'Most richly furnished': Caroline Reformed Conformists in an 18th century Anglican defence of imagery
The footnote concerns the private chapel of John Williams, Bishop of Lincoln (1621-41, Archbishop of York 1641-50), quoting a contemporary source:
Of the Prelates in that Reign, there was none more distinguished for a personal Dislike to the Archbishop, or for an Aversion to Popery, than Williams Dean of Westminster, and Bishop of Lincoln; but of his Chapel at Bugden there is this Account, given by a contemporary Writer: "Besides his Altar most richly furnished, there are to be seen many goodly Pictures, which cannot but strike the Beholders with Thoughts of Piety and Devotion at their Entrance; as the Picture of the Passion, and likewise of the holy Apostles, together with a fair Crucifix, &c. set up in painted Glass, in the East Window, just over the holy Table, (about 1637) so that all good Men in his Diocese must follow him usque ad Aras, giving a Precedent of such Devotion".
Williams, of course, was a determined opponent of Laud. What is more, his preaching reveals an "explicit and consistent adherence to Reformed theology". Despite such antagonism and theological commitments, Williams was not only not an iconoclast: he quite clearly approved the imagery retained by the Elizabethan Settlement. This coheres with Kevin Sharpe's understanding of Williams during the 'altar wars':
In the case of Williams, the distance between him and Laud - at least on the position of the altar - has been much exaggerated. Like Laud, Williams had no hard line on the matter. His fondness for ornament and order inclined him to favour in his own residence at Buckden a table against the east wall, and the railing of altars to avoid profanity.
Also significant, Williams was not alone among Reformed Conformists in his approach to imagery and ornaments. We see the same understanding and practice in Bishop Joseph Hall, no Laudian, and one of the English representatives at Dort. In the account he provides of the outbreak of iconoclasm in his episcopal see of Norwich, there is both an acceptance of images and a rejection of the theological principles of the iconoclasts. He begins by describing the iconoclastic violence against his private chapel:
Another while the Sheriff Toftes, and Alderman Linsey, attended with many Zealous Followers, came in to my Chappel to look for Superstitious Pictures, and Reliques of Idolatry, and send for me, to let me know they found those Windows full of Images, which were very offensive, and must be demolished: I told them they were the pictures of some ancient and worthy Bishops, as St. Ambrose, Austin, & c.
His appalled description of the iconoclasm inflicted on Norwich Cathedral also indicates a material culture in the cathedral which cannot easily be distinguished from Laudian practices:
in a kind of Sacrilegious and profane Procession, all the Organ Pipes, Vestments, both Copes and Surplices, together with the Leaden Cross, which had been newly sawn down from over the Green Yard Pulpit, and the Service Books and Singing Books that could be had, were carried to the Fire in the public Market-Place; a lewd Wretch walking before the Train.
Placed alongside the imagery and ornaments of Williams' private chapel, it is abundantly clear that anti-Laudian Reformed Conformists cannot be meaningfully distinguished from Laudians in their approach to imagery. This points to a shared inheritance from the Elizabethan Settlement of acceptable, modest imagery, which continued to be invoked by 18th century Anglicanism.
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