
Richard Allestree or Allestry ( ; 1621/22 – 28 January 1681) was an English
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 ...
churchman and
provost of
Eton College
Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...
from 1665.
Life
The son of Robert Allestree, descended from an old
Derbyshire
Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...
family, he was born at
Uppington in Shropshire. Although
John Fell gave his birth date as March 1619, this conflicts with his college records.
He was educated at the
Free School,
Coventry
Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...
, and entered
Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...
, under
Richard Busby. He entered as a commoner in 1636, matriculating as a student on 17 February 1637 aged fifteen,
[ and took the degree of B.A. in 1640 and that of M.A. in 1643.
In 1642 he joined the king's army, under Sir John Byron. When the parliamentary forces arrived in ]Oxford
Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town.
The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
, he hid the Christ Church valuables, and the soldiers found nothing in the treasury "except a single groat and a halter at the bottom of a large iron chest". Allestree escaped severe punishment only because the army hastily retreated from the town. He was present at the Battle of Edgehill in October 1642, after which, while hurrying to Oxford to prepare for the king's visit to Christ Church, he was captured by a troop of Lord Say's soldiers from Broughton House, Cambridge, and soon afterwards set free on the surrender of the place to the king's forces. In 1643 he was again on military service, performing "all duties of a common soldier" and "frequently holding his musket
A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket gradually dis ...
in one hand and his book in the other". At the close of the English Civil War
The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...
, he returned to his studies, took holy orders
In certain Christian denominations, holy orders are the ordination, ordained ministries of bishop, priest (presbyter), and deacon, and the sacrament or rite by which candidates are ordained to those orders. Churches recognizing these orders inclu ...
, was made Censor and became a "noted tutor".
He remained an ardent royalist. He voted for the university decree against the Covenant, and, refusing submission to the parliamentary visitors in 1648, he was expelled. He found a retreat as chaplain in the house of Francis Newport, later Viscount Newport, in whose service he travelled to France. On his return he joined two of his friends, John Dolben
John Dolben (1625-1686) was an English priest and Church of England bishop and archbishop.
Life
Early life
He was the son of William Dolben (died 1631), prebendary of Lincoln and bishop-designate of Gloucester, and Elizabeth Williams, n ...
and John Fell, afterwards respectively Archbishop of York
The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers the ...
and Bishop of Oxford
The Bishop of Oxford is the diocesan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Oxford in the Province of Canterbury; his seat is at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford. The current bishop is Steven Croft (bishop), Steven Croft, following the Confirm ...
, and later joined the household of Sir Antony Cope of Hanwell, near Banbury
Banbury is an historic market town and civil parish on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. The parish had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census.
Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding ...
. He was now frequently employed in carrying despatches between the future Charles II of England
Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651 and King of England, Scotland, and King of Ireland, Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685.
Charles II was the eldest su ...
and royalist sympathisers. In May 1659 he brought a command from Charles in Brussels
Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
, directing Brian Duppa, the Bishop of Salisbury
The Bishop of Salisbury is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Salisbury in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers much of the counties of Wiltshire and Dorset. The Episcopal see, see is in the Salisbur ...
, to summon all bishops to consecrate clergymen to various sees "to secure a continuation of the order in the Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
", then in danger of becoming extinct.
While returning from one of these missions, in the winter before the Restoration, he was arrested at Dover and committed a prisoner at Lambeth Palace
Lambeth Palace is the official London residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury. It is situated in north Lambeth, London, on the south bank of the River Thames, south-east of the Palace of Westminster, which houses Parliament of the United King ...
, then used as a jail for royalists, but was freed after a few weeks at the instance, among others, of Lord Shaftesbury. At the Restoration he became canon of Christ Church, D.D. and city lecturer at Oxford. In 1663 he was made chaplain to the king and Regius Professor of Divinity
The Regius Professorships of Divinity are amongst the oldest professorships at the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge. A third chair existed for a period at Trinity College Dublin.
The Oxford and Cambridge chairs were founded by ...
. He was an Arminian
Arminianism is a movement of Protestantism initiated in the early 17th century, based on the Christian theology, theological ideas of the Dutch Reformed Church, Dutch Reformed theologian Jacobus Arminius and his historic supporters known as Remo ...
discussion partner of the Calvinist
Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Protestantism, Continenta ...
Thomas Barlow while at Oxford. In 1665 he was appointed provost of Eton College
Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...
, and proved himself a capable administrator. He introduced order into the disorganised finances of the college and procured the confirmation of William Laud
William Laud (; 7 October 1573 – 10 January 1645) was a bishop in the Church of England. Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury by Charles I of England, Charles I in 1633, Laud was a key advocate of Caroline era#Religion, Charles I's religious re ...
's decree which reserved five of the Eton fellowships for members of King's College. His additions to the college buildings were less successful: the Upper School constructed by him at his own expense, was falling into ruin almost in his lifetime, and was replaced by the present structure in 1689.
Allestree was buried in the chapel at Eton College, where there is a Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
inscription to his memory.
Allestree bequeathed his library of circa 3500 books to Christ Church, Oxford, where he also served as treasurer, helping the college to recover in the years after the civil war.
Works
His writings are:
*''The Privileges of the University of Oxford in point of Visitation'' (1647) – a tract answered by Prynne in the ''University of Oxford's Plea Rejected''.
*
The Gentlemans Calling
' (1660).
*Various sermons published separately, including ''A Sermon on Acts xiii. 2'' (1660).
*''The Government of the Tongue'' (1667
1674
.
*''18 Sermons whereof 15 Preached before the King'' ..(1669).
*
The Ladies Calling. In Two Parts.
' (1673).
*''A Paraphrase and Annotations upon All the Epistles of St Paul'' (joint author with Abraham Woodhead and Obadiah Walker, 1675, see edition of 1853 and preface by W Jacobson).
*''40 Sermons whereof 21 are Now First Published'' ..(2 vols., 1684).
In the ''Cases of Conscience'' by Thomas Barlow, Bishop of Lincoln
The Bishop of Lincoln is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary (diocesan bishop) of the Church of England Diocese of Lincoln in the Province of Canterbury.
The present diocese covers the county of Lincolnshire and the unitary authority areas of Nort ...
(1692), Allestree's judgment on Mr Cottington's Case of Divorce is included. A share in the composition, if not the sole authorship, of the books published under the name of the author of '' The Whole Duty of Man'' has been attributed to Allestree ( Nichols's ''Anecdotes'', ii. 603), and the tendency of modern criticism is to regard him as the author. His lectures, with which he was dissatisfied, were not published.
Allestree was a man of extensive learning, of moderate views and a fine preacher. He was generous and charitable, of "a solid and masculine kindness," and of a temper hot, but completely under control.
Authorities
*Wood
Wood is a structural tissue/material found as xylem in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulosic fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin t ...
's ''Athenae Oxonienses'' (edited by Bliss), iii. 1269
*Wood's ''Fasti'', i. 480, 514, ii. 57, 241, 370
*Richard Allestree, 40 sermons, with biographical preface by Dr John Fell (2 vols., 1684)
*''Sufferings of the Clergy'', (1714) by John Walker
*''Architectural History of Eton and Cambridge'', by R. Willis, i. 420
*''History of Eton College'', by Sir H. C. Maxwell-Lyte
*''History of Eton College'', by Lionel Cust (1899)
*Egerton manuscripts, Brit. Mus. 2807 f. 197 b.
References
*
Further reading
Richard Allestree (1621-1681) and the Allestree Library
at Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Allestree, Richard
1621 births
1681 deaths
17th-century English Anglican priests
Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford
Arminian ministers
Arminian theologians
Cavaliers
Clergy from Shropshire
Provosts of Eton College
Regius Professors of Divinity (University of Oxford)