The English Reformation took place in the 16th C when the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Catholic Church. This was primarily in response to Pope Clement VII refusing the annulment of Henry VIII’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon.
It wasn’t simply a replacement of the head of the church though as there was a need to establish the doctrines and practices of the new Church both in relation to the Roman Catholic Church and to the new Protestant movements in continental Europe. Both conservative and reforming clergy tried to steer the church’s direction, the former as simply Catholicism without the Pope and the latter as Protestant.
The new Church became heavily influenced by Calvinists and Lutherans during the reign of Henry’s son, Edward VI, but Queen Mary turned the country back to Catholicism. She only reigned for five years and Elizabeth I promptly turned it Protestant again. During Elizabeth’s reign the church set out the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion defining the doctrines and practices which formed part of the Book of Common Prayer which all clergy would have to follow.
After the execution of Charles I in 1649 the country and the parish became increasingly protestant and Puritan. In 1654 Nathaniel Mansfield M.A. was appointed Rector of the parish of Armitage. He was a fervent and enthusiastic speaker and very passionate about his religion. He believed wholeheartedly in the bible and, reportedly, had quite a temper. His moral and religious earnestness and his evangelical approach dovetailed nicely with the prevailing national Puritanism.
Charles II was crowned on St. George’s Day 1661 and the conservative clergy were able to restore the Book of Common Prayer and persuade the King that strong measures should be taken to protect the monarchy and the church. In May 1662 the Act of Uniformity was passed.
The Act prescribed, amongst other things, that every minister of a church must make a public declaration of “assent and consent” to everything in the Book of Common Prayer and to the Sacraments and other rites and ceremonies of the Church of England. All who objected or refused to make this declaration were to be deprived of their livings. Every minister was also to take an oath of passive obedience to everything in the Act and to exactly conform to the liturgy of the Church. If he did not conform to this i.e. become a non-conformer and continued preaching, he would be imprisoned for three months. Even to be a teacher or private tutor required a licence from a bishop or archbishop under penalty of three months imprisonment and a fine of £5 for every single offence. Finally, no man could be a minister unless he had been formally ordained by a bishop – the penalty against that was £100.
The day of enactment chosen was St. Bartholomew’s Day (August 24th) which was the day that tithes and rents were due. If ministers did not conform, they would lose these payments, which were made quarterly in arrears, thus impoverishing most of them. If they lived in a rectory, they would also lose their house.
Despite the prospect of losing both his house and his livelihood, Nathaniel Mansfield decided that he could not conform and be true to his religious beliefs and he was accordingly ejected from his position as Rector of Armitage. About 2000 Ministers in all refused to conform – about 20% of the total.
Nathaniel became a Presbyterian and preached secretly to his flock of Non-Conformists in the area before moving to Wolverhampton and Walsall.