562 
PEN 
who therewith holds the honour of Penrith, formerly a 
royal franchife. Beyond thefe obje£ls, amidft a range of 
mountains, at the diftance of eighteen miles, Skiddow is 
feen, whofe majellic front furmounts all the high lands 
that terminate the view.” Wilkes's Britijli Directory, vol. 
iv. Beauties of England and Wales, vol. iii. Gent. Mag. 
iSi4and 1819. 
PENRO'SE (Thomas), born at Newbury, Berks, in 
1743, was the fon of the re<Stor, a man of high chara&er 
and abilities, defcended from an ancient Cornifh family, 
beloved and refpedted by all who knew him. Thomas, 
being intended for the church, purfued his ftudies with 
fuccefs at Chrift-church, Oxon, until the fummer of 1762, 
when, his eager turn to the naval and military lineover- 
. powering his attachment to his real intereft, he left his 
college, and embarked in the unfortunate expedition 
againft Nova Colonia, in South America, under the com¬ 
mand of captain Macnamara. The ifiue was fatal. The 
Clive (the largeft veffel) W3S burnt 5 and, though the 
Ambufcade efcaped (on-board of which Mr. Penrofe, ail¬ 
ing as lieutenant of marines, was wounded), yet the 
hardfhips which he afterwards fuftained in a prize-floop, 
in which he was flatioried, utterly ruined his conftitution. 
Returning to England with ample teftimonials of his gal¬ 
lantry and good behaviour, he finifhed, at Hertford Col¬ 
lege, Oxon, his courfe of ftudies ; and, having taken or¬ 
ders, accepted the curacy of Newbury, the income of 
which, by the voluntary fubfcription of the inhabitants, 
was confiderably augmented. After he had continued 
an that ftation about nine years, it feemed as if the clouds 
of difappointment, which had hitherto overfhadowed his 
profpeifts, and tinflured his poetical eflays with gloom, 
were clearing away; for he was then prefented by a 
friend, who knew his worth and honoured his abilities, 
to a living worth near 500I. per annum. It came, how¬ 
ever, too late ; for the ftate of Mr. Penrofe’s health was 
now fuch as left little hope, except in the afiiftance of the 
•waters of Briftol. Thither he went; and there he died 
in 1779, aged thirty-fix years. Mr. Penrofe was refpefled 
for his extenfive erudition, admired for his eloquence, 
and equally beloved and elteemed for his focial qualities. 
By the poor, towards whom he was liberal to his utmoft 
ability, he was venerated to the higheft degree. In ora¬ 
tory and compofition his talents were great. His pencil 
was ready as his pen, and on fubjedls of humour had un¬ 
common merit. To his poetical abilities the public, by 
their reception of his “Flights of Fancy, See." (nmo. 
1781.) have given a favourable teftimony. Eney. Brit. 
PEN'RY, or Ap-Henry (John), a noted Welfh non- 
conformift divine, and a vidlim to perfecution and ty¬ 
ranny in the reign of queen Elizabeth, was born in fome 
part of the county of Brecknock, about the year 1559. 
When he was about the age of nineteen he became a fub- 
fizer of Peter-houfe, in the univerfity of Cambridge, 
where he was admitted to the degree of B. A. about the 
year 1583. Anthony Wood fays v that he afterwards per¬ 
formed fome or moll of the exercifes requifite for his 
taking the degree of M. A. but that, quitting Cambridge 
abruptly, for reafons not known, he removed to Oxford, 
where he entered a commoner of St. Alban’s Hall. Here 
he proceeded M. A. in 1586; and about the fame time, 
having taken holy orders, he preached at Oxford, as he 
did afterwards at Cambridge, with great reputation. Mr. 
Penry, however, foon rendered himfelf obnoxious to the 
ruling party in the church, by adopting the fentiments 
of that body of the clergy who were diftinguiftied by the 
name of Puritans. Havingchofen his lot with this pro- 
feribed party, he travelled into Wales, and was the firft, 
as he faid, who preached the Gofpel publicly to the Wellh, 
and fowed the good feed among his countrymen. In the 
year 1588 he publifhed “A View of fome Part of fuch 
public Wants and Diforders as are in the Service of God, 
within Her Majefty’s Country of Wales; with an hum¬ 
ble Petition to the high Court of Parliament for their 
fpeedy Redrefs,” 8vo. in which he undertook to fhow, 
PEN 
not only the neceffity of reforming the ftate of religion 
among the Welfh, but alfo the mod proper means for 
bringing about that work. He likewife publiflied, about 
the fame time, “ An Exhortation to the Governors and 
People of Her Majefty’s Country of Wales, to labour- 
earneftly to have the preaching of the Gofpel planted 
among them,” 8vo. Botli thefe pieces were written 
upon puritanical principles; on which account they 
were attacked by fome zealous friends to the eftablilhed 
hierarchy. - 
As the public printing-prefies were (hut againft the 
Puritans, fome of them purchafed a private one, and* 
carried it from one part of the country to another, to 
prevent difeovery. Their publications, which excited the 
greateft attention, were fuppofed to be the productions 
of a club of writers, fince the authors were never difeo- 
vered ; and Mr. Penry was fuppofed to be one of their 
mod aiflive members. Among the trails which were 
printed and difperfed by them all over the kingdom, one 
that gave the greateft offence bore the name of “Martin 
Mar-Prelate;” which contained a violent and bitter fa- 
tire againft the hierarchy and all its fupporters, and was- 
foon followed by other pieces of the fame defeription, 
for the titles of which the reader may confult either of 
our authorities. When thefe pieces had been publiflied, 
a fpecial warrant was iffued by the privy council in 1590, 
with the fignatures of archbifhop Whitgift and feveral 
other members, for the apprehending of Mr. Penry as an 
enemy to the ftate, and calling upon all the queen’s good 
fubjeils toconfider him in that light. Toavoid fallinginto 
the hands of his enemies, W'ell knowing what little mercy 
he had to expe£l from them, he withdrew into Scotland. 
In this country he drew up many Obfervations on fub- 
jeifts relating to religion, for his own private ufe; and 
he prepared the heads of a Petition, or Addrefs, to the 
Queen, intended to lay before her the true ftate of reli¬ 
gion, and the many abtifes in the Church of England, 
efpecially in the management of ecclefiaftical matters, of 
which her majefty was ignorant. One objedl of it alfo 
was, to pray for liberty to return to Wales, with the 
queen’s permiflion to preach the Gofpel in his native 
country. With the intention of finifhing the petition 
above mentioned, when opportunity fhould offer, and 
of delivering it afterwards to the queen with his own 
hands, Mr. Penry ventured back to England in the year 
1593, and lived in concealment at Stepney, near London, 
till he was difeovered by the vicar of the parifli, upon 
whofe information he was taken into cuftody, and his 
papers feized. Having thus fecured the perfon whom 
they confidered to be the moft bitter enemy to the efta- 
bliflied order of things, particularly in ecclefiaftical mat¬ 
ters, the privy council determined to profecute him 
without delay for a capital offence. It was intended to 
inditfl him for the books which had been printed in his 
name; but it was now too late to endeavour to prove 
his criminality by any paffages to be found in them, 
fince the law required that the accufation fhould have 
been preferred within one month after their appearance, 
upon the oath of two witnefies, and that a profecution 
fhould have been commenced within one year from that 
time. The court, therefore, determined to take a new 
and moft iniquitous ftep in order to reach his life. He 
was indidled for “feditious words and rumours uttered 
againft the queen’s'moft excellent majefty, tending to 
the ftirring-up of rebellion among her fubjedts ;” and no 
evidence was produced to criminate him, excepting ex- 
preffions taken from his private papers, the Petition and 
Obfervations above mentioned. Yet upon fuch proofs 
was he convi&ed of felony, and adjudged to be put to 
death. In vain did he proteft againft fuch an unjuft ufe 
of private obfervations written in a^ foreign land, and 
neVer communicated to the public; and in vain did he 
afiert his uniform and fteady loyalty to her majefty, defy¬ 
ing his enemies to point out an adlion of his life which 
was unbecoming a faithful fubje£l. Fo.r his hardihood 
