Pocklington, John ( - 1642-11-14)

John Pocklington matriculated from St John’s College, Cambridge around 1595 and migrated to Sidney Sussex College in 1598. He graduated B.A. in 1599 and proceeded M.A. in 1603, remaining at Sidney Sussex as a fellow after his ordination in 1605. He proceeded B.D. in 1610 and received dispensation to retain his fellowship at Sidney Sussex after being made vicar of Babergh, Suffolk in 1610 and Brabraham, Cambs. in 1611. Pocklington became a fellow of Pembroke College, Cambridge in 1613, weathering a series of accusations and controversies before resigning in 1618. Pocklington was presented to the rectories of Waresley, Herts. in 1615 and Yelden, Beds. in 1618; in Yelden he married his wife Anne and fathered four children (Margaret, Oliver, John, and Elizabeth) between 1632 and 1627. He was collated to prebends at Peterborough (1623) and Lincoln (1627), also serving as chaplain to the bishop of Lincoln, John Williams. Pocklington was a fervent supporter of Laudian orthodoxy during the 1630s; his views were set out in “Sunday no Sabbath” (1636), in which he dismissed sabbatarianism, and “Altare Christianum, or, the Dead Vicars Plea” (1637), in which he stressed the sacramental role of the priesthood. In 1637 Pocklington was made chaplain-in-ordinary to the king, and in 1639 received a canonry at Windsor. Pocklington suffered a reversal of fortune in 1641: prosecuted on account of his books and because of his high church views, Pocklington was deprived by the House of Lords of his livings and forbidden from holding a place in the Church again, while his books were ordered be burnt publicly. He retired to Peterborough and died on 14 November 1642.