George Ashwell 1612-1694

George ASHWELL 1612-1694

Biographical Note

Born in London, son of Robert Ashwell of Harrow, Middlesex. BA Wadham College, Oxford 1632, MA 1635, BD 1646, fellow 1636, librarian 1636, sub-warden 1644 and 1647. A firm royalist, Ashwell was apparently ejected, or forced to leave Oxford, in the late 1640s; he spent the Interregnum in various sympathetic households until appointed Rector of Hanwell, Oxfordshire in 1658, where he remained until his death. He published several theological works, which “sustain the impression of a quiet, unassuming, fair-minded man” (ODNB).

Books

Ashwell’s library was sold by auction in Oxford by John Howell, 5 May 1696; the introduction to the catalogue, which makes clear that books from other sources were also included in the sale, states that Ashwell wished to see the collection dispersed in this way, as being advantageous for the promotion of study in the University. The catalogue lists 2801 lots, divided into Latin theology (597), Latin miscellaneous (760), English theology (876), English miscellaneous (406), bound volumes of miscellaneous tracts (109), and bundles of stitched books in several formats (54).

Characteristic Markings

None of Ashwell’s books have been identified.

Sources

• Catalogus librorum … in omnium facultate, 1696, ESTC r29124.
• Dixon, Philip.'"Ashwell, George (1612–1694), Church of England clergyman."' Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.