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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 March 2016
One of the consequences of the dissolution of the monasteries was the amount of patronage which fell into lay hands. In the past the influence of laymen, apart from that of the Crown itself, on the emergent Elizabethan Church has largely been ignored. A great deal has been written about the wolves coming out of Geneva, and about the more moderate protestant clerics from less controversial backgrounds. Even recent studies of Church history in the Elizabethan period seem to give the impression that an informed interest in theology was confined to the clergy. Yet by the beginning of Elizabeth’s reign there was already a body of educated laymen committed to the doctrines of protestantism and their numbers increased as the reign progressed. In his edition of the letters of Thomas Wood, one such protestant layman, Dr Collinson has given ample evidence that the participation of some of the laity in Church matters cannot be ignored. In the company of Thomas Wood stands Sir Francis Hastings, an equally intrepid Elizabethan layman. By his enthusiasm he succeeded radically and consciously in altering the climate of thinking in the Church in those parts of England where he lived. By his public protestations in Parliament and in his published writings he made his opinions on religion known to the whole nation.
page 273 note 1 C. H. and K. George, The Protestant Mind of the English Reformation, 1961.
page 273 note 2 Collinson, P. (ed.), Letters of Thomas Wood, Puritan. 1566-1577 Google Scholar, Bulletin of the Institute of Historical Research, Special Supplement no. 5, Nov. 1960.
page 273 note 3 Bodleian Library, MS Carte 78, f. 177.
page 274 note 1 Huntington Library, San Marino, California, MS Hastings H.A. 5099. I quote from these manuscripts by permission of the Director of the Library, and gratefully acknowledge the granting of an International Fellowship by the American Association of University Women which enabled me to work at the Library for the academic year 1961-2.
page 274 note 2 Huntington Library, H.A. 13766. In all the quotations contractions of words have been extended, and some punctuation has been added.
page 274 note 3 His elder brother, Sir Edward Hastings, had studied at the Middle Temple. Sturgess, H. A. C., Register of Admissions to ... the Middle Temple, 1949,1,27-8Google Scholar. Francis Hastings apparently went to Gray’s Inn. J. Foster, Register of Admissions to Gray’s Inn, 1889, 46. The difficulty is that his admission was not recorded until 1574. This could perhaps be the late entering of an admission which had taken place some years earlier.
page 274 note 4 French Church, Soho, Deacons’ Account Book, 1572-3, f. 30. Dr Collinson kindly referred me to this little-known source for the history of Presbyterianism in London, and I am indebted to the pastor of the church and the honorary archivist for giving me free access to their records.
page 274 note 5 Cambridge University Library, Mm.1.43 (MS Baker 32), f. 442. Strype, J., Annals of the Reformation, 1824, 11, pt i, 567 Google Scholar. Strype, J., Parker, 1821,11, 324 Google Scholar.
page 275 note 1 Huntington Library, H.A. Uncatalogued Family Papers.
page 276 note 1 Huntington Library, H.A. 5079.
page 276 note 2 In A briefe collection of the Church, 1581, which Thomas Sampson wrote and dedicated to Hastings, he mentioned in the dedication how ‘in the French historie, which you did leave with mee, I did find the whole historie of the Colloquie had at Poissie much more largely written in French, than ever I did see it in Latine’ Huntington Library, H.A. 13878 is a letter of Sampson to the Lord Treasurer and is in Hastings’ hand.
page 276 note 3 British Museum, Add. MS 27632, f. 47. Add. MS 29546, f. 42.
page 276 note 4 Foster, C. W. (ed.), Lincoln Episcopal Records in the time of Thomas Cooper, 1912,39 Google Scholar.
page 277 note 1 C.U.L., Mm. 1.43 (Baker Ms 32), 436.
page 277 note 2 J. Strype, Ayltner, 1821, 124-5.
page 277 note 3 Huntington Library, H.A. 5103.
page 277 note 4 F. W. Weaver, Somerset Incumbents, 1889, 278.
page 278 note 1 Huntington Library, H.A. 5093.
page 278 note 2 The disturbances at Kilkhampton during Paget’s ministry are described by Ritchie, C. I. A., ‘Sir Richard Grenville and the Puritans,’ EHR, ccciv (1962), 518 CrossRefGoogle Scholar. The following letter, however, makes it doubtful whether Grenville was ever a convinced Puritan, at least according to Sir Francis Hastings’ standards.
page 279 note 1 Huntington Library, H.A. 5087.
page 279 note 2 See my article, ‘Noble Patronage in the Elizabethan Church,’ The Historical Journal, III, i (1960), 1 Google Scholar.
page 279 note 3 [Robert Persons], The Warn-Word to Sir Francis Hastinges Wast-Word, 1602, 6.
page 279 note 4 Weaver, op. cit. 4, 40, 41, 104.
page 279 note 5 Hastings caused an epitaph of sixteen stanzas to be engraved and set up in North Cadbury church. It describes at length his wife’s Christian virtues and willing reception of the godly preachers, and is printed in full in H. N. Bell, Huntingdon Peerage, 1821, 58-60.
page 280 note 1 Huntington Library, H.A. 2380.
page 280 note 2 Dasent, J. R. (ed.). Acts of the Privy Council, XX, 26 Google Scholar.
page 280 note 3 Huntington Library, H.A. 10347.
page 280 note 4 Huntington Library, H.A. Uncatalogued Family Papers.
page 280 note 5 F. Hastings, A Watch-Word to all religious and true hearted Englishmen, 1598.
page 280 note 6 [Robert Persons], A Temperate Ward-Word to the Turbulent and Seditious Wach Word... [sic], 1599. F. Hastings, An Apologie or defence of the Watch-Word. . ., 1600. [Matthew Sutcliffe], A Brief Replie to ... A temperate Ward-Word, 1600. [Robert Persons], The Warn-Word to Sir Francis Hastinges Wast-Word, 1602. [Matthew Sutcliffe], Ful and Round Answer to .. . Robert Parsons ... foolish and rude Warne Word, 1604.
page 281 note 1 Clarke, Samuel, A Martyrologie... With the lives often of our English Divines, 1(1652), Supplement, 93, 109 Google Scholar.
page 281 note 2 SirEwes, S. D’, Parliaments of Queen Elizabeth, 1693, 394-406, 413, 441, 624–6 Google Scholar, 633,640,642. Journals of the House of Commons, 1,229,231, 258,269,277,347,350,427,434. Townshend, H., Collections... of the four last Parliaments of Queen Elizabeth, 1680, 191, 254 Google Scholar, 268. Neale, J. E., Elizabeth and her Parliaments, 1953-7, 11, 154 Google Scholar.
page 282 note 1 Public Record Office, S.P. 14/12/69.
page 282 note 2 P.R.O., S.P. 14/12/74.
page 282 note 3 Historical Manuscripts Commission Report, Salisbury, XVII, 134, 501 Google Scholar.
page 282 note 4 Commons Journals, 1, 274, 279, 284, 290, 375, 384-5, 420. Willson, D. H. (ed.), Parliamentary Diary of Robert Bowyer, 1931, 55-6Google Scholar.
