Born in Herefordshire
Born in the hill country along the Welsh border. From childhood, by Nicholas Complin's testimony, he 'mourned mightily after the Lord' and outstripped his companions in zealous profession.
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d. 1663 · Herefordshire, England
Humphrey Smith
The Prophet Who Saw London Burn
“It is sufficient that I suffer if I do break the law, and not to suffer because I cannot promise not to break it.” — Humphrey Smith
Life & Ministry
Convincement
A preacher among the separatist congregations, he was convinced by the Quaker message when it reached the west country, gave up preaching for hire, and went out to declare the Light of Christ within.
The Evesham Persecution
Imprisoned amid the borough magistrates' campaign against Friends at Evesham, Worcestershire. Published The Cruelty of the Magistrates of Evesham and Something Further Laid Open — names, dates, and documents.
The Year of Prophecy
Poured out tract after tract from the presses of Giles Calvert and Thomas Simmons: The Sounding Voice, An Alarm Sounding Forth, Divine Love Spreading Forth, Man Driven Out of the Earth, Hidden Things Made Manifest.
The Vision Concerning London
In the fifth month of 1660, shortly after Charles II's return, he saw and published his vision of London consumed by a fire no hand could quench. The city burned in September 1666.
Arrested at Alton
Taken at a meeting at Alton, Hampshire, while traveling to visit his young son, and committed to Winchester gaol by two deputy lieutenants. No charge was ever proved against him.
Death in Winchester Gaol
After more than a year of sessions and assizes, refusing to purchase liberty with a bond he had broken no law to owe, he died of fever in the common gaol on the 4th of the 3rd month [May] 1663.
The Memorial Collection
His friends published A Collection of the Several Writings and Faithful Testimonies of Humphry Smith — 464 pages preserving his whole canon.
Connections & Relationships
George Fox
Fellow Publisher of TruthSmith was among the west-country Friends gathered into the movement Fox began, and labored in the same itinerant ministry.
Edward Burrough
Contemporary WitnessLike Burrough, Smith died a prisoner in 1663, one of the first generation who sealed their testimony in the gaols of the Restoration.
Available Works
The Sounding Voice: The Collected Writings, Volume I
AvailableThe Evesham persecution narratives, the prophetic works of 1658, the Vision Concerning London, and the Winchester prison writings, with Nicholas Complin's memorial testimony.