Henry Sacheverell Trial

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Henry Sacheverell was a popular preacher at Oxford University.  In 1709 he delivered a controversial speech in which he compared the Gunpowder Plot of November 1605 to the execution of Charles I as an attack on Catholicism.  Although the Lord Mayor banned the printing of the sermon, Sacheverell had it independently published.  Articles of impeachment for high crimes and misdemeanors were issued.

The trial lasted from February 27 - March 21, 1710 during which there were riots in the streets and attacks made on chapels and other places of worship.  Sacheverell was found guilty and suspended from preaching for three years.

Impeachment Trials
Henry Sacheverell Trial