The political, social and economic role of the Church in the various regions of England, identifying common themes and highlighting regional differences.

W. M. Jacob examines the concept of 'profession' during the later Stuart and Georgian period, with special reference to the clergy of the Church of England. He describes their social backgrounds, how they were recruited, selected, and educated, and obtained jobs; how they were paid, and their lifestyles and family life, as well as examining the evidence for what they did as leaders of worship, pastors and teachers, how their parishioners responded to them, and how they were supervised. Jacob concludes that, contrary to popular views, the clerical profession was much better organized, educated, and supervised than the medical and legal professions during this period. During the 'age of reform' from the 1780s to the 1830s, all the professions were criticized: Jacob suggests that the modest regulation and professional training introduced in the other learned professions in the 1830s only slowly brought them to the standard already achieved by the clerical profession.

C19 diary, correspondence and sermons cast light on the Evangelical movement and its relationship with the Church of England. Between the end of the eighteenth century and the end of the nineteenth evangelicalism came to exercise a profound influence over British religious and social life - an influence unmatched by even the Oxford movement. The four texts published here provide different perspectives on the relationship between evangelicalism and the Church during that time, illustrating the diversity of the tradition. Hannah More's correspondence during the Blagdon controversyilluminates the struggles of Evangelicals at the end of the eighteenth century, as she attempted to establish schools for poor children. The charges of Bishops Ryder and Ryle in 1816 and 1881 respectively reveal the views of Evangelicals who, at either end of the nineteenth century, had a forum for expressing their views from the pinnacle of the church establishment. The major text, the undergraduate diary of Francis Chavasse [1865-8], also written by a future bishop, provides a fascinating insight into the mind of a young Evangelical at Oxford, struggling with his conscience and his calling. Each text is presented with an introduction and notes. Contributors ANDREW ATHERSTONE, MARK SMITH, ANNE STOTT, MARTIN WELLINGS. MARK SMITH teaches at King's College, London; STEPHEN TAYLOR is Reader in Eighteenth Century History, University of Reading.