Timothy Jollie
Encyclopedia
Timothy Jollie, was a nonconformist minister and notable educator in the north of England.
, was born at Altham, Lancashire
, about 1659. On 27 August 1673 he entered the dissenting academy
of Richard Frankland
at Rathmell
, Yorkshire
. He left it in December 1675 to study in London
, where he became a member of the independent church at Girdlers' Hall, Basinghall Street, under George Griffith. In 1679 he was called to an independent church in a newly erected meeting-house at Snig Hall, Sheffield
. He was ordained on 28 April 1681 by his father, with Oliver Heywood and two other ministers, at the house of Abel Yates in Sheffield. Heywood notes the occasion as remarkable, seeing that an independent church, with but two objectors, allowed their pastor to be ordained by presbyters. In 1682 Jollie was arrested under the Five Miles Act
, fined £20, taken to York
, and bound over to appear at the next assizes. Refusing then to take an oath of ‘good behaviour,’ he was imprisoned for six months in York Castle
, where, in June 1683, he was visited by Heywood. He was released on 1 October 1683.
, on the outskirts of Sheffield. On his return in July 1689 with the academy to Rathmell, Jollie started an independent academy at Attercliffe. The London Presbyterian fund sent him a few students, but none after 1696. By May 1700 he had sent out forty ministers, and had twenty-six in training. Not thirty names of his students are known, but the list includes Thomas Bradbury
, Benjamin Grosvenor, D.D., William Harris, D.D. (1675?–1740), John Bowes
(1690–1767), Lord Chancellor of Ireland
, Thomas Secker
(in 1708–9), archbishop of Canterbury
, and Nicholas Saunderson
, scientist and mathematician. Grosvenor commends the excellence of his discipline and the charm of his eloquence, and thinks that his exemplary character compensated for shortcomings in his learning. It appears that mathematical studies were prohibited ‘as tending to scepticism and infidelity,’ but many of the students ‘by stealth made a considerable progress’ in this department. After Jollie's death the academy was continued by John Wadsworth till 1718, and perhaps later.
Thomas Secker had a dissenting view of the Jollie's academy; according to the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition
he was frustrated by Jollie's poor teaching, famously remarking that he lost his knowledge of languages and that 'only the old Philosophy of the Schools was taught there: and that neither ably nor diligently. The morals also of many of the young Men were bad. I spent my time there idly & ill'.
, was built for Jollie at Sheffield, the old building being converted into an almshouse and school. His hearers formed the largest nonconformist
congregation in Yorkshire. His letter to Heywood in 1701 shows that he shared Heywood's alarm at the rise of ‘novellists,’ or innovators upon the orthodoxy of Calvinism
. Harmony prevailed among his own flock, but there was an angry division immediately after his death, the great majority abandoning independence, but retaining the meeting-house.
He married Elizabeth (d 20 Jan. 1709), daughter of James Fisher (d 1666), the ejected vicar of Sheffield, with whom he had two sons, Thomas and Timothy, both of whom became independent ministers.
Biography
Timothy Jollie, son of Thomas JollieThomas Jollie
Thomas Jollie was an English Dissenter, a minister ejected for his beliefs from the Church of England.-Biography:Thomas Jollie was born at Droylsden, near Manchester, on 14 September 1629, and baptised on 29 September at Gorton Chapel, then in the parish of Manchester...
, was born at Altham, Lancashire
Altham, Lancashire
Altham is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Hyndburn, in Lancashire, England. It is the only parish in the borough – the remainder is an unparished area. The village is west of Burnley, north of Accrington, and north-east of Clayton-le-Moors, and is on the A678 Blackburn to Burnley...
, about 1659. On 27 August 1673 he entered the dissenting academy
Dissenting academies
The dissenting academies were schools, colleges and nonconformist seminaries run by dissenters. They formed a significant part of England’s educational systems from the mid-seventeenth to nineteenth centuries....
of Richard Frankland
Richard Frankland (tutor)
Richard Frankland was an English nonconformist, notable for founding the Rathmell Academy, a dissenting academy in the north of England.-Biography:...
at Rathmell
Rathmell
Rathmell is a village and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England. It is close to the River Ribble and about three miles south of Settle. Other towns and villages nearby include Wigglesworth, Tosside, Giggleswick and Long Preston....
, Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
. He left it in December 1675 to study in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, where he became a member of the independent church at Girdlers' Hall, Basinghall Street, under George Griffith. In 1679 he was called to an independent church in a newly erected meeting-house at Snig Hall, Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
. He was ordained on 28 April 1681 by his father, with Oliver Heywood and two other ministers, at the house of Abel Yates in Sheffield. Heywood notes the occasion as remarkable, seeing that an independent church, with but two objectors, allowed their pastor to be ordained by presbyters. In 1682 Jollie was arrested under the Five Miles Act
Five Mile Act 1665
The Five Mile Act, or Oxford Act, or Nonconformists Act 1665, is an Act of the Parliament of England , passed in 1665 with the long title "An Act for restraining Non-Conformists from inhabiting in Corporations". It was one of the English penal laws that sought to enforce conformity to the...
, fined £20, taken to York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
, and bound over to appear at the next assizes. Refusing then to take an oath of ‘good behaviour,’ he was imprisoned for six months in York Castle
York Castle
York Castle in the city of York, England, is a fortified complex comprising, over the last nine centuries, a sequence of castles, prisons, law courts and other buildings on the south side of the River Foss. The now-ruinous keep of the medieval Norman castle is sometimes referred to as Clifford's...
, where, in June 1683, he was visited by Heywood. He was released on 1 October 1683.
Jollie's academy
From 1686 to 1689 Frankland had held his academy at AttercliffeAttercliffe
Attercliffe is an industrial suburb of northeast Sheffield, England on the south bank of the River Don.-History:The name Attercliffe can be traced back as far as an entry in the Domesday book -Ateclive- meaning at the cliffe, a small escarpment that lay alongside the River Don...
, on the outskirts of Sheffield. On his return in July 1689 with the academy to Rathmell, Jollie started an independent academy at Attercliffe. The London Presbyterian fund sent him a few students, but none after 1696. By May 1700 he had sent out forty ministers, and had twenty-six in training. Not thirty names of his students are known, but the list includes Thomas Bradbury
Thomas Bradbury
-Life:Bradbury was born in Yorkshire, and was educated for the congregational ministry Attercliffe Academy; Oliver Heywood gave him books. He preached his first sermon on 14 June 1696, and went to reside as assistant and domestic tutor with Thomas Whitaker, minister of the independent congregation,...
, Benjamin Grosvenor, D.D., William Harris, D.D. (1675?–1740), John Bowes
John Bowes, 1st Baron Bowes
John Bowes, 1st Baron Bowes PC was an Irish peer and politician.-Life:He was born in London, son of Thomas Bowes, a merchant, and was called to the Bar in 1712. He came to Ireland as a member of the staff of Richard West, the Lord Chancellor in 1723...
(1690–1767), Lord Chancellor of Ireland
Lord Chancellor of Ireland
The office of Lord Chancellor of Ireland was the highest judicial office in Ireland until the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. From 1721 to 1801 it was also the highest political office of the Irish Parliament.-13th century:...
, Thomas Secker
Thomas Secker
Thomas Secker , Archbishop of Canterbury, was born at Sibthorpe, Nottinghamshire.-Early life and studies:In 1699, Secker went to Richard Brown's free school in Chesterfield, staying with his half-sister and her husband, Elizabeth and Richard Milnes...
(in 1708–9), archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
, and Nicholas Saunderson
Nicholas Saunderson
Nicholas Saunderson was an English scientist and mathematician. According to one leading historian of statistics, he may have been the earliest discoverer of Bayes theorem.-Biography:...
, scientist and mathematician. Grosvenor commends the excellence of his discipline and the charm of his eloquence, and thinks that his exemplary character compensated for shortcomings in his learning. It appears that mathematical studies were prohibited ‘as tending to scepticism and infidelity,’ but many of the students ‘by stealth made a considerable progress’ in this department. After Jollie's death the academy was continued by John Wadsworth till 1718, and perhaps later.
Thomas Secker had a dissenting view of the Jollie's academy; according to the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition
Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition
The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition is a 29-volume reference work, an edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica. It was developed during the encyclopaedia's transition from a British to an American publication. Some of its articles were written by the best-known scholars of the time...
he was frustrated by Jollie's poor teaching, famously remarking that he lost his knowledge of languages and that 'only the old Philosophy of the Schools was taught there: and that neither ably nor diligently. The morals also of many of the young Men were bad. I spent my time there idly & ill'.
Upper Chapel
In 1700 a new meeting-house, since known as the Upper ChapelUpper Chapel
Upper Chapel is a Unitarian chapel lying on Norfolk Street in Sheffield City Centre. It is a member of the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches, the umbrella organisation for British Unitarians....
, was built for Jollie at Sheffield, the old building being converted into an almshouse and school. His hearers formed the largest nonconformist
Nonconformism
Nonconformity is the refusal to "conform" to, or follow, the governance and usages of the Church of England by the Protestant Christians of England and Wales.- Origins and use:...
congregation in Yorkshire. His letter to Heywood in 1701 shows that he shared Heywood's alarm at the rise of ‘novellists,’ or innovators upon the orthodoxy of Calvinism
Calvinism
Calvinism is a Protestant theological system and an approach to the Christian life...
. Harmony prevailed among his own flock, but there was an angry division immediately after his death, the great majority abandoning independence, but retaining the meeting-house.
Death, family
He died on Easter day, 28 March 1714, and was buried on 31 March in the graveyard at the Upper Chapel, where his tombstone bears a Latin inscription, which gives his age ‘ætatis suæ 56.’ His funeral sermon was preached by his assistant, John de la Rose.He married Elizabeth (d 20 Jan. 1709), daughter of James Fisher (d 1666), the ejected vicar of Sheffield, with whom he had two sons, Thomas and Timothy, both of whom became independent ministers.
Publications
He published:- A Funeral Sermon for … Rev. Thomas Jollie, 1704,
- A Memorial, or a Character of Mr. Thomas Whitaker, 1712, (prefixed to a volume of Whitaker's sermons, edited by Jollie and Thomas Bradbury)