Thomas Horton (Gresham College)
Thomas Horton D.D. (died 1673) was an English clergyman, a Professor of Divinity at Gresham College in London, and the President of Queens’ College, Cambridge.
He was born in London to Laurence Horton, a merchant and member of the Mercers’ Company. Horton studied at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, becoming a pensioner in 1623, receiving his B.A. in 1626, and later his M.A. in 1630 after being elected a Fellow.
From 1638 to 1640 he served as minister of St. Mary Colechurch in London, a position supported by the Mercers’ Company. He was elected professor of divinity at Gresham College on 26 October 1641. In 1644 he joined an association of divines appointed by Parliament to ordain ministers near London, and in 1645 he signed a petition from London ministers asking Parliament to establish Presbyterian government in church assemblies.
Horton was a member of Gray’s Inn and preached there from 1647 to 1657. In 1647 he became President of Queens’ College, Cambridge, and in 1649 he earned the degree of Doctor of Divinity. That year he was also chosen vice-chancellor and helped reform the university’s presses and printers.
Around 1651 he married. Although Parliament said marriage should not disqualify him from his professorship, the Gresham committee declared the chaplaincy vacant under the founder’s will. A new election was delayed until 1656, but Horton obtained Cromwell’s dispensation and kept the post until the Restoration. Charles II gave him a temporary reprieve in 1660, but in 1661 George Gifford replaced him.
On 9 August 1652 Horton was incorporated as a D.D. at Oxford, and in 1658 he was named one of the commissioners who approved young ministers. In 1654 Cromwell appointed him a visitor of the University of Cambridge, and he preached a sermon at St Paul’s Cathedral on 5 November before the lord mayor and city officials, which was printed.
At the Restoration in 1660 he was removed from the presidency of Queens’ College to make way for Edward Martin, who had been ejected in 1644. Horton accepted this change with good grace. He was invited to take part in the Savoy Conference on the Presbyterian side, though he did not actively take part in the discussions.
In 1662 he was silenced by the Bartholomew Act but soon conformed to the Church of England. On 13 June 1666 he became the rector of Great St Helen’s in Bishopsgate, London, and remained there until his death. He was buried in the chancel of the church on 29 March 1673, leaving a widow and no children.
His friend and former pupil John Wallis described him as pious, learned, a diligent student and a skilled scholar of languages, well suited to his ministry. Horton published eight sermons and left many more ready for press. After his death appeared several works, including sermons on Romans 8, a practical exposition on certain Psalms, and a collection of sermons. He also helped prepare for publication a treatise by Dr. John Arrowsmith.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 00:58 (CET).