William Gouge (1575-1653)
James Dodson
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
William Gouge was born in 1575, in Stratford-le-Bow, Middlesex, England. Educated at Eton College, he went on to study at King’s College, Cambridge, where he graduated, in 1598, with a B.A. and soon after, in 1601, with an M.A. In 1608, he removed to London where he assumed the office of minister over the congregation of St. Ann Blackfriars, a position he held for 45 years. His ministry at St. Ann contributed to that parish being a stronghold of Puritanism. In 1643, although 68 years old, he was invited to sit in the venerable Assembly of divines, at Westminster. There, he was an active member contributing to the composition of the Westminster Confession. In 1647, he was appointed the prolocutor of the Provincial Assembly of London. He was a prolific writer, authoring a massive work on marriage, Domestical Duties (1622); a manual on prayer using the Lord’s prayer, A Guide to Goe to God (1626); and a large commentary on Hebrews, published posthumously, in 1655. He died in 1653.