Ecclesiastical History of England, Volume 3—The Church of the Restoration [part 1]

In Short

This volume examines the turbulent re-establishment of the English Church following the death of Oliver Cromwell and the return of Charles II. It details the rapid shift from Commonwealth instability to strict Episcopal uniformity, charting how political maneuvering, parliamentary legislation, and high-stakes ecclesiastical conferences reshaped the religious landscape. Stoughton traces the passage of the Act of Uniformity, the ejection of thousands of Nonconformist ministers from their livings, and the subsequent persecutions under restrictive laws like the Five Mile Act. Through meticulous archival detail, the work balances policy with human experience, contrasting high-level statecraft with the quiet resilience of ousted pastors. It has endured as an authoritative history due to its even-handed tone, scrupulous reliance on primary manuscripts, and commitment to Christian charity over partisan bias.

The Story

The narrative begins in the autumn of 1658 with the sudden death of Oliver Cromwell and the immediate, smooth succession of his son Richard. The new Protectorate opens with broad declarations of religious toleration and legal protection for ministers. Yet this stability proves ephemeral. By late 1659, military factions collapse the political order, restoring the remnants of the Long Parliament amidst widespread public mockery and societal confusion. As political authority unravels, a deep-seated affection for monarchy re-emerges across England. Royalists plot in secret while pamphleteers openly demand the return of Charles Stuart, promoting his innate mercy and promising an end to economic decay.

In 1660, Presbyterian delegations travel to the Hague to meet the exiled King. Seeking a moderate ecclesiastical settlement, they urge Charles to avoid imposing the Book of Common Prayer and the surplice in his personal chapel. Charles resists their restrictions, insisting on his own liberty while promising general indulgence. Upon his return, the Convention Parliament exhibits a rising tide of Episcopalian sentiment. Early attempts at compromise, such as the King’s Worcester House Declaration, are initially praised, yet Parliament ultimately rejects a bill to make its tolerant provisions permanent law.

By 1661, the newly elected Parliament and the revived Convocation move decisively toward rigid church uniformity. While clergy gather in the chapels of Westminster to draft new liturgies and specialized services—including offices for adult baptism and royal commemorations—Parliament drafts the Act of Uniformity. The measure mandates episcopal re-ordination, strict subscription to the revised Prayer Book, and an explicit repudiation of the Solemn League and Covenant. Despite sharp debates in the House of Lords regarding the unchurching of foreign Protestant bodies, the Act passes, setting St. Bartholomew’s Day, 1662, as the absolute deadline for compliance.

The execution of the Act brings widespread disruption. Due to publishing delays, many rural ministers are forced to assent to a book they have never seen. Hundreds of conscientious pastors are ejected from their livings, stripped of their livelihoods, and subjected to stringent visitations by diocesan authorities. While a few wealthy or well-connected Nonconformists find refuge in private chaplaincies or secondary professions, most face severe hardship, exacerbated by subsequent legislation prohibiting unauthorized assemblies.

The narrative shifts to the crises of the mid-1660s, including the Great Plague and the Dutch War. Driven to Oxford by infection, Parliament responds not with gratitude toward Nonconformists who remained to care for the sick, but with heightened suspicion and tighter legal restrictions. The fall of the Earl of Clarendon in 1667 leads to the rise of the Cabal ministry. Under this new administration, royal attempts at indulgence conflict with a fiercely anti-Popish Parliament, resulting in the Test Act of 1673 and the revocation of royal declarations of ease. Stoughton closes the volume by assessing the internal state of the established clergy, highlighting both rural ministers of high moral devotion and the widespread systemic defects of a enforced national conformity.

How It Unfolds

The illusion of continuity Following Oliver Cromwell’s death, Richard Cromwell peacefully assumes the Protectorate with broad public proclamations of religious liberty. Public bodies send flatteries, foreign courts don mourning attire, and early policy promises protection for all godly ministers.

The collapse of the Commonwealth Factional strife between army officers and Parliament quickly shatters the regime, leading to the erratic recall of the Rump Parliament. Public order degrades into confusion, emboldening Royalist networks to openly agitate for the return of the exiled King.

Negotiations at the Hague Presbyterian divines travel to Holland to secure commitments from Charles II, urging him to forgo strict liturgical mandates. The King rebuffs their demands to restrict his personal chapel worship, exposing early fractures between Presbyterian expectations and royal intentions.

The triumph of uniformity A newly elected, strongly Episcopalian Parliament joins with Convocation to enact rigid ecclesiastical laws. Despite internal debates over the status of non-episcopal Protestant orders, the Act of Uniformity passes, imposing strict subscription deadlines upon all parish ministers.

The Great Ejection On St. Bartholomew’s Day, 1662, hundreds of clergymen are cast out of the Church of England for refusing to subscribe to the Prayer Book. Ejected ministers disperse into private chaplaincies, rural hideouts, or secular professions to survive.

Persecution amidst calamity During the national emergencies of the Great Plague and the Dutch War, Parliament meets at Oxford and intensifies its measures against Dissenters. Suspicion of secret plots leads to stricter laws targeting Nonconformist meetings and schoolmasters.

The fall of Clarendon and the Cabal Lord Chancellor Clarendon is removed from power, making way for the Cabal ministry, which attempts royal declarations of indulgence. Parliament resists these executive accommodations, eventually forcing the passage of the Test Act to curb both Catholic and Nonconformist influence.

The People

• Charles II: The returning monarch who desires broad personal tolerance and religious ease, yet repeatedly yields his promises to the political demands of an unyielding Parliament.
• Edward Hyde, Earl of Clarendon: The Lord Chancellor whose political acumen re-establishes the Anglican Church, but whose unyielding enforcement of uniformity and secretive diplomacy leave a legacy of state-sponsored persecution.
• Richard Cromwell: The brief successor to the Protectorate, who enters office with widespread quietude but lacks the military and political leverage to prevent the collapse of his father's government.
• Zachary Crofton: A fiery Presbyterian minister in London who fiercely harangues against episcopacy from his pulpit, drawing vast crowds before being imprisoned in the Tower for his contentious writings.
• John Owen: An eminent Independent divine and former Dean of Christchurch who, despite being ousted from power, uses his private wealth and high standing to support Nonconformist causes from his country estates.
• John Howe: A gentle Nonconformist theologian who, after losing his parish, finds refuge as a private chaplain at Antrim Castle in Ireland, continuing his quiet religious ministry away from English penal laws.
• John Flavel: An ejected Devonshire pastor who retreats to a rural hall, gathering his former parishioners in secret midnight assemblies and composing devotionals inspired by countryside labor.
• Bishop John Hacket: The energetic Bishop of Lichfield who passionately restores his ruined cathedral and enforces canonical order, combining deep learning with intense hostility toward Nonconformist separation.
• Isaac Milles: A devoted, humble Anglican rector who quietly serves his rural parish for decades, exemplifying pastoral hospitality and personal piety amidst widespread institutional upheaval.

In Its Own Voice

"The deeply engrained love of Monarchy in the English mind--only painted over of late years--now that the paint was being rubbed off, became distinctly visible."

When the post-Cromwellian government collapsed into parliamentary instability, popular sentiment rapidly returned to its traditional political foundations.

"He was silenced and turned out, for not declaring his unfeigned assent and consent to a Book which he never saw or could see."

Due to printing and distribution delays, many rural ministers were ejected under the Act of Uniformity without ever receiving a copy of the revised Prayer Book they were legally required to endorse.

"There is an engine called Necessity, made with the screws of Interest, that doth it secundum artem."

A political squib from the election of 1661 highlights how common opposition to prelacy temporarily united rival Presbyterian and Independent factions.

What It's Really About

The core inquiry of the text centers on the tension between state-enforced religious uniformity and individual freedom of conscience. Stoughton explores how political fear and institutional self-preservation drive governing bodies to transform liturgical preferences into tests of political loyalty. The narrative illustrates the tragic irony of the Restoration: a movement that began with promises of broad royal clemency rapidly descended into legislative coercion, unchurching thousands of devoted ministers for failing to swear compliance to minor ceremonial details.

Underneath the historical documentation lies an argument for Christian charity and historical objectivity. Stoughton examines the moral failings on all sides, demonstrating how Presbyterian bigotry at the Hague invited Episcopal intolerance at Westminster, and how political expediency undermined genuine reform. The book questions whether a national church built upon rigid legal exclusion can ever truly secure spiritual unity, ultimately showing that true religious devotion often survived not within state-sanctioned cathedrals, but in the quiet endurance of marginalized communities.

Why Read It Today

This volume appeals to readers of British history, religious studies, and institutional politics who value rigorous, source-driven narrative over partisan rhetoric. Stoughton’s writing possesses a calm, measured clarity that eschews dramatization in favor of structural precision. Readers will appreciate his balanced perspective; he neither sanctifies the Puritans nor demonizes the Episcopalians, choosing instead to let archival documents, parliamentary journals, and private letters illuminate the human complexities of the era.

The experience of reading the text is one of immersive detail and steady pacing. Stoughton balances broad national developments with vivid local scenes, shifting effortlessly from parliamentary debates in Westminster to secret midnight prayer meetings in Devonshire woods. While the work presents minor historical hurdles—such as untranslated Latin phrases, archaic ecclesiastical terminology, and dense structural summaries of seventeenth-century statutes—these elements reflect the thoroughness of nineteenth-century scholarship rather than stylistic obscurity.

What remains with the reader is a poignant portrait of conscience under pressure. The accounts of countryside ministers surrendering their livings over minor textual assents offer a timeless reflection on integrity, power, and the high cost of religious compromise.

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