The County of Northampton was distinguished as one of the strongholds of Puritanism. There were a considerable number of Puritan divines in the Churches in this County: here, the meetings of their associations were frequently held; and here, in several of the towns, their lectures were delivered; and though they had to suffer much, yet they had some noble friends in the County, who endeavoured to hold over them the shield of their protection. These were the men who, by their principles, their preaching, and their writings, were the means of promoting evangelical truth and piety in the country; and they were the men who preserved the liberties of Englishmen, when they were in danger of being trampled in the dust. While Hume, the historian, treats their principles as frivolous and their conduct as ridiculous, he bestows upon them this high eulogium: "So absolute was the authority of the Crown, that the precious spark of liberty had been kindled and was preserved by the Puritans alone; and it was to this sect that the English owe the whole freedom of their constitution." At the commencement of the reign of James I., when Bancroft was Archbishop of Canterbury, the clergy were commanded to renew their subscription to the requirements of the Church. More than seven hundred of them refused; and in that number there were fifty-seven non-subscribing ministers in Northamptonshire. At a meeting of their Association, held in Northampton, the ministers signed the following confession: "That they believed the word of God contained in the Old and New Testaments to be the perfect rule of faith and manners; and that it ought to be read and known by all people; and that the authority of it exceeds all authority, not of the Pope only, but of the Church also, and of councils, fathers, men, and angels." The liberty enjoyed in the days of the Commonwealth many of them improved to the noblest purposes--prizing the advantages they possessed, even where they did not approve of the ruling powers.