British Unitarian timeline

A brief guide to the variety of terms used to identify different groups in British religious history:

4th c.		Pelagius, born in the British isles, is declared a heretic by the Roman Church for holding that individuals can influence their own salvation.
from 7th c.		Celtic monastic Christianity often clashes with Roman parish-based Christianity in Britain, establishing a heritage of dissent.
1327		Adam Duff O'Toole was burned in Dublin for denying the Trinity.
1380s		John Wycliff translates the Bible into English.
1401		William Sawtrey was burned in Lynn for denying the Trinity.
16th & 17th c.		England's major trading partner is Holland.
1534		Henry VIII has himself declared Head of the Church of England.
1535		Following Münster Anabaptist rebellion and German peasants' revolt, Hapsburg rulers of Holland move to repress Anabaptists. Many (including some anti-Trinitarians) flee to England, where they are also persecuted.
1547		Edward VI, still a child, succeeds Henry VIII. Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer moves to reform the Church of England, inviting European scholars to England.
1550		Church of the Strangers is established in London. Jan Laski, a Polish Reformed Church leader, is its first superintendent.
1553		Mary I succeeds Edward VI. She marries Phillip II of Spain and begins a persecution of Protestants that earns her the nickname "Bloody Mary." The Church of the Strangers is disbanded. Protestants flee England for Europe.
1555		Hapsburg Emperor Charles V is succeeded by his son, Phillip II. Charles had grown up in Holland; Phllip had never left Spain. Phillip alienated his father's allies in Holland by appointing Spanish governors and introducing the Inquisition. Dutch Protestants aligned themselves with the nationalist independence movement led by William of Orange. Calvinists became dominant.
1558		Elizabeth I succeeds Mary I. Protestants return to England, many committed to creating a purified Church of England (forebears of England's Puritans).
1559		Church of the Strangers re-established. Act of Uniformity requires all to worship either in Church of England or Church of the Strangers.
1560		Anabaptists banished from England for worshipping in secret. Those who remained were persecuted. In response, Jacobus Acontius wrote a plea for tolerance.
1572		First Presbytery established in England; Presbyterians begin worshipping separately from Church of England.
1575		Elizabeth revives laws permitting heretics to be burned, to deal with heterodox views among the people in Norfolk County.
1581		Dutch Republic declared. Protestant Holland split from Catholic Belgium. Over time, intolerant and repressive Calvinist laws were moderated or ignored, making Holland the most tolerant nation in western Europe.
early 1600s		Jacob Arminius leads the Remonstrant movement in Holland, rejecting the strict doctrine of predestination and emphasizing individuals' capacity to influence their own salvation. Socinians (Unitarian students and immigrants from Poland) joined them. The Remonstrants published some Socinian books. Socinians would never form separate churches in Holland, but their theology penetrated Dutch Protestant thought and liberalized it. In Transylvania, the Unitarian name was first used at the Diet of Lécfalva (October 25 - November 4, 1600).
1603		James I succeeds Elizabeth I.
1609		First English-speaking General Baptist (Arminian) congregation founded in Holland. Particular Baptist (Calvinist) congregations also formed around this time.
1611		"King James" Bible (officially called The Authorized Version) is published.
1612		Last burning of a heretic in England.
1614		Servetus's "On the Errors of the Trinity" is translated and published in Holland. Racovian Catechism and other Socinian works appear in England.
1619		Synod of Dort exiles religious liberals; many find safe harbor with the Socinian communities in Poland.
1620		The Pilgrims – Separatists from Scrooby in the East Midlands (east of Sheffield) who had removed to Amsterdam and then Leiden, Holland, after James I became king – sailed on the Mayflower to North America; their goal was Jamestown VA (settled in 1607), but they landed instead at what is now Plymouth MA. The majority of Puritans who settled in New England after them were non-Separatist. The Pilgrims fled religious persecution; the Puritans migrated to create fresh the pure church that they felt the Church of England could never be reformed into ("a beacon on a hill").
1620s		Remonstrants spawn the Collegiant movement, which promoted religious tolerance and dialogue.
1625		Charles I succeeds James I.
1630s		Latitudinarian movement (including the Cambridge Platonists) begins; it promotes an inclusive Church of England with as few doctrines as possible. "The Bible and the open mind are the standards of faith."
1630		Religious liberals granted freedom of residence in Holland. Most exiles in Poland returned to Holland with a deeper understanding of the Socinian movement.
1633		Remonstrants found a seminary, separate from Dutch Calvinists. Socinian influence continues among them and among the Mennonites.
1640		Presbyterians gain control of Parliament.
1642-1646		First English Civil War – "roundheads" (supporters of Long Parliament) vs. "cavaliers" (supporters of Charles I)
1643		Westminster Confession, catechism and directory of worship created for Presbyterian churches, and intended for the Church of England.
1644		John Biddle charged with heresy for sharing his view that the Doctrine of the Trinity is not supported by scripture. Jailed, over the next years he writes "Twelve Arguments Drawn Out Of Scripture" against the Trinity.
1645		Paul Best, MP, who had traveled to Germany, Poland and Transylvania and become a Unitarian, is charged before the House of Commons with denying the Trinity and the deity of Christ. Sentenced to be hanged, he was eventually released.
1648-1649		Second English Civil War
1648		"Draconian Ordinance," passed by Presbyterian-dominated Parliament, imposes death penalty for denying the Trinity. It is never enforced, due to the rise to power of the latitudinarian Independents.
1649		Charles I beheaded.
1649-1653		English Commonwealth. Oliver Cromwell leads with support from the Independents.
1649-1651		Third English Civil War – "roundheads" (supporters of "Rump Parliament") vs "cavaliers" (supporters of Charles II)
1652		Act of Oblivion gives general amnesty to all accused of a crime. John Biddle released from jail; he gathers a Unitarian congregation (called "Biddellians" or "Socinians"). The next year he publishes a catechism and is jailed again.
1653-1659		English Protectorate
1654		Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell banishes John Biddle to the Scilly Islands. His friends agitate for his release, and by the end of the Protectorate he is allowed to return, and he resumed meeting with his congregation.
1659-1660		English Commonwealth restored.
1660		Oliver Cromwell dies. English Monarchy is restored; Charles II becomes king and bans non-conformist worship, disappointing hopeful Presbyterians. John Biddle and his congregation continue meeting secretly. Polish Brethren expelled from Poland; many find refuge in Holland.
1661		Corporation Act excludes all non-Anglicans from holding municipal office.
1662		John Biddle is imprisoned for non-conformist worship; he becomes ill in prison, and dies two days after his release. Thomas Firman, wealthy layperson and one of Biddle's supporters, raises money to support exiled Polish Socinians. Act of Uniformity requires all clergy to affirm their acceptance of the Book of Common Prayer. The Act is aimed at uniformity in the forms of worship.
1665		Racovian Catechism republished in Holland. Five Mile Act restricts Dissenters' activities in England.
1665-1666		Great Plague of London. Thomas Firman assists its victims.
1666		Great Fire of London. Thomas Firman assists its victims.
1668		"Library of the Polish Brethren" published in Holland. It introduces the term "Unitarian" to western Europe. William Penn (follower of George Fox, founder of the Quakers) jailed briefly for denying the Trinity.
1681		Thomas Firman raises money to support refugee populations of Polish Calvinists, French Huguenots, and Irish Protestants.
1685		James II succeeds Charles II.
1687		Thomas Firman funds Stephen Nye's "A History of the Unitarians, Also Called Socinians" (first in a series known as The Unitarian Tracts).
1689		England's "Glorious Revolution" – Dutch prince William of Orange and his wife succeed James II as King William III and Queen Mary II of England. Act of Toleration declared freedom of worship for dissenters, except Catholics and deniers of the Trinity.
1690-1694		The Unitarian Controversy: debates at Oxford about The Unitarian Tracts. Revealed two kinds of trinitarians: "real" and "nominal." Many with Unitarian leanings felt "nominal trinitarianism" was spacious enough to include them and withdrew from the controversy. The Controversy continued after the debates until 1697 when it was ended by order of the king.
1697		Thomas Aikenhead hanged in Scotland for denying the Trinity; it is the last execution for heresy in Great Britain.
1698		Unitarians barred from all public office.
1702		Queen Anne, daughter of James II, succeeds William III and Mary II. Presbyterian Thomas Emlyn, having admitted Arianism and been attacked by other clergy, publishes "An Humble Inquiry Into the Scriptural Account of Jesus Christ" in his defense. He is jailed and fined, the last person jailed in Britain for denying the Trinity.
1705		Westminster Confession made mandatory for all dissenting clergy.
1712		The Arian Controversy: Anglican Samuel Clarke (a Cambridge Platonist – see 1630s) publishes "The Scripture-doctrine of the Trinity," arguing an Arian theology (Jesus more than human, less than God). The controversy abates as many clergy opt for "Arian Subscription" – publicly affirming the 39 Articles of the Church of England (to conform to the 1662 Act of Uniformity, and thus keep their jobs), while privately holding different views.
1714		George I succeeds Queen Anne.
1718		James Peirce, having been ejected from the pulpit of the Dissenters' Chapel in Exeter because of his Arian views, founds a new congregation in Exeter, the earliest anti-trinitarian congregation still surviving in Britain.
1719		Salters' Hall debate: the proposition, "The Doctrine of the Trinity is the center of Christian faith," was defeated, 57-53, by a body of Presbyterians, Independents and Baptists. Reconvening and presented with a document containing articles on the Trinity from the 39 Articles of the Church of England and the Westminster Confession, these Dissenters split between Subscribing (those who would sign the document) and Non-Subscribing (those who wouldn't). It was the first gathering of ministers in Britain to call for freedom of conscience. In later years, many Non-Subscribing clergy and their congregations became Unitarian.
1723		Theophilus Lindsey born.
1727		George II succeeds George I.
1749-1769		Following publication of the anonymous "A Free and Candid Disquisition Relating to the Church of England," renewed debate and controversy over doctrines in the Church of England.
1755		Joseph Priestley graduates from Davantry Academy (a Calvinist Dissenters' institution); his theology evolved while there from Calvinist to Arian.
1760		George III succeeds George II.
1767		Joseph Priestley accepts Dissenting pulpit in Leeds; his theology is now Socinian.
1771		Feathers Tavern Association formed to petition Parliament to discontinue requiring clergy to subscribe to the 39 Articles or the Westminster Confession. The petition was presented to Parliament the next year and rejected.
1774		Theophilus Lindsey establishes a Unitarian Chapel in London; he had resigned from the Church of England a year before, motivated by the failure of the Feathers Tavern petition. Benjamin Franklin attended the first service, which followed a revised Book of Common Prayer. Joseph Priestley discovers oxygen.
1780		Joseph Priestley accepts Dissenting pulpit at the New Meeting in Birmingham, then the most liberal congregation in England.
1786		Manchester College established in Manchester. It is where most Unitarian ministers were trained before a new school was established in 1854.
1791		Joseph Priestley's church, laboratory and library burned by a mob. He flees with his family to London. Unitarian Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge and the Practice of Virtue by the Distribution of Books is founded. (It would be renamed Lindsey Press at the beginning of the 20th century.)
1794		Joseph Priestley moves to Philadelphia.
1805		James Martineau born.
1806		Joseph Cooke is expelled from the British Methodist church. The congregations he served withdrew in support; he led them in Bible studies that eventually brought them to a Unitarian theology. They merged with the Unitarians in 1844.
1808		Theophilus Lindsey dies.
1810		George IV becomes "Prince Regent" during George III's final illness.
1813		Toleration Act grants freedom of worship to Unitarians.
1816		The Wolverhampton Case: a legal challenge to the right of Unitarian congregations to their property. The courts ruled against the Unitarians.
1821		George IV succeeds George III.
1822		Rammohun Roy founds a Unitarian-related movement (now the Brahmo Samaj) in India, which later joins the British Unitarian denomination.
1825		British and Foreign Unitarian Association founded. (American Unitarian Association is founded the same year.)
1830		William IV succeeds George IV.
1831		James Martineau publishes Hymns of Christian Worship.
1836		Unitarians win the right to weddings performed by their own clergy. (It had been a Church of England monopoly.) Fifty General Baptist congregations become Unitarian.
1837		Queen Victoria succeeds William IV.
1840-1885		James Martineau serves on the faculty of Manchester College and has great influence on the training of all Unitarian ministers in Britain. Martineau was influenced by the writings of William Ellery Channing and Theodore Parker, and changed and broadened the denomination's theology through his teaching.
1840		James Martineau edits/publishes Hymns for the Christian Church and Home.
1842		The Lady Hewley Case: another legal challenge to Unitarians' right to property, this time to a fund established to support ministers. The courts ruled against the Unitarians.
1843		James Martineau publishes a collection of sermons in 2 volumes (1843, 1847), Endeavors After the Christian Life.
1844		Dissenters' Chapels Act: guarantees Dissenting chapels' rights to property. This ends challenges to Unitarians' property rights.
1853-1856		Crimean War. Unitarian nurse Florence Nightingale creates the British Sanitary Commission.
1854		Harris Manchester College (now in Oxford) established in Manchester as a school for training Unitarian ministers.
1859		James Martineau edits/publishes a revised edition of Hymns for the Christian Church and Home.
1873		James Martineau publishes Hymns of Praise and Prayer.
1876		James Martineau publishes a collection of sermons in 2 volumes (1876, 1879), Hours of Thought on Sacred Things.
1882		James Martineau publishes A Study of Spinoza.
1885		James Martineau publishes Types of Ethical Theory.
1888		James Martineau publishes A Study of Religion: Its Sources and Contents.
1890		James Martineau publishes The Seat of Authority in Religion. and Essays, Reviews and Addresses.
1891		James Martineau publishes Home Prayers.
1900		International Association for Religious Freedom founded; the British and Foreign Unitarian Association was a founding member, along with the American Unitarian Association, the Universalist General Convention and the Unitarian Church of Hungary. James Martineau dies.
1918		Lindsey Press publishes The Unitarian Faith in Unitarian Hymns (compiled by W. Copeland Bowie).
1927		Lindsey Press publishes Psalms and Canticles for Public Worship ("V.D.D.", ed.)
1951		Lindsey Press publishes Hymns of Worship. (J. E. Wallace, ed.)
1962		Lindsey Press publishes Hymns of Worship (revised).
1972		Songs for Living, a hymnal for young people, is published (presumably by Lindsey Press).
1985		Lindsey Press publishes Hymns for Living (Committee of the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches included Sydney H. Knight ed. & sec., David Dawson music ed., Keith Gilley, Gabor Kereki, Celia Midgley, John A. Storey). It is meant as a companion for Songs for Living.
1991		Chalice Press publishes Hymns of Faith & Freedom, "a radical revision of Hymns of Worship ... to serve as a collection large enough in itself to serve as a hymn book for congregations in our community of churches and as a supplementary book for those who have Hymns for Living ... but find it in certain respects inadequate for their worship needs. ... It is not an 'official' denominational book..." (quoted from the Preface; the "Working Party" included Lena Baxter, Tony Cross, Arthur Long, and Vernon Marshall). Like the earliest hymnals, it is a collection of lyrics with no printed music.
1994		Lindsey Press publishes Let Us Sing.