Gabriel Towerson (1635?–1697) was an English clergyman and theological writer.

Life

He was the son of William Towerson, and probably was born in London about 1635. He was educated first at St Paul's School. He then went to

The Queen's College, Oxford The Queen's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, England. The college was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Philippa of Hainault, queen of England. It is distinguished by its predominantly neoclassi ...

, where he was Pauline exhibitioner from 1650 to 1659. He matriculated on 27 February 1651, graduating B.A. on 17 June 1654 and M.A. on 21 April 1657. In 1657 his father petitioned

Richard Cromwell Richard Cromwell (4 October 162612 July 1712) was an English statesman who served as Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland from 1658 to 1659. He was the son of Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell. Following his father ...

, then Chancellor of the University of Oxford, to use his influence with the Warden and Fellows of

All Souls' College All Souls College (official name: The College of All Souls of the Faithful Departed, of Oxford) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members autom ...

to admit his son to one of the vacant fellowships. Towerson obtained his fellowship in 1660, and received the college rectory of

Welwyn Welwyn is a village and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England. The parish also includes the nearby villages and settlements of Digswell, Mardley Heath and Oaklands. The village is sometimes referred to as Old Welwyn or Welwyn Village, to ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

on the deprivation of Nicholas Greaves by the

Act of Uniformity 1662 The Act of Uniformity 1662 ( 14 Cha. 2. c. 4) is an act of the Parliament of England. (It was formerly cited as 13 & 14 Cha. 2. c. 4, by reference to the regnal year when it was passed on 19 May 1662.) It prescribed the form of public prayer ...

. He was admitted on 31 October 1662, and retained the living until his death. He was created D.D. by Archbishop

William Sancroft William Sancroft (30 January 161724 November 1693) was the 79th Archbishop of Canterbury, and was one of the Seven Bishops imprisoned in 1688 for seditious libel against King James II, over his opposition to the king's Declaration of Indulgen ...

on 1 February 1678, and was presented to the rectory of

St Andrew Undershaft St Andrew Undershaft is a Church of England church (building), church in the City of London, the historic nucleus and modern financial centre of London. It is located on St Mary Axe, within the Aldgate ward, and is a rare example of a City church ...

, London, on 20 April 1692. He died on 14 October 1697, and was buried at Welwyn. Towerson left his property to be equally divided among his seven children.

Works

Towerson published: * ‘A brief Account of some Expressions in the Creed of Saint Athanasius’ (anon.), Oxford, 1663. * ‘Explication of the Decalogue,’ London, 1676, reissued 1680, 1681, 1685. * ‘Explication of the Apostle's Creed,’ London, 1678, 1685. * ‘Explication of the Lord's Prayer,’ London, 1680, 1685. * ‘Of the Sacraments in General,’ London, 1686, 1687, 1688. * ‘Of the Sacrament of Baptism,’ London, 1687. * ‘Of the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper,’ London, 1688. * ‘A Sermon concerning Vocal and Instrumental Music in the Church,’ London, 1696. * ‘The Relative Duties of Husbands and Wives,’ and ‘The Relative Duties of Masters and Servants,’ in vol. iv. of ‘Tracts of Anglican Fathers,’ London, 1841–2. ‘An Explication of the Catechism of the Church of England’ (consisting of the above explications and remarks on the sacraments) was published in 1676, and again in 1685, etc. He contributed English verses to ''Britannia Rediviva'', Oxford, 1660, and to ''Epicedia Academiæ Oxoniensis in Obitum Serenissimæ Mariæ Principis Aurasionensis'', Oxford, 1661.

References

* ;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Towerson, Gabriel 1635 births 1697 deaths 17th-century English Anglican priests English theologians People educated at St Paul's School, London Alumni of the Queen's College, Oxford People from Welwyn