Laurence Chaderton

Map of England | First Cambridge Company

(1536 (?)–1640)

Depicted here in a later stained-glass window at his Cambridge college, Emmanuel, Laurence Chaderton was a linguist, a theologian, and a very well-liked preacher. One congregation famously called out, “For God’s sake, go on! We beg you, go on!” when he paused two hours into a sermon.

Chaderton, who was raised as a Catholic, defied his father to become not only a Protestant, but a Puritan-leaning one, during his undergraduate years at Cambridge in the 1560s. He later thrived on training his Cambridge students as clergymen. He was one of the four Puritans who attended the Hampton Court conference, where he played a cautious role. Described as “mute as any fish,” he left most of the talking to the leader of the Puritan faction, John Rainolds.

Chaderton was among the older King James Bible translators, turning 75 in the year the Bible was printed. He had been the master of Emmanuel College since its founding in 1584 (the founder said he would not have established Emmanuel without him). In 1622, more than a decade after the Bible was printed, Chaderton retired in his mid 80s, but continued to live nearby and take part in university life. He outlived the next two masters of Emmanuel, finally passing away in 1640 at the age of 103.