Church Discipline: The Operation of the Winchester Consistory Court in the Seventeenth Century

Abstract

Since the Reformation church courts had been the key instrument for imposing discipline in the Church of England – on clergy and laity alike. In the mid-seventeenth century, however, they suffered suspension, from which they never fully recovered. Surprisingly, in view of the importance of the diocese, the fate of the Winchester Consistory Court at that time has received little attention. This article attempts to fill the gap. The court's decline is measured by comparing numbers of sessions, causes, and people, together with completion of business, in court books before and after the Interregnum. Features such as intrusiveness to use of compurgation and embarrassing penalties emerge as explanations for the decline.