William Benn (divine) facts for kids

William Benn (born November 1600 – died 22 March 1680) was an English minister who was forced to leave his church. He is known for his strong beliefs and for continuing to preach even when it was difficult.

Who Was William Benn?

William Benn was born in November 1600 in a place called Egremont, which is in Cumberland, England. He went to school at St. Bees and then studied at Queen's College, Oxford, but he did not finish his degree.

Starting His Ministry

When William Benn began his work as a minister, he went to a town called Oakingham. He found out that another minister, Bateman, who he knew from Oxford, had also chosen the same church. Instead of arguing, they decided to share the church for several years.

Later, a noblewoman named Helena, Marchioness of Northampton asked Benn to be her personal minister. She lived in Somerset. So, Benn left Oakingham to Bateman and worked for the Marchioness until 1629.

Preaching in Dorchester

In 1629, William Benn moved to Dorchester. A man named John White helped him become the preacher at All Saints Church there. In the early 1650s, Benn started his own special church group, which was called a "gathered church."

He stayed in Dorchester until 1662. For two years, he also helped John White as a rector (a type of church leader) in Lambeth, Surrey. Besides preaching regularly in his own church, Benn also preached to prisoners during the week. He even helped build a small chapel inside the jail for them.

Challenges and Later Life

In 1654, Benn helped officials remove ministers and schoolteachers who were not doing a good job. In 1662, a new law called the Act of Uniformity 1662 was passed. This law made it very hard for ministers like Benn, who did not agree with the official Church of England, to keep their jobs. Because of this law, William Benn was "ejected," meaning he was forced to leave his church.

Even after being ejected, Benn stayed in Dorchester. He continued to preach in private meetings called "conventicles," which were not allowed by the law. Because of this, he was sometimes put in prison and had to pay fines.

William Benn passed away on 22 March 1680. He was buried in the churchyard of his old church, All Saints.

What Did William Benn Write?

William Benn wrote a short book in 1672 called A sober Answer to Francis Bampfield in Vindication of the Christian Sabbath against the Jewish, id est the observance of the Jewish still. This book was about his beliefs on the Christian Sabbath (Sunday) compared to the Jewish Sabbath (Saturday).

After he died, a collection of his sermons (church talks) was published in 1683. It was called Soul Prosperity and was based on a Bible verse from John 3:2. This book is now very rare and is an important example of books written by Puritans from that time.

William Benn's Family

One of William Benn's daughters married another minister named Theophilus Polwhele.

Interestingly, a newspaper called the Church Times has said that the famous Labour politician Tony Benn was one of William Benn's descendants.