Benjamin Brook (1776–1848) was an English nonconformist minister and religious historian.

Life

He was born at Netherthong, near

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into t ...

. When young he was admitted to membership in the independent church at Holmfield, under the Rev. Robert Gallond. In 1797 he entered

Rotherham College Rotherham College (formerly Rotherham College of Arts and Technology shortened to RCAT) is a further education college in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. It was established as Rotherham School of Science and Art in the 19th century. From ...

as a student for the ministry. In 1801 he became the first pastor of the congregational church at

Tutbury Tutbury is a village and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. It is north of Burton upon Trent and south of the Peak District. The village has a population of about 3,076 residents. It adjoins Hatton to the north on the Staffordshire–De ...

, Staffordshire. He pursued studies into

puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. P ...

and nonconformist history and biography. Resigning his ministerial duties in 1830, from failing health, he lived at

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

, still continuing his studies, and publishing. Alexander Gordon in the ''

Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'' comments that Brook was a better biographer than historian. He was a member of the educational board of Springhill College, opened August 1838. At the time of his death he was collecting materials for a history of puritans who emigrated to

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian province ...

. He died at the

Lozells Lozells is a loosely defined inner-city area in West Birmingham, England. It is centred on Lozells Road, and is known for its multi-racial population. It is part of the ward of Lozells and East Handsworth and lies between the districts of Hand ...

, then outside Birmingham, on 5 January 1848, at the age of 72. He is said to have been one of the last who retained among the congregationalists the old ministerial costume of shorts and black silk stockings.

Works

He published: * ''Appeal to Facts to justify Dissenters in their Separation from the Established Church'', 2nd ed. 1806, (3rd ed. 1815, with title ''Dissent from the Church of England justified by an Appeal to Facts''). * ''The Lives of the Puritans . . . from the Reformation under Q. Elizabeth to the Act of Uniformity, in 1662'', 1813, 3 vols. * ''The Reviewer reviewed'', 1815, in answer to an article in the ''Christian Observer'' on the ''Lives,'' Volume 14, pp. 386–406. * ''The History of Religious Liberty from the first Propagation of Christianity in Britain to the death of George III'', 1820, 2 vols. *''Memoir of the Life and Writings of Thomas Cartwright, B.D. . . . including the principal ecclesiastical movements in the reign of Q. Elizabeth'', 1845.Brook, B. (Benjamin). (1845)
Memoir of the life and writings of Thomas Cartwright
including the principal ecclesiastical movements in the reign of Queen Elizabeth. London: J. Snow.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brook, Benjamin 1776 births 1848 deaths English Congregationalist ministers English biographers 19th-century English historians Historians of Puritanism People from Kirklees (district) People from Tutbury