Richard Hubberthorne

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Richard Hubberthorne (1628 (baptized) – 17 August 1662 [1] ) was an early Quaker preacher and writer active in the 1650s and early 1660s until his death in Newgate prison.

Newgate ancient gate in the wall of the City of London

Newgate was one of the historic seven gates of the London Wall around the City of London and one of the six which date back to Roman times. From it, a Roman road led west to Silchester, Hampshire. Excavations in 1875, 1903 and 1909 revealed the Roman structure and showed that it consisted of a double roadway between two square flanking guardroom towers.

Contents

Hubberthorne is generally overshadowed by more famous early Quakers like George Fox, James Nayler, and Edward Burrough. William Braithwaite Beginnings of Quakerism includes him among the "heroic pioneers of the new movement", [2] but puts him last, and later describes his writing as having "no distinction either of style or matter". [3]

George Fox English Dissenter and founder of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)

George Fox was an English Dissenter, who was a founder of the Religious Society of Friends, commonly known as the Quakers or Friends. The son of a Leicestershire weaver, he lived in times of social upheaval and war. He rebelled against the religious and political authorities by proposing an unusual, uncompromising approach to the Christian faith. He travelled throughout Britain as a dissenting preacher, often being persecuted by the disapproving authorities. In 1669, he married Margaret Fell, widow of a wealthy supporter, Thomas Fell; she was a leading Friend. His ministry expanded and he made tours of North America and the Low Countries. He was arrested and jailed numerous times for his beliefs. He spent his final decade working in London to organize the expanding Quaker movement. Despite disdain from some Anglicans and Puritans, he was viewed with respect by the Quaker convert William Penn and the Lord Protector, Oliver Cromwell.

James Nayler English Quaker, mystic, writer, religious dissenter

James Nayler was an English Quaker leader. He was among the members of the Valiant Sixty, a group of early Quaker preachers and missionaries. At the peak of his career, he preached against enclosure and the slave trade.

Edward Burrough (1634–1663) was an early English Quaker leader and controversialist. He is regarded as one of the Valiant Sixty, early Quaker preachers and missionaries.

Pre-Quaker life

Hubberthorne was born in Lancashire, the only son of a yeoman and his wife. His childhood is reminiscent of Fox's – Edward Burrough describes him as being "inclinable from his youth upwards to Religion and to the best way, always minding the best things", though unlike the headstrong young George, his disposition was "meek and lowly", and he "loved peace among men". However, around age 20 he joined the army and fought in the English Civil War, which Burrough reports without obvious disapproval. [4]

Lancashire County of England

Lancashire is a ceremonial county in North West England. The administrative centre is Preston. The county has a population of 1,449,300 and an area of 1,189 square miles (3,080 km2). People from Lancashire are known as Lancastrians.

Yeoman Small farmer

A yeoman was a member of a social class in England and the United States. It is also a military term.

English Civil War series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists

The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians ("Roundheads") and Royalists ("Cavaliers") over, principally, the manner of England's governance. The first (1642–1646) and second (1648–1649) wars pitted the supporters of King Charles I against the supporters of the Long Parliament, while the third (1649–1651) saw fighting between supporters of King Charles II and supporters of the Rump Parliament. The war ended with the Parliamentarian victory at the Battle of Worcester on 3 September 1651.

After the war ended, he apparently was in the company of the large group of disaffected radical puritans known as "Seekers" in the Westmorland area. [5] The Seekers were already close to a number of "Quaker" positions and practices: their official minister refused to accept payment from the compulsory tithes, for example, and after he left the group held some of their meetings in silence. [6]

Seekers

The Seekers, or Legatine-Arians as they were sometimes known, were an English Protestant dissenting group that emerged around the 1620s, probably inspired by the preaching of three brothers – Walter, Thomas, and Bartholomew Legate. Seekers considered all organised churches of their day corrupt and preferred to wait for God's revelation. Many of them subsequently joined the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers).

Westmorland historic county in England

Westmorland is a historic county in north west England. It formed an administrative county between 1889 and 1974, after which the whole county was administered by the new administrative county of Cumbria. In 2013, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Eric Pickles, formally recognised and acknowledged the continued existence of England's 39 historic counties, including Westmorland.

Minister (Christianity) religious occupation in Christianity

In Christianity, a minister is a person authorized by a church, or other religious organization, to perform functions such as teaching of beliefs; leading services such as weddings, baptisms or funerals; or otherwise providing spiritual guidance to the community. The term is taken from Latin minister, which itself was derived from minus ("less").

Quaker career

But the spark that lit a fire under the Westmorland Seekers was the arrival of George Fox in June 1652. Burrough, who was also one of them, recounts Hubberthorne's conversion experience in this way:

And when it pleased the Lord God everlasting to raise us up to be a People in the North parts, ... This same Person was one among the first of us whose heart the Lord touched with the sense of his Power and Kingdom; and amongst us he had the mighty operation of the Power of God experienced in his heart; Great afflictions and tribulations for many weeks was he exercised in ... he was in that state, and while therein exercised for many days, a wonder to all that beheld him, as one passing out of the body, as one under the deep sense of the hand of the Lord, under the operation of his Power; thus it was with many of us, and particularly with him... [7]

Works

A volume of his collected works were published in 1663, a year after his death, and titled A collection of the several books and writings of that faithful servant of God, Richard Hubberthorn, who finished his testimony (being a prisoner at Newgate for the truths sake) the 17th of the 6th month, 1662.

Not everything he wrote appears to be included in this volume however, because another recent book (Walking in the way of peace by Meredith Baldwin Weddle) refers to a pamphlet of his called The good old cause briefly demonstrated, published in 1659 that is not in the Collection.

Literature

International Standard Book Number Unique numeric book identifier

The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a numeric commercial book identifier which is intended to be unique. Publishers purchase ISBNs from an affiliate of the International ISBN Agency.

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References

This article was derived from Quakerpedia, a public domain resource. The original article is available here.

  1. ↑ Catie Gill, ‘Hubberthorne, Richard (bap. 1628, d. 1662)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , Oxford University Press, 2004, accessed 27 Dec 2008
  2. ↑ The Beginnings of Quakerism (1912) by William Braithwaite, p. 86 (hereafter, "BQ").
  3. ↑ BQ p. 303. The comments are also directed at George Whitehead's writings.
  4. ↑ Preface to the 1663 Collection of his works (see "Works" section above), pp. vi–vii.
  5. ↑ BQ p. 92.
  6. ↑ BQ p. 80 on tithes and 82 on silence.
  7. ↑ Collection pp. vii–viii, spelling modernized. The account continues: "Till such time as the same Power that killed made alive, as wounded also healed, as brought down also raised up ...
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