Index

to

Silenced Barnstaple Ministers

by

T. Wainwright

Devon Notes and Queries Queries 2, (1902-3), pp. 142-4.

Prepared by Michael Steer

The Act of Uniformity 1662 (14 Car 2 c 4) prescribed the form of public prayers, administration of sacraments, and other rites of the Established Church of England, following all the rites and ceremonies and doctrines prescribed in the Book of Common Prayer. Adherence to this was required in order to hold any office in government or the church, although the edition of the Book of Common Prayer prescribed by the Act (1662) was so new that most people had never seen a copy. It also required episcopal ordination for all ministers. As an immediate result, over 2,000 clergymen refused to take the oath and were expelled from the Church of England in what became known as the Great Ejection of 1662. Google with the Archive Organization has sponsored the digitisation of books from several libraries. The Internet Archive makes available, in its Community Texts Collection (originally known as Open Source Books), books that have been digitised by Google from a number of libraries. These are books on which copyright has expired, and are available free for educational and research use. This rare book was produced from a copy held by the New York Public Library, and is available from the Internet Archive.