A Sermon Preached at Hampton Court before the Kings Majestie, on Tuesday the 23. of September, Anno 1606

Buckeridge, John. A Sermon Preached at Hampton Court before the Kings Majestie, on Tuesday the 23. of September, Anno 1606  Published by London: Robert Barker, 1606

Quarto. 193mm x 145mm Title is A1. 44pp. Half leather boards, rubbed, paper boards, vestiges of early gilt title to spine. Final two leaves (F, F2) have top outer corners chipped not affecting text. Bookplate King Edward’s School Bury St Edmunds to front pastedown. Minor marks. Overall a very good copy. Buckeridge was a moderate Calvinist. Along with other divines of the time such as Lancelot Andrewes, John Donne, and Richard Bancroft, Buckeridege was chosen to preach before King James 1st at Hampton Court during the sessions at which the new Authorised Bible was being translated.

A rare and highly significant Jacobean court sermon preached before King James I at Hampton Court Palace during the crucial period of the Hampton Court Conference and the early stages of the work that would produce the Authorised (King James) Version of the Bible.

The sermon was delivered by John Buckeridge, then one of the leading churchmen of the realm, and one of the select divines chosen to preach before the King during the Hampton Court sessions. These sermons were not merely ceremonial: they formed part of the theological and political theatre in which James I asserted his vision of episcopacy, royal supremacy, and religious settlement.

Printed by Robert Barker, the King’s Printer and the man who would go on to print the first editions of the King James Bible (1611), this is an important survival linking: the Jacobean court, the politics of the English Church, and the intellectual milieu out of which the Authorised Version emerged.

John Buckeridge (c.1562–1631) was one of the most influential English churchmen of the early Stuart period. Educated at Oxford, he rose through the ecclesiastical hierarchy to become Bishop of Rochester (1611) and later Bishop of Ely (1628). He was closely associated with Lancelot Andrewes, Richard Bancroft, and John Donne, and was widely respected for his learning and moderation.

Often described as a moderate Calvinist with strong episcopal sympathies, Buckeridge stood at the intersection of Reformed theology and high-church structure. His selection to preach before the King at Hampton Court places him firmly within the inner circle of Jacobean ecclesiastical authority.

Historical Context

The Hampton Court Conference (1604) and the subsequent court preaching cycle were pivotal in shaping the religious policy of James I’s reign. It was in this environment that the decision was taken to produce a new translation of the Bible, resulting in the 1611 King James Version. Sermons preached before the King during this period are therefore primary documents of the intellectual and theological climate that produced the most influential English Bible translation in history.

This sermon belongs to that exact moment of transition and consolidation in the English Church.

Bibliographical & Provenance Note

The imprint of Robert Barker is particularly significant, as Barker held the royal patent and was responsible for printing official proclamations, Bibles, and state religious material. Sermons of this type were often printed in small numbers, heavily used, and rarely survive in good condition.

The presence of the bookplate of King Edward’s School, Bury St Edmunds adds an additional layer of institutional English provenance, reflecting the long educational afterlife of the work.

This is a highly desirable Jacobean sermon: early, court-preached, royally attended, and directly linked to the circle responsible for the King James Bible. It will appeal to collectors of:

English Reformation & early Stuart religion

King James I and the Stuart court

History of the Bible and translation

Hampton Court & ecclesiastical politics