Five Mile Act Enacted

Timeline

1. 1665Westminster · LondonIn the summer and autumn of 1665 the House of Commons introduced the Five Mile Act bill as part of the Clarendon Code legislative sequence, requiring ejected Nonconformist ministers not to reside within five miles of their former parishes or to teach or preach there. The act received royal assent from Charles II on 9 October and became law.
2. 1665–1672England · EnglandThe act forbade Nonconformist ministers ejected by the Uniformity Act from living, teaching, or preaching publicly within five miles of their former parishes, with forfeiture of property as the penalty for violations. Large numbers of Puritan ministers were consequently forced to move to the edges of towns or overseas, and Nonconformist worship went underground or took the form of household gatherings.