Page:The History of the Church & Manor of Wigan part 1.djvu/176

164 Uniformity in 1579. But while the country was quietly settling down to the reformed religion, the zeal of the seminary priests, who came over in 1576 from the college at Douay, stirred up many of the Roman Catholic gentry to resistance. By the bull of deposition Rome had set herself in the fore front of the Queen's enemies, and Elizabeth, accepting it as a declaration of war, naturally viewed the Douay priests, sent over by the pope, as his political emissaries.

This will account for much of the persecution that followed. The comparative toleration of the Roman Catholics during the early part of her reign had arisen partly from the sympathy and connivance of the gentry who acted as justices of the peace, and partly from the Queen's own impartiality. But the act of uniformity placed the magistracy in the hands of the reformers; and as Elizabeth passed from impartiality and indifference to suspicion, and from suspicion to alarm, she put less restraint upon the bigotry of those around her.

In 1580, when two thousand papal soldiers were sent over in five ships to Ireland to stir up the people to rebellion, Edward Fleetwood, rector of Wigan, John Caldwall, rector of Winwick, and John Asheton, rector of Middleton, three of the Lancashire clergy, were, on the 29th September, 1580, required by the Queen in Council to fit out each one light horseman by the 20th of October next following, for the service of the Queen in Ireland "to resiste certain foraine forces sent by the Pope and his confederates."

On 1st September, 1585, Mr. Fleetwood, M.A., parson of Wigan, with Mr. Leigh, B.D., parson of Standish, Mr. Welshe, the vicar of Blackburne, and Mr. . . . . . the vicar of Lancaster, were appointed by William Chaderton, bishop of Chester, to be moderators for the deanery of Amoundernesse, who were ordered