Editing George Abbot (author)

{{for|his contemporary with a similar name who also sat in the Short Parliament but for the constituency of Guildford|George Abbotts}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2018}}
'''George Abbot''' or '''Abbott''' (1604 – 2 February 1649) was an English lay writer, known as "The Puritan", and a politician who sat in the [[House of Commons of England|House of Commons]] in two periods between 1640 and 1649.<ref>He died on "Feb. 1648-9" see Dictionary of National Biography, Errata (1904), p. 1 in 
{{harvnb|Grosart|1885|p=23}}. This means he died 3 days after the execution of Charles I, which is usually recorded as having happened on 30 January 1649 not 1648 because at that time the new year was 25 March not 1 January (for a more detailed explanation see [[Old Style and New Style dates]]).</ref> He is known also for his part in defending [[Caldecote House]] against royalist forces in the early days of the [[English Civil War]].<ref name="ODNB">{{cite ODNB|id=5|title=Abbott, George|first=Stephen K.|last=Roberts}}</ref>

==Life==
Abbott was the son of George Abbott of York (died 1607) and his wife Joan Penkeston. While ''[[Alumni Cantabrigienses]]'' states that he matriculated at [[King's College, Cambridge]] in 1622, the ''[[Oxford Dictionary of National Biography]]'' discounts the identification, for lack of evidence.<ref name="ODNB"/><ref>{{acad|id=ABTS622G|name=Abbotts or Abbot, George}}</ref> He owned property in [[Baddesley Clinton]], Warwickshire, and was a good friend of [[Richard Vines (priest)|Richard Vines]], minister at [[Caldecote, Warwickshire|Caldecote]] some way to the east.<ref>{{cite book|author=Ann Hughes|title=Politics, Society and Civil War in Warwickshire, 1620-1660|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0QpcE0fwP-kC&pg=PA175|date=16 May 2002|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-52015-7|page=175}}</ref> In April 1640, he was elected as a [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|member of parliament]] (MP) for [[Tamworth (UK Parliament constituency)|Tamworth]] in the [[Short Parliament]].{{sfn|Willis|1750|p=229, 236}}  
[[File:George Abbott tablet.jpg|thumb|Memorial tablet to George Abbot in Caldecote Church, 1656 engraving]]

In the English Civil War, Abbot worked closely in Warwickshire with his stepfather [[William Purefoy]], and made a notable defence, with his mother Joan, of the Purefoy house at [[Caldecote, Warwickshire]], gaining the family coverage in the London press.<ref>{{cite ODNB|id=22901|title=Purefoy, William|first=Ann|last=Hughes}}</ref> On 15 August 1642, with eight men, his mother and maids, he held out for a time against [[Prince Rupert of the Rhine]], with about 18 troops of horses and dragoons.<ref name="ODNB"/> In the aftermath of the [[Battle of Edgehill]], in October of the same year, [[Richard Baxter]] moved to [[Coventry]], and Abbot was one of those hearing him preach there.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Richard Baxter|author2=William Orme|author2-link=William Orme (minister)|title=The Practical Works of the Rev. Richard Baxter: With a Life of the Author, and a Critical Examination of His Writings|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Zn0uAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA42|year=1830|publisher=J. Duncan|page=42}}</ref> Baxter in writing on the Sabbath referred to "my dear friend Mr. George Abbot".<ref>{{cite book|author=Richard Baxter|title=The Practical Works of Richard Baxter: With a Preface, Giving Some Account of the Author, and of this Edition of His Practical Works : an Essay on His Genius, Works and Times : and a Portrait|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IYgfAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA879|year=1838|publisher=G. Virtue|page=879}}</ref> In his memoirs ''Reliquiæ Baxterianæ'', Baxter placed Abbot's defence of Caldecote House, where barns were burnt, in local context: royalists under [[Spencer Compton, 2nd Earl of Northampton]] were attacking [[Warwick Castle]], defended by [[John Bridges (Parliamentarian)|John Bridges]], and Coventry, defended by [[John Barker (Parliamentarian)|John Barker]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Richard Baxter|title=Reliquiæ Baxterianæ: Or, Mr. Richard Baxter's Narrative of the Most Memorable Passages of His Life and Times|url=https://archive.org/details/reliquiaebaxteri00baxt|year=1696|publisher=T. Parkhurst, J. Robinson, J. Lawrence, and J. Dunton|page=[https://archive.org/details/reliquiaebaxteri00baxt/page/29 29]}}</ref>

Abbot was re-elected MP for Tamworth in 1645 for the [[Long Parliament]] and held the seat until his death in 1649.{{sfn|Willis|1750|pp=240, 249}} He died unmarried in his 44th year, and was buried in Caldecote church where his monument describes his defence of Caldecote.<ref name="ODNB"/>

==Legacy==
By his will, Abbot endowed a free school at Caldecote.<ref>{{cite book|author=Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons|title=Parliamentary Papers, House of Commons and Command|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QEsSAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA934|year=1835|publisher=H.M. Stationery Office|page=934}}</ref> It was supported by land left to it at [[Baddesley Ensor]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Samuel Lewis|title=A Topographical Dictionary of England, Comprising the Several Counties, Cities, Boroughs, Corporate and Market Towns, Parishes, and Townships, and the Islands of Guernsey, Jersey, and Man: With Historical and Statistical Descriptions|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iARBAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA412|year=1840|publisher=S. Lewis and Company|page=412}}</ref>

==Works==
Abbot was a [[lay theologian]] and scholar. His ''Whole Booke of Job Paraphrased, or made easy for any to understand'' (1640), was written in a terse style, and his ''Vindiciae Sabbathi'' (1641) influenced the [[Puritan Sabbatarianism|Sabbatarian controversy]].{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=23}} His ''The Whole Book of Psalms Paraphrased'' (1650) was published posthumously by Richard Vines, and dedicated to Joan Purefoy, his mother.<ref>{{cite book|author=W. C. Hazlitt|title=Second series of bibliographical collections and notes on early English literature, 1474-1700|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cT3wAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA2|publisher=Рипол Классик|isbn=978-1-176-44964-0|page=2}}</ref>

==Mistaken identifications==
Abbot has been confused with others of the same name and has been described as a clergyman, which he never was. His writings have been incorrectly attributed in some bibliographical authorities to a relation of  [[George Abbot (bishop)|George Abbot]] the [[archbishop of Canterbury]]. One of the sons of [[Sir Morris Abbot]] called [[George Abbotts|George]] was also an MP in the Long Parliament but for the constituency of [[Guildford (UK Parliament constituency)|Guildford]].{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=23}}

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
*{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Abbot, George (writer)|display=Abbot, George| |volume=1 |page=23 }} Endnotes:
**''MS.collections at Abbeyville for history of all of the name of Abbot'', by J.T. Abbot, Esq., F.S.A., Darlington;
**[[William Dugdale]], ''Antiquities of Warwickshire'', 1730 p.&nbsp;1099;
**[[Anthony à Wood]], ''Athenae Oxonienses'' (Bliss), ii.141, 594;
**Cox, ''Literature of the Sabbath''.
*{{cite DNB |last=Grosart |first=Alexander Balloch |wstitle=Abbot, George (1603-1648)|volume=1|pages=20–21 }}
*{{Cite Notitia Parliamentaria |part=2 |pages=229,236 240,249 }}

==External links==
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{{s-vac| reason= [[Personal Rule|Parliament suspended since 1629]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] for [[Tamworth (UK Parliament constituency)|Tamworth]]|years=1640|with= [[Simon Archer (antiquary)|Simon Archer]]}} 
{{s-aft|after= [[Ferdinando Stanhope]]|after2= [[Henry Wilmot, 1st Earl of Rochester|Henry Wilmot]]}}
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{{s-bef|before=[[Ferdinando Stanhope]]|before2= [[Henry Wilmot, 1st Earl of Rochester|Henry Wilmot]]}} 
{{s-ttl|title=[[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] for [[Tamworth (UK Parliament constituency)|Tamworth]]|years=1645–1649| with= [[Peter Wentworth (Parliamentarian)|Peter Wentworth]]}} 
{{s-non|reason= Not represented in Rump Parliament}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Abbot, George}}
[[Category:1600s births]]
[[Category:1648 deaths]]
[[Category:Writers from York]]
[[Category:English religious writers]]
[[Category:Lay theologians]]
[[Category:English MPs 1640 (April)]]
[[Category:English MPs 1640–1648]]
[[Category:17th-century English male writers]]
[[Category:17th-century English writers]]
[[Category:Roundheads]]