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Nicholas Ferrar
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| Term Paper Title | Nicholas Ferrar |
| # of Words | 1357 |
| # of Pages (250 words per page double spaced) | 5.43 |
Nicholas Ferrar
Nicholas Ferrar was assumed to be born in 1592. I have found that his most probable birth
date was in February of 1593. This is due to the usual calendar confusion: England was
not at that time using the new calendar adopted in October 1582. It was 1593 according
to our modern calendar, but at the time the new year in England began on the following
March 25th.
Nicholas Ferrar was one of the more interesting figures in English history. His family was
quite wealthy and were heavily involved in the Virginia Company, which had a Royal
Charter for the plantation of Virginia. People like Sir Walter Raleigh were often visitors to
the family home in London. Ferrars’ niece was named Virginia, the first known use of this
name. Ferrar studied at Cambridge and would have gone further with his studies but the
damp air of the fens was bad for his health and he traveled to Europe, spending time in the
warmer climate of Italy.
On his return to England he found his family had fared badly. His brother John had
become over extended financially and the Virginia Company was in danger of loosing its
charter. Nicholas dedicated himself to saving the family fortune and was successful. He
served for a short time as Member of Parliament, where he tried to promote the cause for
the Virginia Company. His efforts were in vain for the company lost their charter anyway.
Nicholas is given credit for founding a Christian community called the English Protestant
Nunnery at Little Gidding in Huntingdonshire, England. After Ferrar was ordained as a
deacon, he retired and started his little community. Ferrar was given help and support
with his semi-religious community by John Collet, as well as Collet’s wife and fourteen
children. They devoted themselves to a life of prayer, fasting and almsgiving (Matthew
6:2,5,16).
The community was founded in 1626, when Nicholas was 34 years old. Banning together,
they restored an abandoned church that was being used as a barn. Being of wealthy
decent, Ferrar purchased the manor of Little Gidding, a village which had been discarded
since the Black Death (a major outbreak of the bubonic plague in the 14th century), a few
miles off the Great North Road, and probably recommended by John Williams, Bishop of
Lincoln whose palace was in the nearby village of Buckden. About thirty people along
with Mary Ferrar (Ferrars’ mother) moved into the manor house. Nicholas became
spiritual leader of the community.
The commu
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