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Herts, and the Isle of Ely, East, West, and North Ridings of Yorkshire, Northumberland-renewed,2 Cheshire, Lancashire.3

4

The State Papers, Dom. Eliz. ccxl., ccxli., cexliii., and the Hist. MS. Com. Salisbury, P. IV., show clearly that during the year November 1591-November 1592, the country was sifted and searched for the discovery of Papists. One list of names in nineteen counties contains 570 names, entirely of laymen, and includes nearly all the old Catholic families of those counties. In some counties more than one Commission was held. This was the case in Warwickshire. The return before us is entitled "The second certificate of the Commissioners, &c." Of the first certificate no trace is as yet apparent. At the head of the second Commission are Sir Thomas Lucy and Sir Fulke Greville, both active persecutors of the Papists, and the lineal descendants of those very men whom we have seen in 1557 imprisoning Robert Cotton for defending the ancient faith.

The document, in modernised spelling, runs as follows: The second certificate of the Commissioners for the county of Warwickshire touching all persons . . as either have been presented to them, or have been otherwise found out by the endeavour of the said Commissioners to be Jesuits,

1 Dom. Eliz., ccxli. 40, February 1592.

2 Ibid., 89, March 1592.

3 Hist. MSS. Com. Salisbury, Part IV. p. 240, October 1592; Dom. Eliz., ccxliii. 52, November 1592.

Hist. MSS. Com. Salisbury, Part IV. p. 263-275, October 1592.

seminary priests, fugitives, or recusants, within the said County of Warwick, or vehemently suspected to be such, together with a true note of so many of them as are already indicted for their obstinate and wilful persisting in their recusancy. Set down at Warwick the 25th day of September in the 34th year of her Majesty's most happy reign, and sent up to the lordships of her Majesty's most honourable Privy Council."

It is divided into five lists. The first list contains the names of those who have been indicted for persisting in their recusancy. Among these obstinate recusants are Dinmock, a relation of the Catesbys, and champion of England, the whole family of Middlemore of Edgbaston (here we have the father, mother, two sons, and two daughters all indicted); Mountfort of Coleshall, the place frequented by the Martyr Monford Scott; Bolt and Gower of Tamworth; Thomas Bates, steward to Sir William Catesby of Bushwood Park in Stratford parish, who with his son John was afterwards compromised with Robert Catesby in the Gunpowder Plot; Richard Dibdale of Stratford, who had been formerly presented for a wilful recusant, and "continues still obstinate in his recusancy "-probably a relation of Richard Dibdale, the martyr, hanged for his priesthood in 1586. Other obstinate Papists of Stratford were Mrs. Jeffreys and Richard Jones. There is a long catalogue from Rowington. At Coughton, Mrs. Mary

LISTS OF RECUSANTS

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"( of such

Arden, the widow of the martyred squire of Parkhall, with her servants "continues obstinate." At Exhall we meet with one William Page, who had not been to church for three months past at least. A whole batch of Huddesfords and others from Solyhill are dismissed on submitting to the articles of the Commission and their declaration that they neither had been moved to give aid to the King of Spain or the Pope. In this list several persons are noted as having become recusants since. the last presentment, a fact which shows the revival of the Faith in Warwickshire during the months immediately preceding this second Commission. The second list contains the names dangerous and seditious Papists and recusants as have been presented to us, or found out by our endeavour to have been at any time of, or in the county of Warwickshire, and are now either beyond the seas or vagrants within the realm." contains chiefly the names of priests: "William Brooks, thought to be a seditious seminary priest, sometime servant to Campion in the Tower. His friends give him out to be dead, but it is thought that he is lurking in England." "Barlow, an old priest and great persuader, who uses to travel in a blue coat with the eagle and child on his sleeve," as retainer to the Stanleys; another, "suspected to be a lewd seditious Papist, wanders about under colour of tricking out arms in churches." At Stratford there was George Cook, suspected to be

This list

At

a seminary priest, who could not be found. Henley-in-Arden, Sir Robert Whateley, and at Rowington, Sir John Appletree, both old "massing priests." The same list contains the names of Dr. William Bishop, afterwards Bishop of Chalcedon, and his father and brother, and of Dr. Barrett, who were also Warwickshire men.

The third list contains "the names of recusants heretofore presented in the county, but now dwelling elsewhere, or gone away on just occasion, or lurking unknown in other counties." Here we have a short history of long hardships. "Mrs. Francis Willoughby, presented first at Kingsbury, afterwards at Stratford-on-Avon, then, indicted at Warwick, now fled to Leicestershire; the Middlemores, fled from Packwood to Worcestershire; John Buswell, fled from Stratford; the wife of Philip Moore, physician of Stratford, gone away to Evesham;' and 66 one Bates, a virginal player, a most wilful recusant, now, as is said, in Staffordshire."

The fourth list contains "the names of recusants heretofore presented," who are thought to forbear the Church for "debt and fear of process or for some worse faults, or for age, sickness, or impotency of body." In this list we have nine persons bracketed together as not coming to Church for fear of debt," Mr. John Wheeler, John Wheeler his son, Mr. John Shakespeare, Mr. Nicholas Barneshurst, Thomas James, alias Giles, William Bainton, Richard Harrington, William Fluellen, and George

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Bardolph-all supposed to abstain from Church for fear of process for debt; Mrs. Jeffreys, widow, Mrs. Barber, Julian Court, Griffin ap Roberts, Joan Welch, and Mrs. Wheeler, who all continue recusants except the last, but who are too infirm to come to Church." This list Mr. Carter seriously asserts to be composed of Puritan not Papist recusants; for "Papists," he says, "were persecuted for being Papists, not for forbearing attendance at the Parish Church."1

Now we have seen that the first act of parliament above recited, which Lucy's Commission was charged to carry out, was framed solely to enforce the attendance of Papists at church, under the fine of £20 a month for nonconformity, and the plea of sickness or poverty was the stereotyped excuse with nonconforming Papists to escape the fine. Thus Bishop Cheney (or Cheyney) of Gloucester, in a return of recusants furnished by him to the Council, October 24, 1577, divides the recusants of his diocese into three classes. First, those who refused to come to church, or open, obstinate recusants; secondly, some supposed to savour of Papistry alleged sickness, some others debt, and therefore refused, fearing process; the third sort, commonly called Puritans, refuse, as not liking the surplice. then it is Papists, not Puritans, who allege the excuse of debt, for the latter were only too willing to express their repugnance to anything in their eyes

1 Hist. MSS. Com. Salisbury, Part IV. p. 164.

2 Dom. Eliz., vol. cxvii., October 24, 1577, No. 12.

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