Francis Bampfield

Francis Bampfield (circa 1615 - 16 February 1684) was an English Nonconformist preacher, and supporter of Saturday Sabbatarianism. Born into a family of Devon gentry, he began as a conservative supporter of the Church of England, but gradually became more radical. He was expelled from the church following the 1662 Act of Uniformity, and became a Nonconformist; he spent nine years in prison, where he preached, and established congregations of Seventh Day Baptists. After his release in 1672, he spent another 18 months in jail for preaching without an alliance, and moved to London in 1674, where he continued his activities. Arrested again in 1683, he refused on principle to swear the Oath of allegiance, and was sent to Newgate Prison, where he died of fever on 16 February 1684. Biography Francis Bampfield was the third son of John Bampfield of Poltimore House, and his wife Elizabeth Drake.