Simonds d'Ewes was born on 18 December 1602 in Milden, Suffolk, the eldest son of Paul d'Ewes and Cecelia, the heiress of Sir Richard Simonds. He inherited a fortune from his maternal grandfather while still young; his other grandfather was a printer, Gerard d'Ewes. After some early private teaching, including time at the school of Henry Reynolds (father of Bathsua Makin, who impressed d'Ewes much more), he was sent to the grammar school at Bury St Edmunds. At Bury St Edmunds, he wrote 2,850 verses of poetry in Greek and Latin. D'Ewes then went to St John's College, Cambridge, and studied under Richard Holdsworth. At St John's, he was exposed to and influenced by a strong college tradition of Puritanism.