Dr. Temple's Pew: Sex and Clerical Status in the 1630s

Abstract

overleaf sex and clerical status in the 1630s 515 42. PRO, SP 16/351, fol. 79v. 43. Haigh,“Clericalism and Anticlericalism,”32–34; C. Haigh and A. Wall,“Clergy JPs in England and Wales, 1590–1640,”Historical Journal 47 (2004): 233–59; A. Foster,“The Clerical Estate Revitalised,” in K. Fincham, ed., The Early Stuart Church, 1603–1642 (Basingstoke, U.K., 1993), 139–60; J. P. Kenyon, The Stuart Constitution (1966), 172; Edward, Earl of Clarendon, The History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England, 6 vols. (Oxford, 1888), 1:130. 04HLQ6803_497-516 12/14/05 1:19 PM Page 515 This content downloaded from 207.46.13.51 on Tue, 21 Jun 2016 06:25:14 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms abstract On 1 June 1634 it was rumored in the Gloucestershire village of Bourton-on-the-Water that the rector had had sex in the church with the parish clerk’s wife. The rector was Thomas Temple, doctor of law, son of a baronet, and brother of knights. It is impossible to tell if Dr. Temple and Mary Toms really had committed adultery together—but the accusation was used by a local gentleman to try to destroy Temple’s reputation and drive him from the parish.At issue was local precedence, and Temple’s claim to superiority was symbolized by the building of a prestigious new pew for his family—the pew in which the alleged adultery took place. The rivalry between Temple and Bray Ayleworth was fought out in the Gloucester consistory court, the Court of Chivalry, and Star Chamber, and the evidence from this litigation throws light on the changing status of the clergy in the early seventeenth century.Where should the clergy fit into the status hierarchy, and would their position alter as they were gentrified? 516 christopher haigh 04HLQ6803_497-516 12/14/05 1:19 PM Page 516On 1 June 1634 it was rumored in the Gloucestershire village of Bourton-on-the-Water that the rector had had sex in the church with the parish clerk’s wife. The rector was Thomas Temple, doctor of law, son of a baronet, and brother of knights. It is impossible to tell if Dr. Temple and Mary Toms really had committed adultery together—but the accusation was used by a local gentleman to try to destroy Temple’s reputation and drive him from the parish.At issue was local precedence, and Temple’s claim to superiority was symbolized by the building of a prestigious new pew for his family—the pew in which the alleged adultery took place. The rivalry between Temple and Bray Ayleworth was fought out in the Gloucester consistory court, the Court of Chivalry, and Star Chamber, and the evidence from this litigation throws light on the changing status of the clergy in the early seventeenth century.Where should the clergy fit into the status hierarchy, and would their position alter as they were gentrified? 516 christopher haigh 04HLQ6803_497-516 12/14/05 1:19 PM Page 516 This content downloaded from 207.46.13.51 on Tue, 21 Jun 2016 06:25:14 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms