Trevor Cliffe - Puritan Gentry Besieged 1650-1700

The latter half of the seventeenth century saw the Puritan families of England struggle to preserve the old values in an era of political and religious upheaval. Even nonconformist ministers were inclined to be pessimistic about the endurance of godliness Puritan attitudes and practicesamong the upper classes at a time when moral standards were generally considered to be in decline.

Based on a wide-ranging study of family papers and other primary sources, The Puritan Gentry Besieged reveals that in many cases, Puritan county families were playing a double game: outwardly in communion with the Church, they often employed nonconformist chaplains and tutors and attended nonconformist meetings. Trevor Cliffes study covers both the established and the nouveau riche Puritan families. The book considers internal family divisions, marriage alliances, uses of wealth and links with the nonconformist interest at election time. It reveals that the situation was a good deal more complex than it appeared.

Following The Puritan Gentry (1984) and Puritans in Conflict (1988), The Puritan Gentry Besieged concludes Dr Cliffes trilogy on the Puritan county families of the seventeenth century.

First published 1993
by Routledge
11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE

Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge Inc.
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1993 J.T.Cliffe

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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Cliffe, J.T. (John Trevor)
The Puritan gentry besieged, 16501700 / John Trevor Cliffe
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. EnglandSocial life and customs17th century.
2. PuritansEnglandHistory17th century.
3. GentryEnglandHistory17th century.
4. EnglandReligious life and customs.
I. Title.
DA440.C58 1993
942.0608825dc20 9240813

ISBN 0-203-22172-9 Master e-book ISBN

ISBN 0-203-22388-8 (Adobe eReader Format)
ISBN 0-415-06727-8 (Print Edition)

when the Rich are indeed Religious, and overcome their Temptations, as they may be supposed better than others, because their Conquest is greater, so they may do more good than others, because their Talents are more. But such (comparatively) are always few.

Any man that was for a Spiritual serious way of Worship (though he were for moderate Episcopacy and Liturgy), and that lived according to his Profession, was called commonly a Presbyterian, as formerly he was called a Puritan, unless he joyned himself to Independents, Anabaptists, or some other sect which might afford him a more odious Name.

Richard Baxter, Reliquiae Baxterianae, pp. 94, 278

This is the final volume of a trilogy on the Puritan county families of the seventeenth century. The Puritan Gentry (1984) destroyed the myth that godliness was exclusively the preserve of the middling sort, though it also highlighted the conflict between religious impulses and class values. Along with other works which appeared about the same time Puritans in Conflict (1988) restored religion to its rightful place as one of the most potent factors in the Civil War.

The last chapter of Puritans in Conflict was entitled The Twilight of Godliness. This was not intended to be a personal judgment but simply a reflection of the pessimistic views expressed by such contemporary commentators as Lucy Hutchinson and Richard Baxter. One of the main reasons why I embarked on this further phase of the study was that I was anxious to know what happened to the Puritan county families of 1642 during the half-century following the execution of Charles I and the establishment of a republic. Was their commitment to the cause of true religion a purely temporary phenomenon which failed to survive the political developments of the turbulent years between 1648 and 1660 or the intellectual or social climate of Restoration England? In addition, I wanted to assess the impact, in religious terms, made by the new families which were entering the ranks of the country gentry. In the event this volume is mainly concerned with the gentry who occupied a position in the religious spectrum between conventional Anglicans (i.e. Anglicans who were fully satisfied with the ecclesiastical settlement of 1662) and Protestant separatists (i.e. sectaries who would have nothing to do with the established Church). Puritans had always been regarded as dissidents who wished to purify the Church from within and it had been the practice to draw a clear distinction between them and the separatists. In the latter part of the seventeenth century, however, there was a major new dimension which owed much to the purge of Puritan ministers in the early years of Charles IIs reign. This was the tendency of persons of quality with godly inclinations to maintain close ties with nonconformist divines while remaining in communion with the Church of England.

I should like to record my grateful thanks to the following for permitting me to make use of material in manuscript collections: the Earl of Verulam (the Verulam (Gorhambury) MSS in the Hertfordshire County Record Office); Lord Cobbold (the Lytton MSS in the same record office); Lord Hazlerigg (the Hazlerigg MSS in the Leicestershire Record Office); Lord Lucas of Crudwell (the Lucas MSS in the Bedfordshire County Record Office); Sir Ralph Verney, Bart., KBE and the Claydon House Trustees (the Claydon House MSS (Letters) on microfilm in the Buckinghamshire Record Office); Mr J.T.L.Jervoise (the Jervoise of Herriard Park MSS in the Hampshire Record Office); the Trustees of the Firle Estate Settlement (the Knightley MSS in the Northamptonshire Record Office); the Trustees of the late Mrs C.Dryden (the Dryden (Canons Ashby) MSS in the same record office); the Director of Libraries and Information Services, Sheffield Central Libraries and Olive Countess Fitzwilliams Wentworth Settlement Trustees (Wentworth Woodhouse Muniments, Bright Papers); the Trustees of Dr Williamss Library; the Bodleian Library; the City of Bristol Record Office; the Devon Record Office; the Guildhall Library, London; and the Lambeth Palace Library.

I should also like to express my appreciation of the help which I have received from the staffs of all libraries and record offices listed in the Bibliography.

Finally, the completion of this three-volume study is an appropriate occasion for me to acknowledge my indebtedness to Mr Andrew Wheatcroft of Routledge for his continuing support and encouragement over the last decade or so.