VII. AFTER THE REFORMATION.
Whatever changes the Reformation may have brought about in other directions, it appears that the sphere of religious life in Dover was narrowed. With the exception of the ancient church in the Castle there appears to have been but two places of worship in the town — the Churches of St. Mary and St. James'. There were, it is true, the churches of Charlton and Buckland, but they were regarded then as being outside the town. There was a depressing air of ecclesiastical desolation in Dover. The great Church of the Priory, raised by the zeal of Norman Christians, was in ruins, the Chapel of the Maison Dieu and St. John's in Biggin Street were dismantled; St .Martin le Grand, St. Peter's and St. Martin the less presented a scene of wilful destruction round the Market Place, the Tower of St. Nicholas and its deca}ing undercrofts remained in Bench Street, and of the Chapel of St. Bartholomew's Hospital there was not left one stone on another. If it had not been that St .Mary's was gi\-en by Henry VHI., to the inhal)itants and that St. James' was in some sort under the protection of the Ca.stle, the .scene might have l)een still more depressing. Later, the old church in the Castle fell into ruin, so that for cixilians and soldiers there were but two places of public worship.
During the latter part of the Civil War and the time (jf the Commonwealth the old authorities in Church and State were swept aside and an opportunity made for the uprising of Nonconformity. In Dover the ministers of the two churches, the Rev. John Reading at St. Mary's, and the Rev. John Vaughan at St. James' were ousted, and their places taken l)y Presbyterian ministers, who were installed by the Order oif Parliament. While the ministers of the new order occupied the pulpits of the two parish churches other places of religious worship, called Protestant Meeting Houses, were opened in the town, one by Baptists and another by the fore-runners of those who now form the large body of Congregationahsts. This arose, partly from the greater religious liberty allowed during the Commonwealth, and partly from the rebellion against any form of State religion — even that taught by the ministers otficiating in the Parish Churches by Order of Parliament.
The Parliamentary successors of the Rev. John Reading at St. Mary's, between 1643 and 1660 were Mr. John Goodwin, 1643, the Rev. Michael Porter, 1643-7, the Rev. John Dykes, 1647-50, the Rev. John Robotham, 1650-3, the Rev. Nathaniel Norcross, 1653-4, and the Rev. Nathaniel Barry, 1654-60. St. Mary's Church continued to be re- garded as the Church of the Corporation and its minister, the Chaplain of the Corporation. In 1645 the Rev. Michael Porter was requested by a resolution of the Common Council to act in that capacity. The minute was as follows: — " It is ordered that the Minister of St. Mary shall be entreated at the beginning of all future assemblies to be present there to perform the duty of prayer." A similar order was made by the Common Council in the reign of James II. During the Commonwealth, in August J65S, Mr. Nathaniel Smith, the Mavor, died during his Mayoralty. Mr. Davis and Mr. Barry, Ministers of the Gospel, are mentioned as attending his funeral at St. Mary's Church. The first Minister to St. James's Church appointed by Parliament was Mr. Vincent in 1646, and he was succeeded by the Rev. John Davis, who was ejected by the Bartholomew Act in 1662. Of the Rev John Davis not very much is known, nor is there much on record concerning the ministers who officiated at St. Mary's during the Interregnum, but of the Rev. John Reading, who was deprived of his office at St. Mary's during the Common- wealth, there are a good many details recorded. He was a native of Buckinghamshire, who, after taking his degrees at Oxford, came to Dover as Chaplain to Lord Zouch when he was appointed Lord Warden and Constable of Dover Castle in 1614. St. Mary's Parish then being without a mini.ster he preached there occasionally, and. in 1616. he was elected l)y the parishioners as the regular minister. He also obtained the appointment f)f Chaplain to Charles I. Immediately after Dover Castle was seized l)y the Parliamen- tary party, in August 1642, he preached a vehement sermon against Parliament in St. Mary's Church after which his residence was visited, his manuscripts seized, and he was imprisoned in Dover Castle. The King, hearing of the deprivation and imprisonment of the Rev. John Reading, Archbishop Laud, on the advice of the Sovereign, presented him with the Rectory of Chartham, but the Hou.se of Commons vetoed the appointment. A prebend at Canterbury Cathedral was next presented, but Mr, Reading was not allowed to enjoy that. He being released from Dover Castle in July 1644, Sir William Brockman presented him to the living of Cheriton, to which retreat he retired, but in 1646, it being alleged that he was implicated in a plot by the Royalists to retake Dover Castle, Mr. Reading was arrested at Cheriton, and again lodged in Dover Castle prison, but was afterwards remo\ed to Leeds Castle, near Maidstone. After about six months he was discharged from Leeds Castle, but owing to all his livings being sequesterated, and he being unable to pay his debts, he was for some time in the Fleet Debtors' Prison. At the Restoration, the Rev. John Reading was re-instated at St. Mary's, but being then advanced in years, he did not resume his regular ministry at Dover. He held the otiice, nominally, until August 1662, he having meanwhile, been re-instated in the Rectory of Chartham and made a Canon of Canterbury. He died at his Rectory at Chartham, 26th. October, 1667, and was buried in the chancel there.