England Nonconformist History Seventeenth Century - International Institute

Historical Survey and State Records of Non-Anglicans (cont.)
At this time there was no concept of freedom of religious opinion or tolerance for alternative forms of Christian worship. All the religious denominations were exclusivists, each felt that his was the only right way, and that he had a duty to impose it on everyone else! Thus when Archbishop Laud tried to impose a high church uniformity in the Anglican Church during his 11 years tyranny (1629-40) this was resented so much by the Puritans that it was one of the causes of the Civil War and he paid with his head.

Tax Assessments and Subsidies 1640-2
These were assessed on an increasing proportion of the wealthier inhabitants. The significance for Non-Anglicans was that both aliens and Catholics (justified because ‘they were foreigners at heart’) had to pay twice the normal assessed amount thus they are identifiable in the returns. Gibson and Dell (The Protestation Returns 1641-1642 and Other Contemporary Listings: Collection in Aid of Distressed Protestants in Ireland; Subsidies; Poll Tax; Assessment or Grant; Vow and Covenant; Solemn League and Covenant. Federation of Family History Societies., 1995) list all known extant assessments.

Protestation Returns 1641/2
The Protestation was an oath of loyalty, ostensibly to King Charles I, but in reality to Parliament. All adult males were required to take it, and a few females did as well. The oath (shown below ) was intended to identify Roman Catholics, and it was simply an affirmation of Protestantism in general. Puritans had no objection to it, and in fact many Catholics signed; it was obviously safer to do so! It is therefore the nearest there is, until 1841, to a fairly comprehensive census of adult males for the roughly one third of parishes for which returns survive.

The lists of signatures subscribed to the oath in each parish are called the Protestation Returns and they are organized by the county divisions known as hundreds or their equivalent wapentakes (north east), wards (north), divisions (Dorset, Hampshire), rapes (Sussex) and lathes (Kent). First, the ministers, churchwardens, constables and overseers of the poor took the oath before Justices of the Peace at a local market town, then they administered it within their parishes. Although signatures, or marks of those unable to sign their names, were no doubt intended, the vast majority of returns are all in one hand, that of the parson or parish clerk. Some show signatures or marks of those serving as churchwardens, overseers and overseers that year. Gibson and Dell (The Protestation Returns 1641-1642 and Other Contemporary Listings: Collection in Aid of Distressed Protestants in Ireland; Subsidies; Poll Tax; Assessment or Grant; Vow and Covenant; Solemn League and Covenant. Federation of Family History Societies, 1995), in their detailed listing of all the returns, indicate which are signed, which have been transcribed, and even which include women, occupations and, in one case, ages.

Chart: The Protestation Oath

The main objective was to consolidate support for the Protestant religion and against popery, and Roman Catholics and others who refused to sign were listed separately and a count made. A parliamentary committee was struck to decide what to do with the recusants, but the Civil War broke out before anything was done.

Chart: Brief Guide to Available Protestation Returns The number of parishes or places with extant returns are given as a fraction of a rough total number. Italics show completely transcribed and published returns. * indicates partial publication of transcripts. [Data mainly from Gibson and Dell’s The Protestation Returns 1641-1642 and Other Contemporary Listings: Collection in Aid of Distressed Protestants in Ireland; Subsidies; Poll Tax; Assessment or Grant; Vow and Covenant; Solemn League and Covenant. Federation of Family History Societies, 1995; and personal research]

A brief summary of what is available is shown above and Gibson and Dell has details by county of what originals have been discovered and where they are located in England, plus information on what has been transcribed and published. Most of the original returns are at the House of Lords Record Office, but they have all been microfilmed as have many, if not all, of the published transcripts. On the FHLC a title search for Protestation Returns displays all the county lists of original returns and available transcripts. Markwell and Saul (Facsimiles of Documents of Use to Family Historians. Federation of Family History Societies, 1987) chose the return for Covenham, Lincolnshire, which has signatures and (mostly) marks, as their cover illustration for their Facsimiles of Documents of Use to Family Historians.

Interregnum (1642-1660)
The Interregnum was a time ‘between monarchs’ and included:


 * Civil War (1642-9) between the generally Protestant Parliamentary supporters, nicknamed Roundheads because of their close-cropped hair and King Charles I’s mostly Anglican and Catholic Royalists nicknamed Cavaliers with their long curly, flowing wigs.


 * Commonwealth divided into two phases: The Rump Parliament (1649-53). The Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell (1653-8) and his son Richard Cromwell (1658-60) as Lord Protectors.

Oaths 1641-2 Allegiance to Parliament and the Protestant church was also requested in 1643 for the Vow and Covenant, and later that year for the Solemn League and Covenant 1643/4. Some returns are extant and noted by Gibson and Dell, but no other national survey has been done. Examples of the Solemn League and Covenant on film include those for Bromeswell, Suffolk on and Birchington, Kent on.

The Solemn League and Covenant was an agreement reached between Parliament and the Scots in 1643, whereby Parliament agreed to a uniform Presbyterian church government in England and Ireland in return for the military support of the Scots. Presbyterianism became the established church and its view was imposed on everyone, thus many Anglicans chose to emigrate to Virginia, USA. The Puritans wanted further Protestant reforms and these eventually gave rise to some major groups—the Baptists, Congregationalists (Independents) and Presbyterians (Unitarians) and others emigrated to the New World. Some who were totally disillusioned with the new Church of England formed the Seekers, later called the Society of Friends or Quakers.

Civil War Army Record
Those who served on either the Royalist (largely Catholic) or Parliamentarian (Puritan) side in the Civil War would have been attached to a regiment named after its Colonel. The affiliation of a named Colonel can be found in the appendix to Kitzmiller’s book (In Search of the Forlorn Hope. A Comprehensive Guide to Locating British Regiments and Their Records 1840—WWI. Manuscript Publishing Foundation, 1988), and this volume is a good source for further references to material on the well-studied Civil War.

Civil Marriage during Interregnum
During the Commonwealth period Justices of the Peace performed marriages before two witnesses, so these are another form of Non-Anglican ceremony (shown below).

Chart: Civil Marriage During Interregnum


 * The Ceremony


 * An example of a certificate

State Papers Domestic
There is a great deal of material at the PRO in State Papers Domestic (series SP) regarding the many tiny religious groups flourishing for brief periods during the Inter-Regnum period. Such groups as the Ranters, Levellers, Millenarians, and Fifth Monarchy Men did not survive for long. Others, notably Muggletonians and Quakers, lasted longer but only the latter became important religious options.

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