Laurence Chaderton

1538?-1640. English Puritan leader. Born into a wealthy Catholic family in Lancashire, he studied at Christ's College, Cambridge. When he came under extreme Protestant influences and adopted Puritanism, his father disowned him. He managed, however, to take his degree, in 1567, and to become a fellow of the college. As a tutor he was a success, but his fame rested on his preaching. For nearly fifty years he served as the afternoon lecturer at St. Clement's, and through the influence of his preaching many young men began to study the Bible and practice godliness. When Sir Walter Mildmay decided to found Emmanuel College in 1584, it was Chaderton whom he persuaded to become master. The purpose of the foundation was to train “godly ministers,” and this Chaderton did. The college became a center of church Puritanism. Chaderton represented the Puritans at the Hampton Court Conference* and was connected with the translation of the Authorized Version of the Bible (1611). In 1622 he gave up the mastership of Emmanuel, but survived till he was over a hundred. His published works are few, but his influence on Puritanism was great.