London Puritanism: the Haberdashers' Company

The present emphasis upon local history as the foundation for a reinterpretation of national events has already affected the historiography of seventeenth century English Puritanism. Attention has been focused on the manuscript records relating to the City of London, many of which had never before been searched by historians, since it was apparent that a reassessment of London's role in the Puritan Revolution was long overdue. The outstanding example of this new approach to the history of London is Valerie Pearl's excellent book, London and the Outbreak of the Puritan Revolution: City Government and National Politics, 1625–43. In addition, the present writer has described Puritan activities between 1610 and 1640 in the City government and in the parishes of St. Stephen, Coleman Street, and St. Botolph Without Aldgate. Still, a need remains for more detailed knowledge of Puritanism in the City's important corporate groups— not only the governing bodies and the parishes, but also the great London livery companies. The purpose of this paper is to reconstruct the story of Puritanism in the Haberdashers' Company, the livery company which seems to have been the most successful in promoting Puritan preaching in England between 1600 and 1640.