GEMMS IDGEMMS-PERSON-000276
NameHenry Sacheverell
TitleDr
Gendermale
DenominationChurch of England
Livedb. ca. 1674-02-01 - d. 1724-06-05 (new)
Linked Manuscripts
Linked SermonsLe danger de l'Eglise de l'Etat par les faux Freres -- preacher (autograph: no)
Linked ReportsLetter on Henry Sacheverell's 1705 Sermon -- preacher
Associated PlacesCannock -- ParishSelattyn -- ParishSt Andrew Holborn -- ParishMagdalen College -- Place of StudyMagdalen College -- PostSt Saviour -- Post
Source of DataJennifer Farooq; Hannah Wood
Biographical Sources ConsultedODNB (Article: 24440); AO (Foster)
Other NoteHenry Sacheverell, son of Joshua Sacheverell (d.1684) and Susannah Smith, was baptized on 8 February 1674 in Marlborough. Sacheverell was elected to a demyship at Magdalen College, Oxford in 1689; he graduated B.A. in June 1693 and proceeded M.A. in May 1695. He was ordained as a deacon in 1695, but was denied ordainment as a priest by the bishop of Lichfield in 1697 due to his alleged inadequate Latin; denying this claim, Sacheverell applied again and was successfully ordained. He took up the living of Cannock, Staffordshire and returned to Magdalen in 1701 as a fellow of the college. He was created D.D. in 1708, obtaining the position of senior dean of arts the same year and of bursar the year following. Sacheverell gained a reputation for his inflammatory preaching, which became troublesome to whig authorities when Sacheverell became chaplain of St Saviour’s Southwark in 1709. On 5 November 1709 Sacheverell preached a particularly incendiary sermon in which he turned the anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot into an opportunity to attack dissenters and decry religious toleration. The following month Sacheverell was impeached before the House of Lords for high crimes and misdemeanours related to the seditious nature of his sermon. Sacheverell was found guilty in his 1710 trial, but Tory support and the influence of Queen Anne resulted in the lenient sentence of a three-year preaching ban. In the aftermath of the trial, Sacheverell was given the living of of Selattyn by an admirer, also obtaining the rectory of St. Andrew’s, Holborn in 1713. He enjoyed a brief revival in preaching fame after his ban ended, but faded from public life after his 1716 marriage to Mary. He died in Highgate on 5 June 1724 and was buried in St. Andrew’s, Holborn.
Attached URLs:
| URL | Notes |
|---|---|
| www.british-history.ac.uk/alumni-oxon/1500-1714/pp1297-1322 | Alumni Oxonienses |
GEMMS record createdFebruary 26, 2016
GEMMS record last editedAugust 10, 2021