Catalogue description LONDON PROVINCIAL ASSEMBLY

Records of the London Provincial Assembly. The Assembly was established by Parliament in 1647 as part of its restructuring of the Church on a Presbyterian basis. It comprised ministers and elders representing each of the Presbyterian classes in the Province of London, which covered the cities of London and Westminster, part of Middlesex, and parishes immediately south of the Thames in Southwark, Lambeth etc. In principle each of the 12 London classes was to send two ministers and four ruling elders as delegates to the Assembly; in practice four of the twelve classes never functioned and the size of the Assembly was initially smaller than anticipated. However from 1648 Parliament increased the number of delegates from each classis to three ministers and six elders. A new Assembly was summoned every six months, in May and November. Beween 3 May 1647 and 15 Aug. 1660 the Assembly met 356 times (excluding meetings of committees). Some 190 ministers and 205 ruling elders participated in these sessions. Prominent members included Edmund Calamy, Lazarus Seaman and Simeon Ashe. The first sessions in May 1647 were held at St. Paul's. Thereafter the Assembly met at Sion College (except between 1651 and 1654 when Sion College was occupied by army personnel). Sion College was regarded as a stronghold of the Presbyterians, and effectively their headquarters in London, at this time. The Provincial Assembly was sometimes referred to as the 'Sion College Conclave'. The records mainly comprise signed minutes of meetings, written in several hands, together with texts by the Assembly, or approved by it, on Presbyterian government and other matters. ff. i-xxxi. Blank, except for presentation inscriptions at f. xxix recto (see Custodial History field). f. 1r. Title page. 'The Records of the provinciall Assembly of London Begunne by ordinance of parliament May the 3d in the convocation house in Paules London 1647'. f. 2r. Extract from a resolution of Parliament establishing the London Provincial Assembly. 22 April 1647. ff. 3r-8r. First Assembly. 3 May - 2 Nov. 1647. ff. 8v-15v. Second Assembly. 8 Nov. 1647 - 2 May 1648. ff. 16r-20v. Third Assembly. 3 May - 2 Nov. 1648. ff. 21r-25r. Fourth Assembly. 3 Nov. 1648 - 1 May 1649. ff. 25v-32v. Fifth Assembly. 3 May - 2 Nov. 1649. ff. 33-41. Blank. ff. 42r-90r. 'A vindication of the Presbiteriall Goverment and Ministry, together with an exhortation to all the ministers, elders and people, within the boundaries of the province of London, whether ioyning with us, or separating from us, published by the ministers and elders met together in a provinciall assembly. November 2d 1649'. Signed at f. 90r on behalf of the Assembly by George Walker, Moderator of the Assembly, and others. The text was printed in 1650. ff. 90v-100v. Blank. ff. 101r-104r. Sixth Assembly. 3 Nov. 1649 - 23 April 1650. ff. 104v-107v. Seventh Assembly. 3 May - 14 Oct. 1650. f. 108. Blank. ff. 109r-111v. Eighth Assembly. 4 Nov. 1650 - 25 April 1651. ff. 112r-115v. Ninth Assembly. 3 May - 20 Oct. 1651. ff. 116r-121v. Tenth Assembly. 3 Nov. 1651 - 29 April 1652. f. 122. Blank. ff. 123r- 125v. Eleventh Assembly. 3 May - 26 Oct. 1652. f. 126. Blank. ff. 127r-129v. Twelfth Assembly. 3 Nov. 1652 - 2 May 1653. f. 130. Blank. ff. 131r-134r. Thirteenth Assembly. 3 May - 2 Nov. 1653. ff. 134v-136v. Blank. ff. 137r-223r. 'Ius Divinum Ministerii Evangelici. Or the Divine Right of the Gospel Ministry ... published by the Provincial Assembly of London'. Signed at f. 223r on behalf of the Asembly by Roger Drake, Moderator of the Assembly, and others, 2 Nov. 1653. At f. 137r. is a note in another hand: 'London, printed for G. Latham, J. Rothwel, S. Gellibrand, T. Underhill and J. Cranford, 1654'. ff. 223v-224v. Blank. ff. 225r-226v. Forteenth Assembly. 3 Nov. 1653 - May 1654. ff. 226v-227v. Fifteenth Assembly. 3 May - 31 Oct. 1654. f. 228r-v. Sixteenth Assemby. 3 Nov. 1654 - 24 April 1655. f. 229r-v. Seventeenth Assembly. 3 May - 2 Oct. 1655. ff. 230r-233r. 'An exhortation to catechizing ... by the provincial Assembly at London August 30 1655'. Signed at f. 233r by Samuel Balmforth, Moderator of the Assembly. The text was printed in 1655. ff. 233v-236r. Eighteenth Assembly. 3 Nov. 1655 - 28 April 1656. ff. 236v-238r. Nineteenth Assembly. 3 May - 13 Oct. 1656. ff. 238v-239v. Twentieth Assembly. 3 Nov. 1656 - 20 April 1657. 240r-242r. Twenty-first Assembly. 3 May - 11 Oct. 1657. ff. 242v-244v. Twenty-second Assembly. 3 Nov. 1657 - 26 April 1658. f. 245r-v. Twenty-third Assembly. 3 May - 7 Oct. 1658. ff. 246r-248v. Twenty-fourth Assembly. 3 Nov. 1658 - 7 April 1659. ff. 249r-250r. Twenty-fifth Assembly. 3 May - 10 Oct. 1659. ff. 251r-254v. [Twenty-sixth Assembly]. 3 Nov. 1659 - 19 April 1660. f. 255r-v. [Twenty-seventh Assembly]. 3 May - 15 Aug. 1660. ff. 256-262. Blank. ff. 263r-264v. A draft exhortation, probably by the Provincial Assembly of London. Begins: 'It cannot be unknown that our fathers were of renowne for pietie and learning, many of them suffered not a little under tyrannie...'. Ends incomplete. n.d. f. 265r. A list of Moderators and Scribes of the Assembly 1647-9. ff. 266-383. Blank.

A fascicule of rough notes for Assembly minutes 27 Nov. 1650-24 April 1655 survives in Dr. Williams's Library, London (MS 38.3 ff. 383-426). This includes information not present in the Assembly minute book. A transcription of the minutes of the Assembly, with an introduction, annotations, appendices and indexes, by Charles E. Surman, is deposited in Dr. Williams's Library, London (MSS 201.12-13). A transcript of the register book of the fourth classis of the Province of London 1646-1659 is Sion L40.2/E11.

Sion College

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Owned by Lazarus Seaman (d. 1675), Moderator of the Assembly at its conclusion in 1660. Acquired from Seaman's library in 1676 by Joseph Hill, probably Joseph Hill (1625-1707), Presbyterian minister and book collector. Given by Joseph Hill to the Presbyterian ministers of London. See the inscription at f. xxix recto: 'Reverendis Fratribus Presbyteris Londinensibus hunc librum (quem ex bibliotheca Doctoris Seaman A.D. 1676 obtinuit ) D.D. Josephus Hill'. Given to Sion College by Thomas Granger 20 Sept. 1726. See his presentation inscription at f. xxix recto. Granger also signed ff. 1-3. Likewise recorded in the Sion College Book of Benefactors as the gift of 'Thomas Granger of the East India House' (Sion L40.2/E64, p. 239). Transferred from Sion College to Lambeth Palace Library, 1996.