Sidrach Simpson

[1] After losing his Church of England status under William Laud, he spent time as a minister in the Netherlands.

In the Westminster Assembly he was one of the "Five Dissenting Brethren" putting their names to the An Apologeticall Narration presented to Parliament on 3 January 1644.

The others in the group were William Bridge, Jeremiah Burroughs, Thomas Goodwin and Philip Nye, all with a comparable Dutch background as ministers (Burroughs and Simpson both in Rotterdam[2]), and united in a form of Congregationalism[3][4] He was also in the group of ten, dominated by Independents, condemning in 1652 the Racovian Catechism, with Nye and Bridge, six further Independents,[5] John Dury, and Adoniram Byfield.

[6] He became Master of Pembroke Hall, Cambridge in 1650, but was drifting in his last years to the outer extremes in his positions.

[7][8] Oliver Cromwell had him imprisoned for aggressive preaching.