Saturday 26 May 2012

Thomas Watson, Puritan preacher, and Barnston, Essex

Some of my readers may know of Thomas Watson, the great Puritan divine, who wrote wonderful works of biblical theology.  Thomas Watson was active in the 17th century and spent his last years at Barnston, Essex.

He was ejected from the church in the City of London where he ministered in 1662, as were many principled preachers who could not in good conscience subscribe and submit to the Act of Uniformity.  It was the beginning of a new chapter of non-conformity in England.

Last Thursday I spent a very happy afternoon in the Essex countryside around Great Dunmow, The Rodings and The Easters.  The journey from High Roding to Barnston was really lovely on a perfect May day, when the sun shone brightly, the birds sang beautifully, the yellow fields of oil seed rape glowed gloriously, and the warm weather gladdened the heart of man and beast.





The Church of St Andrew at Barnston was rather remote and hard for me to find.















For those who are keen on the history of the church in the Puritan period, this plaque should be of interest.

A memorial plaque inside the church of St Andrew, Barnston, near Great Dunmow, Essex.




1 comment:

David said...

Thanks for the post about Thomas Watson. The photography was very nice. Very interesting that this great man of God finished his ministry there. I'm thinking the people there were very happy to have him as their preacher!

Dedham

Dedham
River Stour