Abstract
In May 1582, 17 members of a ‘lewd company’ of 22 individuals from the Cheshire parish of Malpas were presented and indicted before the Chester Quarter Sessions, charged with attendance at an illegal Catholic mass in a farmhouse there. The examinations of ten of the attendees survive in the Quarter Sessions records, and provide a rare and informative glimpse of a rural, post-Reformation Catholic community at a key point in its development. This article provides an edition of, and commentary upon, these sources. It argues that together they provide a valuable picture of the plebeian form of Catholicism which, unlike the religion of the Catholic gentry, has rarely survived in the record.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: Transactions of the Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
