By pupils of Ryhall CE Primary School and John Haden
Published by Barny Books
ISBN: 978-1-906542-61-0
This volume represents the work of the pupils in Years 5 and 6 from Ryhall
Church of England Primary School who have explored in depth the life of local
hero or villain (delete as appropriate), Robert Browne.
Browne was a member of what had been in the
fifteenth century Stamford’s most prominent
family, and was a descendant of Christopher
Browne, who had set himself up as a member of
the landed gentry at Tolethorpe Hall, just
outside the town. Born around 1550, he was
educated at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge,
and, the pupils suggest, came under the
influence of the distinguished radical
theologian, Thomas Cartwright, whose lectures
he attended. Browne’s unwillingness to seek
ordination after his graduation suggests that his
views seem already to have been radicalised
and, after a spell of teaching, he returned to
the Cambridge area in 1578. It was clear that
by then Browne had become one of that small
number of Elizabethans who had rejected both
the royal supremacy and the authority of
bishops, believing that each congregation
should control its own affairs. He moved to Norwich, where along with another
Cambridge graduate, Robert Harrison, he developed the concept of separatism,
‘Brownism’ as it became known to contemporaries. He attracted the hostility
of Bishop Freke of Norwich, who sought the assistance of Browne’s relative,
Elizabeth’s chief minister Lord Burghley, to curb his activities.
Browne was certainly lucky that Burghley was able to intervene on his behalf.
(In contrast, his fellow separatists Henry Barrow and John Greenwood would be
executed in 1593). When the going in Norwich became too tough Browne and
Harrison decamped to Middelburg in the Netherlands, which already had a
reputation for accommodating religious radicals from England. The pupils have
done particularly well in piecing together Browne’s activities in Middlelburg,
including the publishing of radical tracts; Browne fared better than two of
those, Elias Thacker and John Copping, who tried to sell his books in England.
They were executed. It was perhaps in the nature of separatism that disputes
should arise among its practitioners. After one such dispute in Middleburg,
Browne and Harrison decided to try their luck in Scotland, where Browne
hopelessly misjudged the situation. Scottish Presbyterians might have shared
his theological views; they did not, however, share his views on church
organisation and, after a short period of imprisonment, Browne left the
country and returned to England.
After once again falling foul of the authorities, Brown was in effect given the
choice of conforming to the Church of England or remaining in prison. To the
dismay of his followers he chose conformity, and for a time he contented
himself with teaching at St.Olave’s School in Southwark. However, London was
a centre of gathered separate congregations, to which Browne naturally
gravitated. In the circumstances Burghley thought it expedient to get him out
of London. Fortunately for Browne, his brother was able to present him to the
living of Little Casterton, so, for a short time, he returned home, before
moving to the living of Achurch cum Thorpe Waterville in Northamptonshire, a
living which was in Burghley’s gift. Quite how conscientiously he fulfilled his
duties as a country parson must remain a matter of conjecture; the pupils
suggest that much of the time he was ministering unofficially to a gathered
congregation in Thorpe Waterville. He retained the living of Achurch for over
forty years. Sadly, however, the end of his tenure in 1633 was touched by
tragedy. Arrested at the age of around of 83, he seems virtually to have
welcomed imprisonment. Perhaps he looked forward to some sort of
martyrdom. Certainly, by the reign of Charles I the Church of England in
general, and perhaps the diocese of Peterborough in particular, was no place
for a man of Browne’s views. Unsurprisingly, perhaps, imprisonment for a man
of his years proved fatal.
Browne remains a significant figure in the Elizabethan Church. As the
acknowledged founder of separatism, he spawned a force which would become
powerful on both sides of the Atlantic. It was his fellow separatists who
established the colony of Massachusetts in 1620 and, for a short time during
the Cromwellian period, separatism, or independency as it became known, was
the dominant religious strain in Cromwellian England. Browne was thus a very
significant Rutlander. The children of Ryhall Primary School have done him an
excellent service in re-asserting the importance of his career. In the process
they have shown just how valuable the study of local history can be in
developing the historical imaginations of the young, especially in
demonstrating how important the interaction can be between the local, the
national and, indeed in this case, the international.
Mike Tillbrook
‘Troublechurch’ Browne of Tolethorpe and the Separatist Movement