Oath rolls

As well as swearing an oath of allegiance to the Crown, from the 16th to the 19th centuries people holding public office or serving in the armed forces were required to swear that they were members of the established Church of England. Catholics and nonconformists were debarred from holding public office, but were often required to swear an oath of allegiance. Surviving oath rolls are to be found in several series of records. They can help identify particular professions and religious denomination. The rolls usually contain the signatures of the subscribers. Most surviving oath rolls date from after 1673, but there are two rolls of officers and men of the Royal Navy, who took the oath of allegiance and supremacy in 1660/61 in C 202/44/5 and C 215/6.

Oaths to uphold the succession

Oaths to uphold the succession and allegiance were taken in courts of law, usually the courts of Chancery or King´s Bench (or Common Pleas or Exchequer after 1702) or at the local Quarter Sessions. The Chancery series of oath rolls are in two series C 214 and C 215. There are also lists of persons taking oaths of allegiance, test and abjuration in C 220/9 from 1673 to 1709. The King´s Bench series is in KB 24 and the Exchequer series in E 169. The only rolls for Common Pleas are in CP 37 for Roman Catholics from 1778 to 1829, and clergymen from 1789 to 1836. The rolls are arranged in date order and there are no indexes of names.

The Solemn Association

The 'Solemn Association' for the defence of the king and in support of the succession, was established by Parliament in 1696 after an assassination attempt on William III. It was compulsory for all office holders, military and civil. MPs, local clergy and gentry, freemen of city livery companies and other groups were encouraged to subscribe. In some places, many of the adult males of status in the local community also subscribed. Surviving Association Oath Rolls are in the record series C 213 and C 214, and also KB 24/1-2. They are largely arranged by county and diocese (for the clergy) and include such groups as members of the royal household, tin miners in Cornwall, nonconformist ministers in Cumberland, the militia officers of Northumberland, Irish gentry resident in England and Quakers in Colchester. They also include oaths taken in colonies and plantations abroad.