Clergy Act 1640

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The Clergy Act 1640 (also known as the Bishops Exclusion Act or the Clerical Disabilities Act) (16 Car. I, c.27) was an Act of Parliament of the Parliament of England passed in 1642^[1] by the Long Parliament.

[edit] Bishops Exclusion Bill

The Bishops Exclusion Bill was passed in the House of Commons in March 1641, but was rejected in the House of Lords. At the end of 1641 the London mob, probably with the encouragement of John Pym or his supporters, prevented bishops taking their seats in the House of Lords. When the bishops complained to Charles I, he was sympathetic to their plight. In the polarised atmosphere of pre-civil war politics this encouraged a majority of both Houses to pass the Bishops Exclusion Act in February 1642 which banned bishops from the House of Lords. According to John Rushworth (Historical Collections) the word Roundhead was first used on 27 December 1641 by a disbanded officer named David Hide, who during a riot is reported to have drawn his sword and said he would "cut the throat of those round-headed dogs that bawled against bishops."

[edit] Effect of Act

It prevented those in holy orders from exercising any temporal jurisdiction or authority after the 5 February 1641 O.S.; this extended to taking a seat in Parliament or membership of the Privy Council. Any acts carried out with such authority after that date by a member of the clergy were to be considered void.^[2] The Act was later repealed by the Clergy Act 1661.^[3]

[edit] References

1. ^ 1641 in the old style date, 1642 in the new style date
2. ^ Text of the Act at British History Online
3. ^ Chronological table of the statutes; HMSO, London. 1993.

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain. from the article ROUNDHEAD
• Bishops Exclusion Bill