Linen Hall Library

Seventeenth Century Sermons in the Linen Hall LibraryAuthor(s): Colin JohnstonSource: The Linen Hall Review, Vol. 2, No. 4 (Winter, 1985), pp. 12-13Published by: Linen Hall LibraryStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20533727 .

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Seventeenth Century Sermons in The Linen Hall Libraiy

Colin Johnston

unfamiliar to most Linen Hall Library users is the large collection of seventeenth century pamphlets and sermons, housed on the upper floor. The greater part was included in a

bequest, made in 1913 by Robert Redmond Belshaw who already had a

long standing connection with the

library. In 1897 the Governors had recorded their indebtedness to the

donors of many valuable books, and

especially to Mr. R. R. Belshaw and he was elected as honorary member.

Traditionally this honour was only granted to the most generous of benefactors. Indeed Belshaw became

only the third such member. News of Belshaw's main bequest came in

February and on 17th February the librarian reported that the consign

ment of chests, pictures, maps and books (5,185 items in all) had been received and was in the process of

being unpacked. By the 24th April it was agreed that a sum not exceeding ?30 be devoted to the binding of the

pamphlets in the Belshaw collection.' This was an inadequate sum and

explains why the greater proportion of the pamphlets remain unbound to this

day ? a blessing in disguise for scant

attention was paid then to the

devastating effects of acidity in paper used in the bindings. One final problem remained: namely, the curious difficulty in persuading the executors of the Belshaw estate to

accept the charitable status of the

library. Then formal agreement to the terms of the will was made: That the collection be 'accepted and kept together as near as possible to the local collection which I gave them in my old friend Mr. Andersons time.'

unlike many book collectors Belshaw took an active interest in what he

acquired, and we find ample evidence of this in the Linen Hall Library's cuttings books. For example, a number of interesting notes and his

public correspondence with the

bibliographer E. R. McDix reflect a substantial contribution to printing and

publishing in general and Irish printing

in particular. Examples of other interests abound, ranging from his recollections of a duck hunt at Leeson

Bridge, Dublin to an article on the Land Bill in 1896, but his overwhelming passion was for genealogy and local

history. In a series of articles published in the

Usbum Standard Belshaw traced the most eminent branch of his family. By

implication, he claimed the Redmond

family had been involved with the

printing profession as early as 1523,

having the address 'without Temple bar common enough at that time. In another article he describes the

reading, 1739, of the will of another

ancestor, Rev. Samuel Redmond by which Samuel's youngest son was to

inherit his father's 'watch, books and chest in his room.' However we must

not read too much into this ? a minister would surely have a number of books and if it were a substantial collection reference would surely be

made to a 'library'.

It is tempting thus to discover

'printers' ink in the family blood; more

prosaically Belshaw may have built up his collection through the purchase of relevant material. The subject content of his collection is in keeping with his non-conformist interests ? in 1902 he had published in Dublin John Lee and Charles' Wesley's hymns: an appreci ation and earlier in New York Irish Protestant letters. Yet multiple copies in Belshaw's bequest are relatively few, and since their acquisition cannot be avoided when newly purchased collections are added to a greater

whole, doubts remain regarding their

original provenance.

Attention then must logically turn to the collection itself for any information

therein, for it would be strange indeed if such a sizeable collection did not contain a number of interesting items.

Thus in The XXXIX articles (printed 1669) we find the dated annotation

June 1673 - I do hereby declare my unfeigned assent to all and singular the articles contained in this book, as

likewise the three articles in the thirty sixth session

- Narcissus Marsh.' From

the date of the annotation we know Marsh was principal of St. Alban Hall in Oxford at the time, and he may have

given the book to someone before he came to Ireland, or left it in Armagh

when he was Primate, or should it be viewed as an 'erratic' from his own

Marsh's library in Dublin? Other items are interesting for their provenance alone. On one volume of sermons (Pb. 1038)

- this time not part of the Belshaw bequest

- we find 'This book which belonged to the library of the Scottish poet is presented to his grand daughter Eliza Bums now Eliza Everitt

by her affectionate father the eldest son of the poet Robert Bums.' On the inside cover another inscription reads

'Presented to the Linen Hall Library Belfast by Martha Bums Thomas great grand daughter of the poet Bums'. This constitutes a clear and unequivocal

history of the volume as it passed from the poet's library to the Linen Hall collection. Few such personal details are to be found in the Belshaw collection. One past owner, Samuel

Hulme, stands out however; he, was

once the owner of a fair proportion of the collection, and it is probable he owned more than he autographed

-

some four per cent. We know he collected towards the end of the seventeenth century, for in the last decade he frequently signed, dated and priced his purchases.

The assumption that Hulme was a

churchman is strengthened when we note that Richard Wroe autographed and presented a sermon to him. Wroe also happened to be one of the first trustees of a benefaction presented to

Brasenose College, Oxford by a

William Hulme who came from Reddish in Lancaster. Both men attended this Oxford college, and when we turn the pages of Foster's Alumni Oxoniensis and find a Samuel Hulme also from Reddish - had matriculated to

Brasenose College in 1634 need we

proceed further? Alas, to date no

independent proof has been forth

coming, and other nagging doubts remain. Could a septuagenarian retain

as firm a signature as we find, and why should he begin to autograph new

acquisitions so late in life? Finally, why can we find no other record whatsoever

regarding Samuel Hulme?

Often the value and importance of the sermon has been underestimated. At this time neither newspapers nor

journals existed, whilst newsbooks

Page 12

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often only reported on foreign news. Thus it was often through sermons that

people were informed on domestic

developments, although published sermons were as partisan as any

broadside of the day, and more often than not this was the device used

(especially throughout the Civil War and Interregnum period) to present official policy as well as to give spiritual and religious guidance. With respect to the Civil War Clarendon wrote 'It was an observation of that time that the first

publishing of extraordinary news from the pulpit, ;and by the preacher's text, and his manner of discourse upon it, the auditors might judge, and

commonly forsaw, what was like to be done in Parliament or Council of State.'

Especially important in this respect are the Fast sermons preached in the Lords and Commons of the Long Parliament (1640-1653), for both

religious and political passions reflected in the sermons give an informed and accurate picture of

feelings on contemporary issues.

When Charles I called the Long Parliament in November 1640 one of its first actions was to propose a

general fast by way of thanksgiving. This was not an unusual procedure as

the precedent had been firmly established earlier in the century. Not

surprisingly, it was the successes and

failures, both political and military, which were the cause of these general Fast sermons, but no one could have forseen the almost ritual adherence to the procedure in Parliament -

especially in the Commons - for the next seven

years. It was Ireland, for so long unsettled during the development of the political struggles in England, that became a threat to the security of the realm when rebellion broke out in 1641. The Commons, in agreement

with the Lords, proposed that as long as the troubles in Ireland remained there should be a regular monthly fast.

On the last Wednesday of each month the normal business of Parliament was

suspended, instead, its members took part in a day of fasting, prayers and

Hstening to those ministers invited to preach before them, once in the

morning and again in the afternoon. The institution lasted until the

beginning of 1649 with only one fast

day in all that time postponed - the last

Wednesday in January 1649 - for the public execution of Charles I. The last Fast sermon was preached on 28th

February 1649, their use to the state now arguably over with the death of the

king. Within the Linen Hall library collection there lies an impressive selection of these Fast sermons which were printed between 23rd February 1642 and 28th February 1649 and

numberinn some 240 in all. The librarv

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can boast possession of a respectable 165 (or 70%) excluding a number of

duplicates. It has already been stated

that politically motivated sermons were

common, although debate may still

take place regarding the degree of

influence clerics held, there is still

widespread agreement that such

sermons were not just a vehicle for

puritan influences throughout the

country, but also a means of stating

policy. They were used to signal the

fate of Strafford, then of Archbishop Laud and finally the trial and execution

of the king. The various genres of

sermons are on the whole easily

recognised using a variety of

techniques - the biblical texts used, for

instance, can be informative, likewise

the date the sermon was delivered.

Less contentious sermons such as

commemorative, farewell, funeral and

assize sermons are also present in what

initially appears to be a fairly representative cross-section of those

published. Obviously material other than sermons is present including a

pamphlet on the rebellion in 1641 and the siege of Derry in 1690.

Academics and historians of

seventeenth century Irish history

ignore this collection at their peril, for

as early as 1646 Charles 1 himself understood the importance of the sermons alone when he wrote to his

wife, Henrietta Maria '. . . if the pulpits

teach not obedience .. . then the king

will have but small comfort of the

militia.'

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