Journal: Westminster Theological Journal
Volume: WTJ 86:2 (Fall 2024)
Article: Sir John Hartopp Of Freeby, 3rd Baronet (1637–1722): “Popular Patriot And Pillar Of Dissent”
Author: Lesley A. Rowe

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Sir John Hartopp Of Freeby, 3rd Baronet (1637–1722): “Popular Patriot And Pillar Of Dissent”

Lesley A. Rowe

Lesley A. Rowe is an independent church historian, and visiting scholar at Queen’s University, Belfast.

Sir John Hartopp is primarily remembered as the patron of John Owen and Isaac Watts. This article seeks to provide a fuller assessment of the contribution made by Hartopp as a “pillar of dissent” within post-Restoration congregational communities. It argues that Hartopp deserves to be recognized not only as a facilitator of Owen and Watts, but also for the wider influence he exerted as a model of godly living from amongst those of high birth. A closer examination of Hartopp’s long life and career provides rich insights into the culture of nonconformity during this period.

The foundational role of lay patronage in the establishment of the Reformation in Europe during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries has long been acknowledged. From the vital part played by Martin Luther’s patron, Elector Frederick III of Saxony, onwards, the interconnections of religion and politics have been well documented. The extensive historiography of patronage during the post-Reformation period in England has highlighted the interdependent relationships that existed between noble/gentry Puritans and ministers. Regarded as an intrinsic feature of Puritan culture, such symbiotic networks were the means by which the Reformed faith was nurtured and became embedded in local society. Puritan patrons presented their favored candidates to parish livings, sheltered nonconformists within their own households as chaplains and tutors, and provided financial support for the establishment of godly lectureships.

Sir John Hartopp stands firmly within this long tradition of godly patronage. The re-establishment of the Church of England under episcopal rule after the restoration of the monarchy in 1660 meant that prominent nonconformists like Hartopp had to negotiate a new set of challenges as increasingly their activities became criminalized. Not a man naturally to seek the limelight of the public sphere, Hartopp was aware that he could not shirk the responsibilities

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brought by his high social status, and consequently found himself acclaimed as a champion of a marginalized minority, a “pillar of dissent” within post-Restoration congregational communities. He was described in a list of “persons eminent among the dissenters” as “boldly patronising the despised cause of the dissenters amidst the fiercest persecutions.”1

Hartopp’s reputation as a man of learning and spiritual integrity...