The Conventicle Acts and their devilish malice

The Conventicle Act of 1593 (or Religion Act 1592) stated that anyone over 16 who failed to attend the Parish Church or persuaded others to do the same should. It is the law that was used to put John Bunyan in prison in 1660.

A fresh Conventicle Act was passed in 1664 (part of the Clarendon Code as it was later called). This act forbade religious assemblies of more than five people outside the auspices of the State Church. In his diary the previous September Samuel Pepys quotes his cousin, a barrister and MP, speaking of "too devilish a severe act against conventicles; so beyond all moderation, that he is afeard it will ruin all".

In 1670 a second conventicles act, "An Act to prevent and suppress Seditious Conventicles" was passed legislating fines for attending or facilitating conventicles. This is the act that Andrew Marvell referred to as "the quintessence of arbitrary malice" (in a letter to William Popple).

English Religious Laws 1660-1728

                      English Religious Laws passed from 1660 to 1728

Act	Effect	Date passed	Date repealed	Duration	Comments
Corporation	Required oaths and communion for officers	1661	1828	167	Penalties reduced by Indemnity Act; Final repeal 1871
Licensing	Publications approved by Archbishop or Bishop	1662	1681	19
Uniformity [1]	Ejected nonc. ministers by 1664	1662		To present	Bartholomew Act
Uniformity [2]	Required teachers to take communion and have Bishop’s License	1662	1689	27
Uniformity [3]	Required oath 39 Articles universities	1662	1871	207	Changed in 1772
Quaker	Banned Quaker assemblies, required oaths	1662	1689	27
Conventicle  [1]	Banned religious gatherings of more than 5	1664	1670	6
Five Mile	Banned ejected ministers and unlicensed preachers within  5 miles of towns	1665	1689	24
Conventicle [2]	Banned religious gatherings of more than 5	1670	1689	19
Test	Civil/military officers must take communion, renounce Mass, swear Corporation oaths, aimed at Catholics, also affected other Nonconformists	1673	1829	156	Penalties reduced by Indemnity Act
Papist’s Disabling	Barred Catholics from Parliament	1678	1829	151
Toleration	Suspended penal laws agt. Nonconformists, allowed Trinitarians to license chapels	1689		To present	Modified in 1779
Blasphemy	Penalties incl. death for arians, socinians and atheists	1697	1813	116
Occasional Conformity	Barred  Dissenters from taking Anglican communion to qualify for office	1711	1718	7
Schism	Barred Dissenters from keeping schools	1714	1718	4
Indemnity	Reduced penalties under Test and Corporation Acts; allowed Dissenters to hold offices	1728		Intermit-tent	Became annual from 1756 until repeal of Test and Corporation Acts

 Found here

Bogue and Bennett 03

To add iniquity to iniquity, the conventicle act was passed, decreeing, that if any person, above the age of sixteen years be present at any meeting for worship, different from the church of England, where there shall be five persons more than the household, they shall, for the first offence, suffer three months imprisonment, or pay five pounds ; for the second, the punishment is doubled; and for the third, they shall be banished to America, or pay a hundred pounds; and if they return from banishment, suffer death (Burnet p. 204). The oath of an informer was sufficient to inflict all the severity of this statute of Draco. While many of the best of men filled our jails, the vilest of the human race rioted in debauchery by informing, for the sake of the reward.

A most dreadful plague visited this aceld'ama of persecution, and while some of the conforming ministers faithfully stood by their flocks, the greater part of them fled, as the hireling when he seeth the wolf; so that the non-conformists seized this opportunity of preaching to the multitudes who, while on the brink of the grave, were left as sheep without a shepherd. But as no revenge could satisfy, so no judgments could alarm the high party; for they now introduced an act to restrain non-conformists from inhabiting corporations. An oath of passive obedience, and non-resistance* was enacted; and all who refused it, were prohibited from coming within five miles of any corporate town where they formerly preached; or from keeping schools, or taking boarders, under a penalty of forty pounds. Thus, though they were not actually burnt alive, they were intentionally starved to death. But while earth and hell were against them, heaven appeared in their behalf. During twenty-eight years of sufferings, their enemies were never gratified by any resistance nor was any of them in prison for debt. Scarcely Elijah himself was fed more immediately from heaven.*

The king, at length, began to complain aloud of the bishops and conforming clergy,* who increased the numbers of dissenters by their conduct, which the people could not help contrasting with that of the ejected ministers. Hence a scheme for toleration was now talked of; but though it was cherished by the moderate divines of the establishment, it roused such opposition from the bigots*, that the non-conformists were left to all the fury of renewed persecution. A paper war fanned the flames of hatred and bigotry. Ralph Willis, called the cobbler of Gloucester, published an account of the scandalous lives of many of the conforming clergy. Samuel Parker, afterwards bishop of Oxford, was the champion for the hierarchy; but he was answered by Andrew Marvel, the pasquin of his age, whose lively wit effected more than all the learning of Dr Owen's grave replies; so that his book afforded merriment to all ranks and parties, from the king and his mistresses, down to the lowest of the populace.

The act against conventicles, was renewed with additional severity*; denying to the sufferers the protection of trial by jury; exposing them to conviction on the oath of a single informer, who was rewarded by a third of the exorbitant fine; while the laws were always to be interpreted against mercy and the non-conformists.

Volumes could not contain a complete history of the sufferings of these men, whose souls, from beneath the altar of God, cry, "how long, Lord, holy, just, and true?" At length, to accomplish the design of favouring the papists, and establish the king's prerogative to dispense with the laws, a declaration of indulgence was published by his majesty, suspending all the penal laws against dissenters,and allowing them to meet in places of worship licensed by the king. The high-church clergy were dreadfully alarmed, and severely condemned the dissenters for using the liberty of which they had been unjustly deprived.*

*Warner, vol. II. p. 604. Warner, p. 612.

*The righteous governor of the world sent fire as well as plague, so that-eighty-nine parish churches in London, together with St Paul's cathedral, were burnt down. Some temporary places were erected with boards, where, as well as in their own abodes, the non-conformists preached. They were called tabernacles; a name which has been since familiar among those who worship apart from the establishment. Drs. Owen and Goodwin, with other independent ministers, adopted this practice, so that many of the citizens of London flocked to the places where the liturgy was not used.

*Pierce, p. 240. Warner, vol. II. p. 611, 615.

*Warner, p. 615.

*To the honour of bishop Williams it should be recorded, that he argued against this infamous act, though the king had requested him not to speak against it, or to stay away from the house while it was debated. He told his majesty that, as an Englishman and a senator he was bound to speak his mind.

*Dr. Calamy being present at his late parish of Aldermanbury, London, was invited to preach, as the person expected did not cornet For complying he was thrown into Newgate; but there was such a resort of persons of distinction to visit him, that it was thought prudent, after a few days, to restore him to liberty.

*At this time was passed the Test Act, of which we shall speak intirely in the words of Dr. Warner, the clergyman to whose history so frequent reference is made in the progress of this work. " Whatever the dissenters might at first think of the indulgence, they saw now that they were only to be tools to advance the Romish religion, etc, etc"

Conventicle Act 1664

The Conventicle Act of 1664 was an Act of parliament under Charles II that forbade religious assemblies of more than five people outside the auspices of the Church of England. This law was part of the programme of Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon, to discourage nonconformity and to strengthen the position of the Established Church. These prohibitions led many, such as the Covenanters, to vacate their parishes rather than submit to the new Episcopal authorities. Just as the ministers left so too did the congregations, following their old pastors to sermons on the hillside. From small beginnings these field assemblies - or conventicles - were to grow into major problems of public order for the government.
Other statutes that were part of Clarendon's programme include:
the Quaker Act of 1662, which required people to swear an oath of allegiance to the king.
A second conventicle act was passed in 1670.
The operation of these laws at least as far as Protestants were concerned was mitigated somewhat by Charles II's Royal Declaration of indulgence in 1672, which suspended the execution of penal laws and allowed a certain number of non-conformist chapels to be staffed and constructed, with the pastors subject to royal approval.
The Conventicle Act and Five Mile Acts were repealed in 1689.

Clarendon Code

The Clarendon Code gets its name from Edward Hyde, Earl of Clarendon, Charles II's Lord Chancellor. The code included four crucial pieces of legislation. These were:

1. The Corporation Act of 1661 - This first of the four statutes which made up the Clarendon Code required all municipal officials to take Anglican communion and formally reject the Solemne League and Covenant of 1643. The effect of this act was to exclude nonconformists from public office.
2. The Act of Uniformity of 1662 - This second statute made use of the Book of Common Prayer compulsory in religious service. Upwards of 2000 clergy refused to comply with this act, and were forced to resign their livings.

3. The Conventicle Act of 1664 - This act forbade conventicles (a meeting for unauthorised worship) of more than 5 people who were not members of the same household. The purpose was to prevent dissenting religious groups from meeting.

4. The Five Mile Act of 1665 - This final act of the Clarendon Code was aimed at Nonconformist ministers, who were forbidden from coming within five miles of incorporated towns or the place of their former livings. They were also forbidden to teach in schools. This act was not rescinded until 1812.