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 A HISTORY OF LONDON sympathy with the refugees/" and in the course of a few years French/^ German,"- Dutch," and ItaUan " churches were established in the City. A strict account was taken from time to time of the number of the refugees," and they were expected to attend regularly either their parish church or ' one of the churches appointed for strangers in the City.' " Provided they conformed in this respect they were permitted to worship ' without fear of molestation,'" but in 1586 the Privy Council ordered that all strangers living in the City, not being of any church or congregation, should leave England. ^^ In addition to the various kinds of Protestant recusants the authorities had to deal with those who remained loyal to what was known as ' the old Church.' During the early years of Elizabeth's reign efforts were made from time to time to root out Roman Catholicism from London. In 1561 a priest was found to have celebrated mass in the houses of Sir Thomas Wharton and others,^' and a number of persons who had been present were imprisoned.*" The same thing occurred in 1562 at Lady Carew's house," and again on Candlemas Day in the following year at Durham Place and St. Mary's Spital.*" The punishment of imprisonment proved insufficient to put an end to these services, and on i March 1567—8 the Council bade the bishop search for ' sundry conventicles of evil-disposed subjects ' who not only had ' the private mass and other superstitious ceremonies celebrated in their houses,' but also made secret collections of money which they sent out of the realm to the queen's enemies." This search, which was carried out by one of the sheriffs, resulted in the discovery of seventy-seven persons, all Londoners, in the house of a goldsmith in the parish of St. Martin in the Fields.** The queen promptly issued an order to the aldermen to certify to the lord mayor the names of all who refused to attend their parish churches.*' Similar orders followed from time to time,** and Bishop Sandys in his visi- tation in 1 57 1 made strict inquiry after Papists and their favourers,*^ But the Romanists continued to increase both in number and importance, a fact which has been attributed to the growing bitterness of the quarrel between Churchmen and the Puritans.** On 4 April 1574 the City officials appre- hended twenty-three persons at mass ' at the Lady Morley's chamber by Aldgate,' and twelve at Lady Guildford's in Trinity Lane beside Queenhithe In 1577 Bishop Aylmer suggested to Walsingham that, if the queen approved, the Papists, who were becoming more numerous as well as more obstinate, should be dealt with by fines rather than by imprisonment, 'which by sparing their housekeeping greatly enricheth them.''^" Walsingham agreed that further steps must be taken," and fresh precepts against recusants were issued." '" S.P. Dom. Eliz. xliii, 1 6. " See Zurich Letters, ii, 49, 96, 170. " S.P. Dom. Eliz. xvii, 33 ; xxiii, 67. " Ibid, xxiv, 24. B.M. Lansd. MS. 9, no. 31. ^ B.M. Lansd. MS. 10, no. 45, 46. " Sharpe, LonJ. and the Kingdom, i, 504. " Acts ofP.C. xiv, 25. '' S.P. Dom. Eliz. xvi, 49, 59, 60. «» S.P. Dom. Add. Eliz. xi, 8 ; Machyn, Diary (Camd. Soc), I, 3 Sept. 1561. «■ Cecil MSS. (Hist. MSS. Com.), i, 296 ; see also Machyn, Diary, 8 Sept. 1562. " Ibid. p. 299. " S.P. Dom. Eliz. xlvi, 44. " Ibid. 46. " Corp. Rec. Letter Bk. V, fol. 169^ ; Repert. xvi, fol. 350. ^ Corp. Rec. Journ. xxi, fol. 8ii^, 114^, 135, 290, 322. " B.M. Pres;mark 698, h, 20 (10). ^ Rishton, Contin. of Sanders, Bk. iv, cap. ix. "' B.M. Lansd. MS. 19, no. 21. '" S.P. Dom. Eliz. cxiv, 22. " Ibid, xlv, 21. " Corp. Rec. Journ. xxi, fol. 114^, 274^, 290. 3H 69
 * ' Ibid. 1 1, no. 65. " See Kirk, Returns of ARens in Lend. (Huguenot Soc.) ; S.P. Dom. Eliz. Lxxxii.