The
Conventicle Act of 1664 was an
Act of the
Parliament of England (16
Charles II c. 4) that forbade
conventicles (religious assemblies of more than five people, other than an immediate family, outside the auspices of the
Church of England). This law was a part of the
Clarendon Code, named after
Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon, which aimed to discourage
nonconformism and to strengthen the position of the
Established Church. However the Clarendon Code was not actually the work of Clarendon himself, who favoured a policy of greater tolerance towards dissenters. These prohibitions led many, such as the
Covenanters, to vacate their parishes rather than submit to the new Episcopal authorities. Just as the ministers left so too did the congregations, following their old pastors to sermons on the hillside. From small beginnings these field assemblies-or conventicles-were to grow into major problems of public order for the government.