John Featley, also known as John Fairclough (c.1605 – 1666), was a chorister and

divine Divinity (from Latin ) refers to the quality, presence, or nature of that which is divine—a term that, before the rise of monotheism, evoked a broad and dynamic field of sacred power. In the ancient world, divinity was not limited to a singl ...

. He was a

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

ODNB 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 ...

''John Featley'' His uncle was the theologian

Daniel Featley Daniel Featley, also called Fairclough and sometimes called Richard Fairclough/Featley (15 March 158217 April 1645), was an English theologian and controversialist. He fell into difficulties with Parliament due to his loyalty to Charles I of E ...

Life

The son of John Fairclough, the elder brother of Daniel Featley, he was born in

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

in or about 1605. He was admitted either clerk or chorister at

All Souls' College, Oxford All Souls College (official name: The College of All Souls of the Faithful Departed, of Oxford) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full me ...

, and took his B.A. degree on 25 February 1624. After being ordained he went to

Saint Kitts Saint Kitts, officially Saint Christopher, is an island in the West Indies. The west side of the island borders the Caribbean Sea, and the eastern coast faces the Atlantic Ocean. Saint Kitts and the neighbouring island of Nevis constitute one ...

, the first preacher in the colony, in 1626. During 1635 and 1636 he was curate to his uncle at

Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, which today also gives its name to the (much larger) London Borough of Lambeth. Lambeth itself was an ancient parish in the county of Surrey. It is situated 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Charin ...

, and probably at Acton. In 1639 he was made chaplain to Charles I, in the

First Bishops' War The First Bishops' War was a conflict that took place in Scotland in 1639 between a Scottish political movement known as the Covenanters and forces loyal to King Charles I, who at that time was the king of both Scotland and England. Military acti ...

. When the

First English Civil War The First English Civil War took place in England and Wales from 1642 to 1646, and forms part of the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. An estimated 15% to 20% of adult males in England and Wales served in the military at some point b ...

was turning adverse for the royalists, he was persuaded by his uncle to return to Saint Kitts, for which he sailed with his wife, children, and servants from

Tilbury Tilbury is a port town in the borough of Thurrock, Essex, England. The present town was established as separate settlement in the late 19th century, on land that was mainly part of Chadwell St Mary. It contains a Tilbury Fort, 16th century fort ...

on 24 June 1643. In 1646 Featley was in

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, Netherlands. After the Restoration he was appointed on 29 June 1660 chaplain extraordinary to the king, who presented him on 13 August to the precentorship of Lincoln, and in September following to a prebend in

Lincoln Cathedral Lincoln Cathedral, also called Lincoln Minster, and formally the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lincoln, is a Church of England cathedral in Lincoln, England, Lincoln, England. It is the seat of the bishop of Lincoln and is the Mo ...

. In 1661 he was rector of

Langar, Nottinghamshire Langar is an English village in the Vale of Belvoir, about four miles (6.4 km) south of Bingham, in the Rushcliffe borough of Nottinghamshire. The civil parish of Langar cum Barnstone had a population of 980 at the 2011 Census. This was est ...

; he was later instituted to the vicarage of

Edwinstowe Edwinstowe is a village and civil parish in the Newark and Sherwood district of Nottinghamshire, England, on the edge of Sherwood Forest and the Dukeries. It is associated with the legends of Robin Hood and Maid Marian, and to a lesser extent ...

, Nottinghamshire. On 7 June 1661 he was created by royal mandamus D.D. at Oxford. Featley died at Lincoln in 1666, and was buried in a chapel in the Lincoln Cathedral.

Works

Featley published at least two of his uncle's tracts, together with his life, and was himself author of: * ''Sermon to the West India Company n Joshua i. 9', London, 1629. * ''Obedience and Submission. A Sermon n Heb. xiii. 17preached … 8 Dec. 1635'', London, 1636. * ''A Fountain of Teares emptying itselfe into three rivelets, viz., of (1) Compunction. (2) Compassion. (3) Devotion'', Amsterdam, 1646; another edition, London, 1683. His portrait, a small head, appears on the engraved title of the first edition of this manual.

References

;Attribution 1605 births 1666 deaths 17th-century English clergy English chaplains Christian chaplains Saint Kitts and Nevis clergy Burials at Lincoln Cathedral {{England-reli-bio-stub