PROTESTANT NONCONFORMITY TO 1689
Some separatist congregations of the early 17th
century (fn. 75) registered their meetings after 1660,
including the Particular Baptists, founded in
1633 in Wapping-Stepney, where in 1669 their
meeting house in Meeting House Alley, restored 'as in Cromwell's time', was shared with
Independents and was attended by 300, (fn. 76) and
the Independents' Stepney Meeting, founded in
1644 at Mile End, which registered William
Greenhill's house near the parish church in 1669. (fn. 77)
Craftsmen and mariners from Wapping,
Shadwell, Ratcliff, and Spitalfields attended
meetings in 1661 at John Adams's house in
Spittle Yard and other sites. (fn. 78) Quakers were
meeting in the parish by 1664 (fn. 79) and possibly in
1662-3 when conventicles of c. 50 or 100 were
broken up; (fn. 80) in 1669 it was reported that while
the Five Mile Act was being enforced only
Quaker meetings were much in evidence. (fn. 81)
Quakers met in 1664 at the houses of William
Beane in Stepney, of Capt. James Brock, of Peter
Burdett in Westbury Street, Spitalfields, and of
Sibyl Heaman in Limehouse, and at another
building. From the numbers arrested, the
Quaker meetings at Beane's and Burdett's
houses, both of which led to permanent meeting
houses, were of similar size and exceeded only
by the City meeting at Bull and Mouth Yard. (fn. 82)
In 1669 Stepney was reported to have several
buildings fitted up as meeting houses, besides
conventicles in private houses. (fn. 83) Presbyterians
had fitted up a warehouse near Ratcliff Cross,
where 200 were said to meet, and a purpose-built
house in Spitalfields, where 800 met under Dr.
Samuel Annesley; they also had a chapel in
Broad Street, Wapping-Stepney, from 1668. (fn. 84)
Quakers had a purpose-built brick house in
Schoolhouse Lane, Ratcliff (Brook Street), for
500, and a meeting place for 500 in Westbury
Street. Baptists met at the houses of Thomas
Launder, a rich butcher, in Limehouse, where
the congregation was 100, and of Mr. Cherry in
Poplar, where Launder was the preacher; in
Wapping they had a purpose-built house in
Artichoke Lane, with a congregation of 200, as
well as the old meeting house in Meeting House
Alley. In addition to the congregation who
shared the Meeting House Alley building with
the Baptists and the Stepney Meeting at Greenhill's house, Independents also met in Rose
Lane, Spitalfields, at a house fitted up at Bethnal
Green, and at a new brick house in Red Maid
Lane, Wapping, with a congregation of 300. The
Baptists and Independents were said to assemble
daily at one or other of their meeting houses, and
to baptize many of the children of the parish.
In addition to the fixed meetings there were
itinerant groups meeting in private houses, individuals who moved between sects, and Sunday
walkers drawn by curiosity. The women and
persons of low rank who in 1669 were reported
to make up most meetings presumably included
the many prosperous trades- and craftsmen who
were summonsed. It was said that meetings had
increased greatly since the Five Mile Act was no
longer enforced but that greater resolution
would soon reconcile most dissenters, especially
Independents and Presbyterians, to the Anglican
church, whose services they had attended until
recently. Since the death of Sir William Ryder
and Major Manly, 'who kept this parish in good
order', there had been no resident justice. (fn. 85)
In 1666 the Secretary of State was informed
about six Stepney meeting houses, including
those at Spitalfields and Wapping, (fn. 86) and in 1670,
perhaps as a result of the report on conventicles
of 1669, the lieutenant of the Tower Hamlets,
Sir John Robinson, was ordered to keep watch
on sectarians. Robinson, who thought that dissenters were losing heart, wanted to compel
owners of meeting houses to put them to other
uses. (fn. 87) Despite the Declaration of Indulgence in
1672, many meetings were refused licences, and
many others may have chosen to avoid drawing
attention to themselves by applying. Licences
were issued for the houses of Samuel Annesley
and T. Danson in Spitalfields (both Presbyterian), of Richard Loton (Congregationalist) and
Mr. Gould (Presbyterian) in Spittle Yard, of
Richard Ward (Congregationalist) in Bethnal
Green, of Joseph Farnworth in Buky Street and
another in Globe Alley, both Wapping (Presbyterian), for a house by the Hermitage, near
Wapping (Congregationalist); and the house of
W. Polter in Bell Lane, Stepney (Baptist). (fn. 88)
Between 1661 and 1689 more conventiclers
were summonsed from Stepney than anywhere
else in Middlesex. Arrests reflected not only the
strength of Dissent but also the availability of
troops under the lieutenant of the Tower Hamlets and his troops, whereas elsewhere in
Middlesex, except in Westminster, justices had
to rely on the local constables. (fn. 89) The lieutenancy
also reported meetings and destroyed meeting
houses: in 1670 soldiers took away furniture
from the Ratcliff Quaker meeting, and soon after
demolished the house, removing 12 loads of
materials. (fn. 90) In 1682 the lieutenant, Sir William
Smyth, used troops to smash the fittings in
the Independents' Stepney meeting house. (fn. 91)
While many conventiclers arrested in Stepney
were not residents, parishioners were themselves
arrested farther afield. Only after the Toleration
Act of 1689 did residents make up the majority
of members of dissenting churches within the
parish. (fn. 92)
Quaker meetings at Beane's house were broken up on 20 successive Sundays in 1664-5,
when attendances ranged from 14 to 134 and the
numbers convicted from 4 to 34. From 1664
inhabitants convicted for a third time were
transported, their goods being seized by the
constables and headboroughs to pay for conveying them to the ships. In Middlesex only St.
Sepulchre's parish had more transportees than
Stepney in 1665. (fn. 93)
Sympathy, if not support, for dissenters, was
shown in 1665 by a Stepney yeoman and five
craftsmen of Limehouse, one of them a Baptist,
who were fined for refusing to help the constable
take conventiclers from Sibyl Heaman's house
to Newgate. In 1683 a headborough of Stepney
and the surveyor of the poor of Limehouse
neglected to distrain conventiclers' goods, (fn. 94) and
in 1685 another headborough was fined for
warning a Quaker about a warrant. (fn. 95)
In 1682, when persecution resumed, Matthew
Mead, minister of Stepney Meeting, William
(probably the same as Hercules) Collins, of Old
Gravel Lane, Wapping-Stepney, and Samuel
Annesley, were each convicted several times of
teaching at conventicles in their homes and at
meeting houses. Also convicted in 1682 were
preachers in Wapping-Stepney (Independent
and Baptist), Limehouse (Quaker), Ratcliff
(Quaker). While Hercules Collins was imprisoned his Baptists met in private houses from
1683 to 1688. (fn. 96) Convictions in 1683 for meetings
in Stepney, Spitalfields, and Bethnal Green, (fn. 97)
were followed by others until 1686 for conventicles in private houses, mainly in the Spitalfields
area. (fn. 98) In 1686 20 out of 70 such convictions at
quarter sessions were of people who lived in
Stepney. (fn. 99)