One of the main elements which distinguished the iconoclasm of the mid seventeenth century from that of the mid-sixteenth century was the heavy involvement of parliament as the driving force behind it. Whatever questions remain about the extent to which iconoclasm was actually pursued in the country at large (and these are questions which will be addressed throughout this book), there can be no doubt that parliament took the issue seriously and that a series of increasingly radical pieces of legislation was passed. The legislation can be seen as setting an official standard which may or may not have been met generally but which nonetheless constituted an agenda for official iconoclasts. This chapter looks at the iconoclastic measures taken by parliament and also at the work of its special committee set up to address the issue in and around London.

The Passage of Iconoclastic Legislation

Concern with the direction that the church was taking under Laud had found brief expression during the Short Parliament (13 April–5 May 1640) where several members presented petitions from their constituencies complaining of innovations. On 29 April 1640 a Commons' committee was appointed to prepare for a conference with the Lords on religion. John Pym had the task of reporting on innovations, including the issue of the position of the communion table as well as the setting up of crosses, images and crucifixes in cathedral and parochial churches.