Page:The History of the Church & Manor of Wigan part 2.djvu/110

Order in council touching the plague, addressed to the archbishop of York :—

"After o^r very harty comendacons to yo^r Lpp. The lamentable informacons w^ch wee daily receave of the great spreading of the contagion of the plague through the kingdome doe contynually sollicite us to thinke of all possible meanes for prevention of the same. And finding that the frequent assembling of the people in places infected doth so much the more dispense the infeccon; wee by the King's commandm^t have thought fitt to pray & require yo^r Lpp. to take order within yo^r Province of Yorke, that the several B^pps doe give charge within their Diocese, and doe signify e to their church wardens, that in such parishes w^ch are, or shall fall out to bee, infected, during the tyme that the infeccon shall last, they doe abstaine from assembling together in the churches for celebration of the ffast, lately proclaimed by his Ma^tys authoritye, but that they doe cause those of the parishes infected to be exhorted to observe the said ffast and other devotions accompanying the same privatly in their houses. And that the churchwardens be further carefull in the publicke assemblies w^ch shalbe made for the said ffast in the parishes clear from infeccon not to admitt any of the parishes infected to their said publick assemblies, w^ch might else prove a likely meanes to pass the contagion to the places w^ch yet remain cleare. And so wee "bid yo^r Lpp. very hartily farewell, ffrom Oxford the 5^th of August, 1625.

yo^r Lpps. very loving ffriends,

G. Cant, Jo. Lincoln, C.S., James Ley, H. Mandeville,

Arundell & Surrey, Pembroke, Montgomery, Hollande,

E. Conwey,

T. Edmondes,         Hum. May.

(Addressed) To the most rev'end flfather in God o*" very good lord the lo. Archbishop of York his grace."

This order was received by the archbishop at Bishopthorpe on the 17th of the same month, and shortly afterwards forwarded to the bishop of Chester with the following letter:

"Salutem in Christo, I send yo^r lo^p hereinclosed the copie of a l're w^ch I lately received from the ll. & others of his Ma^tys most hono'able privie counsell; according to the contents whereof I praie & require yo^r