Isaac Ambrose

1604-1664. Nonconformist* minister. Born in Ormskirk, Lancashire, he was educated at Brasenose College, Oxford, and ordained to the parish of Castleton, Derbyshire. Appointed in 1634 as one of the king's four itinerant preachers in Lancashire, he became vicar of Preston, where he developed Presbyterian leanings. In the Civil War he was twice captured by the royalists, but served on the committee for the ejection of scandalous and ignorant clergy and schoolmasters. In 1654 he left Preston for Garstang, but was turned out in the 1662 ejection. He was a vivid writer and was much given to prayer and meditation. After recovering from an illness he determined to write his experiences, and in 1658 his Looking unto Jesus was published and achieved considerable popularity.