter Is an Essay Concerning The True O ...

'' and '' A Letter Concerning Toleration'' of 1689 were published by Churchill, with other works by Locke. Churchill also managed money and business for Locke. As Locke was dying in 1704 they parted at High Laver, and Churchill was a trustee for money Locke was leaving to Francis Cudworth Masham, son of Damaris Cudworth Masham.

Death and legacy

Churchill died unmarried on 24 April 1728, and his brother John succeeded to his estate. A library at Henbury was formed by the two brothers.

Publications

The Churchill brothers published in 1695 the edition of

William Camden William Camden (2 May 1551 – 9 November 1623) was an English antiquarian, historian, topographer, and herald, best known as author of ''Britannia'', the first chorographical survey of the islands of Great Britain and Ireland that relates la ...

's ''Britannia'' by

Edmund Gibson Edmund Gibson (16696 September 1748) was a British divine who served as Bishop of Lincoln and Bishop of London, jurist, and antiquary. Early life and career He was born in Bampton, Westmorland. In 1686 he was entered a scholar at Queen's ...

, from a manuscript of

John Aubrey John Aubrey (12 March 1626 – 7 June 1697) was an English antiquary, natural philosopher and writer. He was a pioneer archaeologist, who recorded (often for the first time) numerous megalithic and other field monuments in southern England ...

. A second edition of Gibson's Camden was issued by Awnsham alone in 1722. Their ''Collection of Voyages and Travels'' was well known,''A Collection of Voyages and Travels, some now first printed from original MSS., others translated out of foreign languages and now first published in English; in four volumes, with an original preface giving an account of the progress of navigation,'' &c., 1704, 4 vols. and was issued to subscribers in 1704. Two more volumes came out in 1732, when the first four volumes were reissued; a "third edition" of the six volumes is dated 1744–6; and another by Thomas Osborne, 1752. ''A Collection from the Library of the Earl of Oxford'', London, T. Osborne, 1745 and 1747, 2 vols, known as the "Harleian Collection", and a similar collection by John Harris (1744–8 as 2 vols.), are often grouped with Churchill's collection, as reprints of voyages and travels. Locke was involved, and it was stated on the title-page of the third edition that the preliminary essay on the history of navigation was attributed to him, which was later questioned; but it was included in Locke's works in 1812. The brothers also published the first edition of

Thomas Rymer Thomas Rymer (c. 1643 – 14 December 1713) was an English poet, literary critic, antiquary and historiographer. His lasting contribution was to compile and publish under royal warrant the 17 volumes (the last two posthumously) of the fir ...

's ''Fœdera'' (16 vols. 1701–15); the seventeenth volume (1717) was issued by William Churchill, and the last three (1726–1735) by Jacob Tonson.

Notes

Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Churchill, Awnsham 1658 births 1728 deaths English booksellers English MPs 1705–1707 People from Dorchester, Dorset British MPs 1707–1708 British MPs 1708–1710 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Dorchester