Edward Sparke
English clergyman and devotional writer
Edward Sparke (c. 1610/11 – 1692) was an orthodox Anglican English clergyman and devotional writer in prose and poetry, who despite being ejected from his living during the English Rebellion survived to see his work and teaching gain a wide currency during the Restoration period. He is most remembered as the author of Scintilla Altaris, first published in 1652. It was a major influence in re-establishing the Anglican liturgical calendar.
Life
A native of Kent, he was educated at Clare Hall, Cambridge, graduating with a bachelor's degree in 1630, a master's in 1633, and a doctorate in 1640. He was incorporated at Oxford on 12 July 1653 and later obtained the doctorate in divinity.
He was presented to the rectory of St Martin, Ironmonger Lane (St Martin Pomeroy), London, 28 September 1639. At about this time he took a wife Sarah, for on 16 September 1641 their daughter Sarah was baptized at St Martin Pomeroy. The mother died in childbirth: the baptism and the burial took place on the same day. Daughter Sarah survived and bore her father's only known posterity.
The public source identifies “Edward Sparke” as english clergyman and devotional writer. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Edward, Sparke and English.
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Biographical claims are most persuasive when dates, appointments and relationships can be traced to records created close to the events described. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 22, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5345381. VIAF identifies the subject as 29880249. The Library of Congress control number is n85088692. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1610, 1692, 1652 and 1630.
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This entry incorporates text from “Edward Sparke” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.