Prosecution of Anglican ritualist Arthur Tooth begins (1876)

The prosecution of Arthur Tooth, an Anglican ritualist priest, began in July 1876 under the Public Worship Regulation Act 1874. The case was initiated by those disapproving of his liturgical practices at St James's Hatcham and came before Lord Penzance at Lambeth Palace on 13 July 1876.

Episodes

Background and detail

Background. Arthur Tooth was a ritualist priest in the Church of England and a member of the Society of the Holy Cross. He became vicar of St James's Hatcham, a working-class parish in south-east London, in 1868. His efforts to renew the parish life attracted large congregations, drawing attention to his ritualist practices.

Legal Context. The Public Worship Regulation Act 1874 was introduced by Archbishop Archibald Campbell Tait to limit the growing ritualism of Anglo-Catholicism within the Church of England. When the Act was passed, those who disapproved of Tooth's ritualist liturgical practices set a prosecution in motion against him.

Prosecution Start. Tooth is best known for being prosecuted in 1876 under the Public Worship Regulation Act 1874 for using proscribed liturgical practices. The case came before Lord Penzance at Lambeth Palace on 13 July 1876, marking the formal beginning of the proceedings against him.

People involved

Sources

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