William Beaw: Bishop and Secret Agent
John R. Guy introduces the soldier, churchman, and Royalist Fellow of New College who served Russia and Sweden during Cromwell’s years of power, and who returned to post-Restoration Britain to become a prominent parson in the Church of Wales.
The Reverend Dr William Beaw was an Englishman, the son of Mr William Bew of Newbury, in the county of Berkshire. His father seems to have been a nonconformist, and the Oxford antiquary Anthony a Wood called him a ‘minister of God’s word.’ That the family had nonconformist connections is definitely established, for Beaw’s maternal uncle was Dr William Twysse, of Speenland (or Speenhamland) in Berkshire - a Fellow of New College, Oxford in 1598, and subsequently Vicar of Newbury. Dr Twysse, before his death in 1646, had formed one of the number of the ‘Westminster Assembly’ of divines in 1643, which had sought to establish presbyterianism in England. That he was obnoxious to the Royalists is evident from the fact that after the Restoration his remains were disinterred on September 14th, 1661 from Westminster Abbey, where he had been buried.
To continue reading this article you need to purchase a subscription, available from only £5.
Start my trial subscription now
If you have already purchased access, or are a print & archive subscriber, please ensure you are logged in.
Please email digital@historytoday.com if you have any problems.
