John Alsop d.1647?

John ALSOP -1647?

Biographical Note

Born in Crewkerne, Somerset, son of John Alsop. BA Christ’s College, Cambridge 1621, fellow 1623, MA 1624, BD 1636; College Proctor 1634, Dean and Mildmay Preacher 1636, possibly also acted as Librarian. Rector of Fordham, Essex, 1633 (sequestered 1643); rector of Great Wigborough, Essex 1639. Chaplain to Archbishop Laud, after whose execution (1645) he fled to France as part of the entourage of Prince Charles; he died there, probably in 1647, although his will was not proved until February 1648. He was a friend of Joseph Mede, whose funeral sermon he preached in 1638, and while in France he became acquainted with Descartes, who he is believed to have introduced through correspondence to Cambridge academics.

Books

By his will, Alsop directed that his books should be divided with half given to his brother Josiah (ejected rector of Norton Fitzwarren, Somerset); the fate of the other half is not specified, though they may have been intended for his brother Samuel (ejected vicar of Acton, Suffolk) who acted as executor. A codicil to the will directed that before division, books to the value of £30 should be taken out and given to Christ’s, while each of his students to whom he had been tutor should receive a book to the value of £1 (or, if no suitable book be found among his collection, they should receive that sum in money). The bequest to Christ’s amounted to ca.80 volumes.

Sources

• A. G. Matthews, Walker revised. Oxford, 1948.
• J. Peile, Biographical register of Christ’s College, 1910, I 315.