The Activity and Influence of the Established Church in England, C. 1800-1837
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The Activity and Influence of the Established Church in England, c. 1800-1837 Nicholas Andrew Dixon Pembroke College, Cambridge This dissertation is submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. November 2018 Declaration This dissertation is the result of my own work and includes nothing which is the outcome of work done in collaboration except as declared in the Preface and specified in the text. It is not substantially the same as any that I have submitted, or, is being concurrently submitted for a degree or diploma or other qualification at the University of Cambridge or any other University or similar institution except as declared in the Preface and specified in the text. I further state that no substantial part of my dissertation has already been submitted, or, is being concurrently submitted for any such degree, diploma or other qualification at the University of Cambridge or any other University or similar institution except as declared in the Preface and specified in the text. It does not exceed the prescribed word limit for the relevant Degree Committee. Nicholas Dixon November 2018 ii Thesis Summary The Activity and Influence of the Established Church in England, c. 1800-1837 Nicholas Andrew Dixon Pembroke College, Cambridge This thesis examines the various ways in which the Church of England engaged with English politics and society from c. 1800 to 1837. Assessments of the early nineteenth-century Church of England remain coloured by a critique originating in radical anti-clerical polemics of the period and reinforced by the writings of the Tractarians and Élie Halévy. It is often assumed that, in consequence of social and political change, the influence of a complacent and reactionary church was irreparably eroded by 1830. While some historians have moved beyond this restrictive framework, their focus has generally been on the Church’s internal affairs and the ways in which the clergy were affected by political and social reforms. By contrast, this thesis investigates not only how the Church responded to change, but also, above all, how the Church itself was able to shape political and social life. The thesis presents a national, as opposed to a regional, picture of Anglican activity by way of geographically dispersed case studies from throughout England. Five main strands are explored. The first chapter delineates the nature and extent of mainstream Anglican allegiance in this period. On this basis, the role of the clergy in political life is considered in the next two chapters, with reference to both the contribution of the bishops to the proceedings of the House of Lords and clerical involvement in parliamentary politics at a local level. In the final two chapters, the extra- parliamentary participation of the Church in English society is discussed, by reference to the growth of Anglican schools for the poor and the expanding efforts of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. From these multifarious strands emerges a new picture of early nineteenth-century English politics and society, in which the Church of England was a pivotal agent, rather than only a beleaguered victim, of significant socio-political changes. iii Acknowledgements The research upon which this thesis is based was funded by an Arts and Humanities Research Council Doctoral Training Partnership Studentship (grant number: 1653413), supported by Pembroke College, Cambridge. Additionally, I received research travel grants from Pembroke College, the AHRC DTP’s Research Training Support Grant fund and the Cambridge University Faculty of History’s Fieldwork and Archive/Specialist Training funds. I am most grateful to the staff of all the archives and libraries which I have used for granting me access to their collections and for answering my queries. These repositories are listed in the bibliography. Special thanks are due to Mary Painter of Blackburn Central Library for allowing me to consult some correspondence of John William Whittaker, and to Rebecca Jackson of the Staffordshire Record Office, who drew my attention to the letters of Peter Potter. June Ellis’s transcriptions of the latter were very useful. I also gratefully acknowledge the permission of the Syndics of Cambridge University Library and of the Master and Fellows of St John’s College, Cambridge, to cite the manuscript material they hold. In Cambridge, I have benefited immensely from the invaluable support and guidance of Andrew Thompson, who has supervised my research during the last four years. I am also grateful to Ben Griffin, who gave helpful suggestions as my advisor, and to Gareth Atkins for offering many constructive comments on my ideas. Many of my fellow PhD students, too numerous to name, have been of assistance to me in various ways. Nor can I overlook the formative historical training I gained from my undergraduate studies at St Hugh’s College, Oxford, especially from George Garnett, Jon Parkin and Brian Young. Indeed, my debts outside of Cambridge are considerable. Attendees at Ecclesiastical History Society events and the Institute of Historical Research’s Britain in the Long Eighteenth Century seminar have consistently created a stimulating and supportive environment for me to discuss my research. Mary Clare Martin and Bill Jacob have been exceedingly generous in their help and iv encouragement. Bill Walker gave me valuable advice regarding my researches in Lancashire, while Alistair Beecher’s insights from his Hampshire researches have been ever pertinent. In Oxford, I had fascinating discussions with Joanna Innes and Mark Smith. On a more personal note, I thank my parents for their constant support throughout this undertaking. I also appreciate the interest which so many friends, relations and acquaintances have taken in my work. I have endeavoured to ensure that the interest and support I have received from all quarters is merited. Nicholas Dixon November 2018 v Table of Contents Abbreviations viii Introduction 1 Radicalism and Tractarianism 3 Anglo-Catholic History 5 Social Criticism 8 Revisionism 10 A New Approach 16 Structure 21 Chapter 1: The Nature and Extent of Anglicanism 24 Normative Anglican Belief 28 External Threats 37 Measures of Piety 46 The Pastoral Office 58 Conclusion 63 Chapter 2: The Bishops and High Politics 65 The Client-Bishops 68 Bishops and Party until 1832 79 Bishops and Party after 1832 94 Speaking in Parliament 104 The Appeal to Public Opinion 110 Revolution or Adjustment? 120 Conclusion 125 vi Chapter 3: The Clergy and Local Politics 128 University Parliamentary Elections 132 County and Borough Parliamentary Elections: Votes and Attitudes 143 County and Borough Parliamentary Elections: Modes of Campaigning 150 Petitions and Addresses 160 Political Societies 168 Partisan Preaching 174 Conclusion 180 Chapter 4: The National Society and Education 182 Foundation and Organisation 187 Subscribers and Supporters 195 Religious and Political Functions 201 Teaching: Methods, Personnel and Outcomes 212 Ritual and Public Display 224 Broader Educational Context 230 Conclusion 235 Chapter 5: The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge and the Press 238 The Structure and Operations of the SPCK 241 Religious Viewpoint 256 Political Interventions 260 The Anti-Infidelity Campaigns of 1819 and 1830 266 A Broader Anglican Print Culture? 275 The Disintegration of Anglican Publishing 286 Conclusion 291 Conclusion 294 Bibliography 300 vii Abbreviations Arch. Archives BL British Library, London Bodl. Bodleian Library, Oxford CERC Church of England Record Centre, London CUL Cambridge University Library, Cambridge DCM A. R. Wellesley (Duke of Wellington) (ed.), Despatches, Correspondence and Memoranda of Field Marshal Arthur Duke of Wellington, K.G. (8 vols., London, 1867-80) DUL Durham University Library, Durham ECA Exeter Cathedral Archives, Exeter Hansard Hansard’s Parliamentary Debates HL Papers of the 1st Duke of Wellington (shelfmark: MS 61), Hartley Library, Southampton HoP 1790-1820 R. G. Thorne (ed.), The History of Parliament: The House of Commons, 1790-1820 (5 vols., London, 1986) HoP 1820-1832 D. R. Fisher (ed.), The History of Parliament: The House of Commons, 1820-1832 (7 vols., Cambridge, 2009) LDN T. Gornall, I. T. Ker, G. Tracey, F. J. McGrath and C. S. Dessain (eds.), The Letters and Diaries of John Henry Newman (32 vols., London and Oxford, 1961-2008) LPL Lambeth Palace Library, London NS AR Annual Report of the National Society for Promoting the Education of the Poor in the Principles of the Established Church throughout England and Wales [cited by year of publication] RO Record Office SPCK AR Report of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge [cited by year of publication] StC St Catharine’s College Archives, Cambridge WP(B) Papers of John William Whittaker (shelfmark: G3WHIT), Blackburn Central Library, Blackburn WP(C) Papers of John William Whittaker, St John’s College Library, Cambridge viii Introduction In her novel of 1814 Mansfield Park, Jane Austen has the character Mary Crawford declare, ‘Men love to distinguish themselves, and in [the law and the army], distinction may be gained, but not in the church. A clergyman is nothing.’ The context of this remark is a conversation during which Edmund Bertram, Crawford’s suitor, reveals his desire to be a clergyman. Bertram then launches into an impassioned defence of the clergy’s role: A clergyman cannot be high in state or fashion. He must not head mobs, or set the ton [sic] in dress. But I cannot call that situation nothing, which has the charge of all that is of the first importance to mankind, individually or collectively considered, temporally and eternally, – which has the guardianship of religion and morals, and consequently of the manners which result from their influence. No one here can call the office nothing. If the man who holds it is so, it is by the neglect of his duty, by foregoing its just importance, and stepping out of his place to appear what he ought not to appear. Crawford is unconvinced, stating that Bertram assigns ‘greater consequence to the clergyman than one has been used to hear given, or than I can quite comprehend’ and that ‘[o]ne scarcely sees a clergyman out of his pulpit.’ Bertram, however, responds that Crawford is ‘speaking of London.