In the Reign of King Charles II
On 20th April 1684 Samuel Ogbourne weaver was tried in London for being involved in unlawful religious worship, to which he pleaded guilty along with various others (see details below). He was fined £6.13.4 (a tidy sum in those days) and was committed to the New Prison at Clerkenwell to remain there until the fine was paid.
It would seem likely that the religeous worship would have been following the Catholic faith. Parliament at that time was anxious about expansions of 'Popery' and threats to the Protestant religion. The records of the case read as follows:.
20 April, 36 Charles II.—True Bills, on five several parchments, for being present at a conventicle held at Stepney co. Midd. between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. on the said day, under colour of performing acts of religious adoration, against Jonathan Joyner cloth-dyer, Thomas Powell milliner, Benjamin White yeoman, Benjamin Bennet tailor, Alexander Ayres taylor, Samuel Ogbourne weaver, Stephen Deyton taylor, Jasper Clarke silkeweaver, John Case glover, Marcus Keys throwster, John Varreny weaver, Hugh Light sawyer, William Atkins taylor, John Cliffe taylor, Benjamin Painter frame-worker, Moses Collins carpenter, Jaabesse Boston pewterer, Richard Lugg blacksmith, John Collyer carpenter, Henry Norris tobacco-cutter, John Wells tobacco-cutter, Paul Every weaver, Thomas Pearse weaver, Benjamin Wottle cordwinder, William Peale cabinett-maker, Peter Tadley thred-throwster, Edward Johnson taylor, Edward Sherley cordwinder, John Rimmington cordwinder, William Marshall frameworke-knitter, George Winckles porter, Joseph Tayler thredman, Daniel Pillimore silke-weaver, John Jeffryes dyer, John Moldyn cordwinder, Timothy Bisse woolcomer, Cuthbert Holloway laborer, and John Cordred lath-cleaver. Found 'Guilty' by a jury on 30 June, 1684, Jonathan Joyner was fined £26 13s. 4d.; found 'Guilty' on the same day, Thomas Powell was fined £40., and each of them was committed to the New Prison at Clerkenwell, there to remain, until he should have paid the fine put upon him. Benjamin White was fined 6s. 8d., which he paid to the Sheriff in court. Benjamin Bennett, Alexander Ayres, Samuel Ogbourne, Stephen Deyton, Jasper Clarke, Mark Keys, John Varreny, and Hugh Light all eight confessed the indictment, and were each fined £6 13s. 4d., each of the eight being committed to the New Prison at Clarkenwell, there to remain till his fine should have been paid. John Case pleaded 'Not Guilty.' William Atkins, Richard Lugg, John Collyer, Henry Norris, John Wells, all five confessed the indictment, and were each fined £6 13s. 4d., each of them being committed to the New. Prison at Clarkenwell, there to remain until he should pay his fine. John Cliffe confessed the indictment and was fined 3s. 4d., which he paid to the Sheriff in court. Moses Collins confessed the indictment, and was fined £6 13s. 4d., (?) and was committed to the New Prison at Clarkenwell, there to remain until he should have paid the fine. Jaabesse Boston confessed the indictment, and was fined 6s. 8d., which he paid to the Sheriff in court. No clerical minute touching subsequent proceedings in the case against Benjamin Painter. Paul Every, Thomas Pearse, Peter Tadley, Edward Johnson, Edward Sherley, and John Rimmington, all seven confessed the indictment, and were each fined £6 13s. 4d., and each of them was committed to the New Prison at Clarkenwell, there to remain until he should have paid the fine put upon him. William Peale pleaded 'Not Guilty,' but on 30 June, 1684, he was found 'Guilty' by a jury, fined £13 6s. 8d., anc committed to the New Prison at Clarkenwell, there to remain until he should have paid the fine. Of Benjamin Wottle the clerical annotatoi of the indictment tells nothing, save that he pleaded 'Not Guilty. William Marshall, George Winckles, Joseph Tayler, Daniel Pillimore, John Jeffryes, John Moldyn, Timothy Bisse, and John Cordred, all eight confessed the indictment and were each fined £6 13s. 4d., each of the eight being committed to the New Prison at Clerkenwell, there to remain until he should have paid the fine put upon him. On his arraignment Cuthbert Holloway stood mute (dicit nihil), whereupon he was fined £6 13s. 4d., and committed to the New Prison at Clarkenwell, there to remain &c. S. P. R., 14 May, 36 Charles II. From: 'Middlesex Sessions Rolls: 1684', Middlesex county records: Volume 4: 1667-88 (1892), pp. 230-259. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=66091. Date accessed: 01 January 2008. <P>
