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11 - The bills of 1733–1734

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 January 2010

R. B. Outhwaite
Affiliation:
University of Cambridge
Richard H. Helmholz
Affiliation:
University of Chicago
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Summary

The restoration of ecclesiastical jurisdiction in 1660–1 was accompanied by a renewal of criticism of its activities. Tracts were written extolling the supremacy of Parliament over the church, questioning the legality of excommunication and urging those who were cited to appear before the church courts to resist such demands by seeking prohibitions from King's Bench or Common Pleas. Bills attempting to curb clandestine marriages became a regular feature of parliaments from 1666 onwards, providing opportunities on occasion for critics to berate the church courts. In discussing the bill of 1678, for example, one member of the Commons complained that ‘a suit about clandestine Marriage may depend in the Ecclesiastical Courts three or four years, and scarce be decided in that time’, adding, ‘I would have the Tryal of clandestine Marriages be at Common Law.’ Another member urged that a clause be added to this bill attempting to speed up their proceedings.

Complaints about real or alleged abuses in the practices of the courts were made in parliament at decadal intervals. A bill ‘concerning regulating the Ordinaries, and abuses in Ecclesiastical Courts’ was offered to the Commons in 1671. Petitions ‘against several Proceedings of Ecclesiastical Courts’ were referred to a Commons committee in 1680. A committee of the Lords appointed to investigate irregularities in Westminster Hall was also urged in 1689 to investigate ‘what is fit to be redressed in the Ecclesiastical Courts’.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2007

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  • The bills of 1733–1734
  • R. B. Outhwaite, University of Cambridge
  • Foreword by Richard H. Helmholz, University of Chicago
  • Book: The Rise and Fall of the English Ecclesiastical Courts, 1500–1860
  • Online publication: 21 January 2010
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511585807.013
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  • The bills of 1733–1734
  • R. B. Outhwaite, University of Cambridge
  • Foreword by Richard H. Helmholz, University of Chicago
  • Book: The Rise and Fall of the English Ecclesiastical Courts, 1500–1860
  • Online publication: 21 January 2010
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511585807.013
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • The bills of 1733–1734
  • R. B. Outhwaite, University of Cambridge
  • Foreword by Richard H. Helmholz, University of Chicago
  • Book: The Rise and Fall of the English Ecclesiastical Courts, 1500–1860
  • Online publication: 21 January 2010
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511585807.013
Available formats
×