Sacrament Gasthuis in Noordeinde.

We have known for some time that Reverend John Wing ministered a church at the Hague in the Netherlands. Thanks to Raymond Wing, Michael Wing and the Wing Family of America, Inc., we now have the proof of just exactly when and where. Equally fortunate was an article that was found and copied from the internet;
"ARCHBISHOP LAUD'S CAMPAIGN AGAINST PURITANISM AT THE HAGUE," written by Keith L. Sprunger. (Church History, Vol.44, No.3.(Sep.,1975), pp.308 - 320).

Thanks to the photographs of the Register and the article by Keith Sprunger it is evident that our ancestor, Rev. John Wing, was a Puritan.

"English religion had been practiced at the Hague since at least 1585, when the magistrates appointed a place of English worship. At this early point, the services were primarily for the edification of Leicester's English soldiers serving in Holland. the place of worship was the chapel of the Sacrament Gasthuis in the Noordeinde. Over the years the English church came to serve both the military personnel and also other English residents, of whom the chief were ambassadors Sir Ralph Wingwood (1603-1613), Sir Dudley Carleton (1616-1628), and Sir William Bosell (1632-1650). Another notable inhabitant was Elizabeth, Queen of Bohemia, the daughter of James I. The larger part of the English community was composed of assorted merchants, craftsmen and servants. For a long time, the English clergyman at The Hague was officially chaplain to Sir Horace Vere, governor of the Brill (Brielle) but who resided principally at The Hague, a leading figure in the English army in the Netherlands. Again and again, Sir Horace opened the post of chaplain to a series of Puritan preachers in exile - John Paget, John Burgess, William Ames - and for variety's sake, in the 1620's to John Hassall, forced out of England by his debts and later on his return the Puritan-baiting Dean of Norwich. Up to 1627, the Hague congregation was a gathering but not an organized, officially-recognized church; however, in that year, the English congregation became a formal church with its own minister, consistory and with a stipend of 300 guilders a year provided by the States of Holland and West Friesland. The first minister of the church was John Wing, formerly of Vlissingen, who served 1627-1629, and then Samuel Balmford, minister 1630-1650. No one did more than Samuel Balmford to maintain the church in its Puritan conformity.

(The stipend was raised to 500 guilders in 1628. (Resoluties van de staten van Holland en West-Friesland, no.59, November 28, 1626; no. 61, August 17, 1628). The resolution of 1628 refers to "ponden," that of 1626 to guilders).

Family, please enjoy these pages from the Church Register of the Sacrament Gasthuis in Noordeinde. We have every reason to believe that the first two pages were written by Rev. John Wing himself. Who knows to what heights in history our ancestor might have attained had he not died. We know that his health had been compromised for a number of years and that immediately after resigning his pastorate at the Hague in 1629 he returned to London, England and wrote his Last Will & Testament on November 2, 1629. His will was probated on August 4, 1630.