‘A Hot-Arsed Queen’

This chapter shows how Matthew drew on the resources of the Church and laity to pursue his vision of conforming Puritanism. Puritanism was a communal faith, and this chapter demonstrates how important the local community was in supporting godly reform and culture, including preaching exercises and fasts. Matthew’s experience in Durham reveals how extended networks, strengthened by marriage, sustained the political and spiritual identity of Puritanism outside London and the universities. This chapter explores Matthew’s domestic life and its importance for his career. His wife, Frances Barlow, was part of a powerful clerical dynasty, but while she developed a model of the ideal clerical wife, there were, however, problems in the Matthews’ marriage. This chapter also explores Tobie Matthew’s attempts to reform Durham chapter and redirect the resources of the cathedral to pursue his vision of godly reform.