‘Because thereon, in a great measure, depend the success and belief of their Office’: Clergy-lay relationships in Herefordshire, 1640-1700

Academic conversations concerning Keith Wrightson’s ‘Politics of the Parish’ have most recently included examinations of the clerical-lay relationship in order to better understand parochial networks: rarely have clergymen been considered holistically. Here, an exploration of that takes place. Examinations of clergymen as husbands, heads of households, and flawed individuals is undertaken as well as more conventional observations of religious and financial matters. Clerical relationships are examined in depth: in households, within and without the parish, between ordinary people and gentry, to highlight how important it was that ministers negotiate political settlements with their parishioners. The use of Wrightson’s parochial ‘spheres’ has allowed for an analysis of cases from the court of Instance in the Consistory Court of Hereford, and has enabled the incorporation of topics such as clerical ejection, tithes, officeholding, and pew disputes.

In doing so, the thesis explores the way that clerical success depended on parochial belief in the effectiveness of his role. Such belief could be undermined — by the clergyman or his parishioners. Much depended on the denominational balance in the parish. Where Protestant Nonconformists were more prevalent, parishioners were more assertive in seeking redress in the courts. Clerical personality also dictated how disputes were resolved. Ministerial reputation could be affected by a failure to adhere to conventions of manly conduct, but also by an inability to meet parochial expectations of clerical conduct and success. Parochial quietude was such an expectation: best achieved by ministerial mediation, the parson would also have been aware that failure could negatively affect parochial perception of him.

Individual clerical behaviour could critically influence a parish’s confidence in their minister, and from there, affect his success in his relationships with them. Clergymenwere lynchpins in parochial networks: without a functioning parson in that role, continued parochial government would be that much more difficult