Robert Bolton

NPG D25985; Robert Bolton after Unknown artistRobert Bolton (1572–1631) was an English clergyman and academic, noted as a preacher. He was born on Whit Sunday in Blackburn, Lancashire, the sixth son of Adam Bolton of Backhouse. He attended what is now Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School, Blackburn, where his father was a founding governor, and was described as ‘the best scholar in the school’. At age 18, he was admitted in 1592 to Lincoln College, Oxford, where John Randall was. He was a gifted student, but the next year his father’s death caused him financial problems. Richard Brett supported him. He transferred to Brasenose College where there was a Lancashire fellowship available, and proceeded B.A. there on 2 December 1596; and was chosen in 1602 as a fellow of the college, taking his M.A. on 30 July. He was not particularly religious at this period, and was unimpressed with the preaching of William Perkins; Bolton said he thought Perkins was a “a barren empty fellow.”

On James I’s visit to the university in 1605, he was appointed to hold a disputation in the royal presence on natural philosophy, and his majesty was loud and frank in laudation of Bolton. He was also appointed lecturer in logic and moral and natural philosophy. A school friend named Anderton made a plan with Bolton to travel to a Catholic seminary in Flanders, but this fell through. Under the influence of Thomas Peacock of Brasenose he then proceeded B.D. in 1609, having decided to become a clergyman in the church of England. In 1610, now aged 37, he was presented by Sir Augustine Nicolls, a judge and occasional preacher, to the rectory of Broughton, Northamptonshire. Bolton died, after a lingering sickness of a quartan ague, on Saturday, 17 December 1631, being then in his sixtieth year. He was buried 19 December in the chancel of his own church St. Andrew’s, Broughton, where there is a monument. [More via Wikipedia]

 The Works of Robert Bolton:

The Carnal Professor: Discovering the Woeful Slavery of a Man Guided By the Flesh. (284 pages)
[pdf web via Google Books]
Romans 8:13.  {Thanks, Thomas S. for helping to locate this!}

Certain Devout Prayers of Mr. Robert Bolton Upon Solemn Occasions. (287 pages)

A Cordial for a Fainting Christian in the Time of Affliction. (19 pages)
Micah 7:8-9.

The Four Last Things. (536 pages)
[pdf epub mobi txt web via Internet Archive]
This volume contains the following:

  1. The Life and Death of Mr. Bolton – pdf, 41 pp.
  2. The Four Last Things (Death, Judgment, Heaven, and Hell) – pdf, 161 pp.
  3. The Funeral Notes of Sir Augustine Nicolls – pdf, 17 pp.
  4. A Sermon Preached at the Lent Assises (1 Corinthians 1:26) – pdf, 96 pp.
  5. Two Sermons Preached at the Northampton Assises (Proverbs 29:2) – pdf, 103 pp.
  6. Robert Bolton’s Funeral Sermon (Philippians 1:23-24) – pdf, 71 pp.
    Preached by Nicolas Estwick
  7. Meditations of the Life to Come – pdf, 23 pp.

Discourse About the True State of Happiness. (243 pages)
[pdf epub mobi txt web via Internet Archive]
Psalm 1:1-2.

Directions for a Comfortable Walking With God. (135 pages)
[pdf epub mobi txt web via The Weslyan Center Online]
Genesis 6:8-9.

Heart Surgery. (25 pages)
[pdf epub mobi txt web via Grace Gems]
Acts 2:37

Helps to Humiliation. (149 pages)
Acts 2:37.

Instructions for a Right Comforting of Afflicted Consciences. (612 pages)
[pdf epub mobi txt web via Internet Archive]
Proverbs 18:14.

The Last Conflicts and Death of Mr. Thomas Peacock. (66 pages)

The Saint’s Self-Enriching Examination. (348 pages)
[pdf epub mobi txt web via Internet Archive]
Or, “A Treatise Concerning the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper”. 2 Corinthians 13:5.

The Saint’s Soul-Exalting Humiliation. (186 pages) -NEW-
[pdf web via Regent College]
2 Chronicles 20:3.

The Saint’s Sure and Perpetual Guide. (276 pages)
[pdf epub mobi txt web via Internet Archive]
Psalm 119:105. Also titled, “A Treatise Concerning the Word”.

A Short and Private Discourse Between Mr. Bolton and One M.S. Concerning Usury. (77 pages)


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2 thoughts on “Robert Bolton

    • Thank you, Thomas! I have added it to the library, above. The PDF file we host is cleaned up (cropped and straightened), and bookmarked.

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