Rev Henry Crabtree – aka Krabtree – was born in Norland – or Sowerby.
He studied with John Tillotson.
He was a mathematician, astronomer, and astrologer. He did some original work on sun spots.
He was Curate at St Mary's Church, Todmorden [1622-1685]. He lived at Stansfield Hall.
He married the widow, Mrs Mary Pilling.
In 1685, he published his Merlinus Rusticus – or Country Almanack – in which he described himself as a rustic court magician, and predicted the fate of the Roman and Turkish empires.
The Almanack described some of his preferred cures for various ills which included bloodletting and physic. In 1688, he was asked to treat a young man called Richard Dugdale, who lived near Whalley, and who suffered from epileptic fits. Local doctors had failed to help the boy. Richard and his father stayed with Crabtree at Stansfield Hall. Because of the treatment – bloodletting and physic – Crabtree was accused of being in league with the devil. His reputation never recovered from the accusations.
On one occasion, when he was preaching at St Mary's, a mouse ran across the open copy of the Bible which lay before him. He believed that this was a sign, and, hastily closing the service, rushed home to Stansfield Hall and discovered that thieves had broken into his study.
He persecuted Quakers in and around Todmorden, including Henry Kailey and Daniel Sutcliffe, and broke up their meetings.
He was the first Curate to keep a register of baptisms and burials at St Mary's and frequently added astrological comments to the parish registers. One example:
1st November 1685: James, son of James Taylor of Todmorden. He was born 2nd October, near sun setting and also near a full moon, which is a sure sign of a short life
He was a Royalist and believed that Charles I was
murdered by a nest of religious cut-throats
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Malcolm Bull 2017 /
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Revised 14:23 on 14th May 2017 / zz_127 / 6
