Ashe, Simeon ( - 1662-08-23)

The exact birth date of Simeon Ashe is unknown. He was admitted sizar at Emmanuel College, Cambridge in April 1613, where his tutors included Thomas Hooker. He was ordained deacon and priest in October 1619 at Peterborough. By 1627 he was vicar at Rugeley, Staffordshire, but lost this post for opposing the Book of Sports. He then became chaplain to Robert Greville, 2nd Lord Brooke. At the beginning of the English Civil Wars he was chaplain to Edward Montagu's regiment and later an active participant in the Westminster Assembly. He preached in a variety of places including Cornhill until 1655, when he became minister at St. Augustine by St. Paul, Watling Street. Ashe was a renowned preacher of funeral sermons, particularly of ministers in London. Edmund Calamy preached Ashe's own funeral sermon on 23 August 1662, the eve of Black Bartholomew's Day.