[[File:A Conventicle Preacher before the Justices.jpg|thumb|right|300px|''A Conventicle Preacher before the Justices'', painting by Robert Inerarity Herdman]]
The '''Conventicle Act''' of 1664 was an [[Act of Parliament|Act]] of the [[Parliament of England]] (16 [[Charles II of England|Charles II]] c. 4) that forbade [[conventicle]]s (religious assemblies of more than five people, other than an immediate family, outside the auspices of the [[Church of England]]).<ref>{{cite book|last=Lodge|first=Richard|year=1923|title=The History of England From the Restoration to the Death of William III (1660 - 1702)|page=69||oclc=740976301 }}</ref> This law was a part of the [[Clarendon Code]],
[[Image:A Covenanters Conventicle.jpg|rightleft|thumb|200px|<Center>A Covenanters Conventicle.<ref name="Lawson">Lawson, Rev. R. (1885). ''Maybole Past and Present.'' Pub. J. & R. Parlane. P. 49.</ref>]]
The '''Conventicle Act''' of 1664 was an [[Act of Parliament|Act]] of the [[Parliament of England]] (16 [[Charles II of England|Charles II]] c. 4) that forbade [[conventicle]]s (religious assemblies of more than five people, other than an immediate family, outside the auspices of the [[Church of England]]).<ref>{{cite book|last=Lodge|first=Richard|year=1923|title=The History of England From the Restoration to the Death of William III (1660 - 1702)|page=69||oclc=740976301 }}</ref> This law was part of the [[Clarendon Code]], named after [[Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon]], which aimed to discourage [[nonconformism]] and to strengthen the position of the [[Established Church]]. However the Clarendon Code was not actually the work of Clarendon himself, who favoured a policy of greater tolerance towards dissenters.<ref>[http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/clarendon_code.htm History Learning Site - Clarendon Code]</ref> These prohibitions led many, such as the [[Covenanter]]s, to vacate their parishes rather than submit to the new Episcopal authorities. Just as the ministers left so too did the congregations, following their old pastors to sermons on the hillside. From small beginnings these field assemblies-or conventicles-were to grow into major problems of public order for the government.
Other statutes that were part of the Clarendon Code include:
