William Winthrop and Religious Reform in London 1529–1582

Abstract

William Winthrop (1529–1582) was a member of the Clothworkers Company and long time resident of the parish of St. Michael's Cornhill. He was a committed Protestant who remained in London during the Marian reign, being active in the underground church in the metropolis and providing aid to fellow believers in prison such as John Careless. Mter Elizabeth's accession he sought to further the cause of reform in a variety of ways. He provided the martyrologist John Foxe with letters of some who had died for the faith. Winthrop served as an officer of his own parish church and supported liturgical reforms. He was also actively engaged in supporting the Protestant stranger churches in London, raising funds for the Spanish and French congregations and serving as an elder of the Italian congregation. Winthrop was associated with John Field and other clergy who were identified as puritans and he used his financial resources to guarantee the composition for first fruits of reform minded clergymen in London and also in Stour Valley region along the Essex-Suffolk border where his relatives lived.