Francis Roberts (1609–1675) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...

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

clergyman Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

and

librarian A librarian is a person who professionally works managing information. Librarians' common activities include providing access to information, conducting research, creating and managing information systems, creating, leading, and evaluating educat ...

. Born in

Methley Methley is a dispersed village in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough, south east of Leeds, in West Yorkshire, England. It is located near Rothwell, West Yorkshire, Rothwell, Oulton, West Yorkshire, Oulton, Woodlesford, Mickletown and Aller ...

, near

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

, Roberts was educated at

Trinity College, Oxford Trinity College (full name: The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity in the University of Oxford, of the foundation of Sir Thomas Pope (Knight)) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in E ...

between 1625 and 1632. He studied as a

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' () of souls of a parish. In this sense, ''curate'' means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy who are as ...

under

John Burges John Burges (Burgess) (1563–1635) was an English clergyman and physician. He held nuanced reformist views on the vexed questions of the time, on clerical dress and church ceremonies. His preaching offended James I of England, early in his reig ...

Sutton Coldfield Sutton Coldfield or the Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield ( ), is a town and civil parish in the city of Birmingham, West Midlands County, West Midlands, England. The town lies around 8 miles northeast of Birmingham city centre, 9 miles south of L ...

, and by 1635 was established as the resident minister at

St Martin in the Bull Ring St Martin in the Bull Ring is a Church of England parish church in the city of Birmingham, West Midlands, England. It is the original parish church of Birmingham and stands between the Bull Ring Shopping Centre and the markets. The church is ...

, the parish church of

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, where he married in 1635 and where two of his children – Mary and Elizabeth – were

baptised Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...

in 1637 and 1638. While in Birmingham he founded the first Birmingham Library, one of the first public libraries in England, and developed a reputation as a "famed lecturer". During the

Battle of Birmingham The Battle of Camp Hill, also known as the Battle of Birmingham, took place on Easter Monday, 3 April 1643, in and around Camp Hill, Warwickshire, during the First English Civil War. In the skirmish, a company of Parliamentarians from the Lic ...

of April 1643, when the town – noted for its Parliamentarian and

support – was attacked by the

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...

Prince Rupert of the Rhine Prince Rupert of the Rhine, Duke of Cumberland, (17 December 1619 ( O.S.) 7 December 1619 (N.S.)– 29 November 1682 (O.S.) December 1682 (N.S) was an English-German army officer, admiral, scientist, and colonial governor. He first rose to ...

, Royalist troops attacked a minister reported to be a lunatic, "whereupon they supposing him to be Mr. Roberts, Minister of Birmingham, did most cruelly mangle and hack him to death" Roberts escaped, and was appointed minister of

St Augustine Watling Street St Augustine, Watling Street, was an Anglican church which stood just to the east of St Paul's Cathedral in the City of London. First recorded in the 12th century, it was destroyed by the Great Fire of London in 1666 and rebuilt to the designs o ...

in the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

the same year. Under Roberts, the parish became one of the city's most strongly

presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

, and Roberts himself was a confidant of

Robert Baillie Robert Baillie (30 April 16021662) was a Church of Scotland minister who became famous as an author and a propagandist for the Covenanters.

and kept in daily touch with

Simeon Ashe Simeon Ashe or Ash (died 1662) was an English nonconformist clergyman, a member of the Westminster Assembly and chaplain to the Parliamentary leader Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl of Manchester. Life He was educated at Emmanuel College, Cambridge. He ...

, Thomas Edwards, and

Cornelius Burges Cornelius Burges or Burgess, DD (1589? – 1665), was an English minister. He was active in religious controversy prior to and around the time of the Commonwealth of England and The Protectorate, following the English Civil War. In the years ...

. In 1650 Roberts was appointed rector of

Wrington Wrington is a village and a civil parish, civil and ecclesiastical parish on the north slopes of the Mendip Hills in North Somerset, England. Both include nearby Redhill, Somerset, Redhill. Wrington lies in the valley of the Congresbury Yeo riv ...

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

, where he was to spend the remainder of his life. Following the Restoration he conformed to the Church of England and in 1673 he was the first chaplain to the

Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the K ...

Arthur Capell, 1st Earl of Essex Arthur Capell, 1st Earl of Essex (13 July 1683), also spelt Capel, of Cassiobury House, Watford, Hertfordshire, was an English statesman. Early life He was the son of Arthur Capell, 1st Baron Capell of Hadham (executed in 1649) by his wif ...

. Roberts was a notable author, writing both scholarly and popular works including ''Synopsis of Theology or Divinity'' (1645), ''Mysterium & medulla bibliorum, the Mysterie and Marrow of the Bible'' (1657), and ''Clavis bibliorum; the Key of the Bible'' (1665) – written for "the help of the weakest capacity in the understanding of the whole Bible".

References

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Francis 1609 births 1675 deaths English Presbyterian ministers of the Interregnum (England) English librarians