Hanserd Knollys was an influential leader among the 17th century English Particular Baptists. A former priest in the Church of England, he came to Baptist convictions in 1643/44 and was instrumental in the formation of a Baptist Church in Great St. Helen-street, over which he was ordained the pastor in 1645 and served until 1691. He was a man acquainted with many persecutions and hardships, but was graciously sustained by God. Along with Benjamin Keach and William Kiffin, he was considered one of the "first three" of the Baptist ministers in his day.