YEAR : 2015

ISBN : 9781873124710

FORMAT :Paperback, 126 pages , no illustrations.

This book provides an account of politics in the Westmorland parliamentary constituency of Appleby between the restoration of King Charles II in 1660 and the deposition of his successor King James II in 1688-9. The study focuses on the remarkable figure of Lady Anne Clifford, countess of Dorset, Pembroke and Montgomery (1590-1676). From the time of her arrival in her hereditary northern estates in 1649 she began a successful process of litigation in order to secure her properties. As a result her vast personal wealth and patronage secured for her an undisputed political influence in Appleby which was vindicated in a key parliamentary by-election in 1668.

Before that victory, she had led Appleby into a wholehearted celebration of the return of the Anglican monarchy in the person of Charles II (even though she herself had tactically collaborated with the Cromwellian and puritan system of the 1650s). The borough then emerged as a staunchly royalist community, with no Protestant Nonconformist presence around which opposition politics might form. The attempt of a group of puritan radicals from outside the town to seize control of it in the Kaber Rigg Plot of 1663 confirmed monarchist allegiances locally under the leadership of Sir Philip Musgrave of Edenhall. Appleby's corporation resolutely affirmed its commitment to the Church of England and the throne and in the course of the 1680s the borough became a flagship of the new Tory party. As a result of the attempts by the Catholic King James I to reduce the power and privileges of the Church of England Appleby was torn between Anglican and monarchist allegiances.

Based on intensive research in the Carlisle and Kendal archives and enriched with printed primary sources, this well-written, well-presented book offers vivid insights into the political, social, economic and religious life of one of Cumbria's most historic towns.

Michael Mullett is Emeritus Professor of Cultural and Religious History at the University of Lancaster, where he taught early modern British and European history for four decades until his official retirement in 2008. He chairs the Penrith regional group of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society and is an assistant editor of the Society's Transactions. He is currently preparing a full-length history of Penrith.

Orders for in print publications to Ian Caruana, 10 Peter Street, Carlisle CA3 8QP. (Tel: 01228 544120) If you have any queries about in print publications please email: librarian@cumbriapast.com , queries on download electronic publications to the Webmaster on webmaster@cumbriapast.com

BACK TO PUBLICATIONS LIST