Francis Holcroft (1629?–1693) was an English

ejected minister The Great Ejection followed the Act of Uniformity 1662 in England. Several thousand Puritan ministers were forced out of their positions in the Church of England following the Stuart Restoration, Restoration of Charles II of England, Charles II ...

Life

He was son of Sir Henry Holcroft, born at

West Ham West Ham is a district in East London, England and is in the London Borough of Newham. It is an inner-city suburb located east of Charing Cross. The area was originally an ancient parish formed to serve parts of the older Manor of Ham, a ...

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

. He matriculated at

Clare Hall, Cambridge Clare Hall is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1966 by Clare College, Clare Hall is a college for advanced study, admitting only postgraduate students alongside postdoctoral researchers and fellows. It was est ...

in 1647.

John Tillotson John Tillotson (October 1630 – 22 November 1694) was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1691 to 1694. Curate and rector Tillotson was the son of a Puritan clothier at Haughend, Sowerby, Yorkshire. Little is known of his early youth; he stu ...

was his chamber-fellow about 1650. While at Cambridge he embraced puritan principles, and became a communicant with the congregation of Jonathan Jephcott at

Swaffham Prior Swaffham Prior is a small village in East Cambridgeshire, England. Lying 5 miles west of Newmarket, Suffolk, Newmarket, and two miles south west of Burwell, Cambridgeshire, Burwell, the village is often paired with its neighbour Swaffham Bulbe ...

. He graduated

M.A. A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in 1654, was elected fellow of his college, and took holy orders. For some years he voluntarily supplied the parish of

Litlington, Cambridgeshire Litlington is a village and civil parish in the East of England region and the county of Cambridgeshire in the United Kingdom. The village lies approximately southwest of Cambridge and northwest of Royston. History The parish of Litlington ...

. About 1655 he accepted the living of Bassingbourn, Cambridgeshire, where he was a successful preacher, and, was assisted by the Rev. Joseph Oddy, fellow of

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

. Holcroft eventually formed a church on congregational principles, and, after being ejected in 1662 from Bassingbourn, became a bitter opponent of

episcopalianism Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protes ...

. After his ejection, he brought his former parishioners into congregations at convenient centres, and acted as their minister, with the assistance of Oddy and S. Corbyn, both ejected fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge, who were appointed at a general meeting at Eversden. In 1663 Holcroft was imprisoned in Cambridge gaol, by order of

Thomas Chicheley Sir Thomas Chicheley (25 March 1614 – 1 February 1699) of Wimpole Hall, Cambridgeshire was a politician in England in the seventeenth century who fell from favour in the reign of James II. His name is sometimes spelt as Chichele. Life He wa ...

, for illegal preaching, but he was occasionally allowed by the warder to visit his congregations. At the assizes he was sentenced to abjure the realm, but on

Arthur Annesley, 1st Earl of Anglesey Arthur Annesley, 1st Earl of Anglesey, PC, (10 July 16146 April 1686) was an Anglo-Irish royalist statesman. After short periods as President of the Council of State and Treasurer of the Navy, he served as Lord Privy Seal between 1673 and 1682 ...

representing his case to Charles II he was allowed to remain in gaol. He was released at the

Declaration of Indulgence Declaration of Indulgence may refer to: * Declaration of Indulgence (1672) by Charles II of England in favour of nonconformists and Catholics * Declaration of Indulgence (1687) by James II of England granting religious freedom See also *Indulgence ...

in 1672, returned to his preaching, and was again imprisoned. By means of a writ of ''

certiorari In law, ''certiorari'' is a court process to seek judicial review of a decision of a lower court or government agency. ''Certiorari'' comes from the name of a prerogative writ in England, issued by a superior court to direct that the recor ...

'' he was removed as an insolvent debtor to the

Fleet Prison Fleet Prison was a notorious London prison by the side of the River Fleet. The prison was built in 1197, was rebuilt several times, and was in use until 1844. It was demolished in 1846. History The prison was built in 1197 off what is now ...

in London, and frequently preached there to large crowds of people. On discharging his debts he was released. During both these imprisonments he experienced support from Tillotson. Until 1689 Holcroft took general charge of a number of congregations in Cambridgeshire and the adjoining counties. Soon after 1689 his health gave way, and he became a prey to depression. His organization quickly came to grief, and he died on 6 January 1693 at

Thriplow Thriplow () is a village in Cambridgeshire, England, south of Cambridge. The village also gives its name to a former Hundreds of Cambridgeshire, Cambridgeshire hundred. History The parish of Thriplow covers , roughly spanning the land between ...

, Cambridgeshire, where he was buried. He left a small estate to the poor of his congregations, and a piece of ground at

Oakington Oakington is a small rural village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Oakington and Westwick, in the South Cambridgeshire district, in the county of Cambridgeshire, England, dating back to Roman times. It is north-west of Cambridge. ...

for a burial-place. Edmund Calamy stated that there was scarcely a village in Cambridgeshire in which Holcroft did not preach.

Works

He wrote a tract called "A Word to the Saints from the Watch Tower", 1688. It appears to have been written while he was in Cambridge gaol.

References

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Holcroft, Francis 1629 births 1693 deaths Ejected English ministers of 1662 Fellows of Clare College, Cambridge People from West Ham