John Bradshaw, the second son of Henry Bradshaw and Catherine Winnington, was born in 1602 probably at Wybersley (Wyberslegh) Hall in the village of High Lane near Stockport, Cheshire, or possibly at the nearby Peace Farm, Marple (his father farmed at both) and baptised on 10 December in Stockport Church. As a child he attended the free school at Stockport, as well as schools in Bunbury and Middleton. During his teenage years he also attended The King's School, Macclesfield. According to local tradition he wrote the following inscription on a gravestone at either Macclesfield or Bunbury: