The North Mymms vicar deported to the West Indies

St Mary's font installed about 150 years after John Clarke was vicar
Image by the North Mymms History Project
Released via Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0

In 1645, the Rev John Clarke, vicar of North Mymms, was deported to the West Indies after falling foul of Cromwell's Commission of Triers, a group of inspectors set up to assess the suitability of parish ministers. 

Rev Clarke failed the test and his fate fell to the commission's ejectors whose role was to dismiss ministers and schoolmasters who were deemed unsuitable for office. 

Fifteen years later after the restoration of the Stuart monarchy, Clarke returned to St Mary's, North Mymms, and as vicar christened 99 children in the 10 years between 1663 and 1672. 

Peter Kingsford wrote about the Rev John Clarke and some other interesting parishioners who lived in North Mymms during Stuart and Tudor periods. 

His articles appeared in the November 1993 and November 1994 issues of the Chancellor’s Community Newsletter. Also included is a report by Richard Busby, referred to by Kingsford in his article about Tudor parishioners (below). All three articles have been reproduced here with permission of the publisher. Click on the images below for larger versions.

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