Baxter, Richard

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Baxter, Richard (1615–91). Puritan divine. A Shropshireman, Baxter was educated locally. Sickened by a brief spell at the royal court, he returned home to study for ordination, after which he became master of Bridgnorth Grammar School (1638). Contact with nonconformists, however, sowed doubts about Anglicanism and episcopacy. After a spell as vicar of Kidderminster (1642) and parliamentary army chaplain, he became disillusioned by both sides in the Civil War. In 1660 he welcomed Charles II back, but his inflexibility at the Savoy conference helped its breakdown. After refusing the see of Hereford, he preached in London until ejected after the Act of Uniformity (1662). The outstanding personality among the dissenters of 1662, he was imprisoned on several occasions for preaching without licence. Having helped overthrow James II, he welcomed William and Mary. A prolific writer and man of conscience, he occupied a unique place in contemporary religious life.

Revd Dr William M. Marshall

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