A Nation Divided: The Origins of the Sacheverell Crisis

The year 1710 marked a pivotal moment in British political history when the House of Lords moved to impeach Dr. Henry Sacheverell, a High Church Tory preacher whose incendiary sermons had challenged the very foundations of the post-1688 political settlement. This seemingly straightforward case of parliamentary discipline would spiral into one of the most significant constitutional crises of the early 18th century, exposing deep fractures in British society that had been papered over since the Glorious Revolution.

Sacheverell’s trial emerged from tensions simmering since William of Orange’s accession. The Whig government, committed to the Protestant succession and religious toleration, found itself increasingly at odds with a resurgent Tory party that viewed the Hanoverian succession with suspicion and clung to traditional Anglican supremacy. When Sacheverell delivered his notorious Oxford sermon attacking the Whig doctrine of resistance to tyrannical rulers – a cornerstone of 1688’s legitimacy – he struck at the heart of the regime’s ideological foundations.

The Trial That Shook the Nation

The impeachment proceedings, intended to demonstrate governmental strength, backfired spectacularly. Sacheverell’s journey to Westminster Hall for his trial became a triumphal procession, with butchers – traditional symbols of popular protest – forming his honor guard. Crowds thronged the streets, chanting his name and threatening Whig ministers with violence. The preacher skillfully turned the tables on his accusers, using the platform to attack not just individual Whigs but their entire historical narrative of 1688.

As the trial progressed, disturbances spread across England. Dissenting meeting houses, particularly those of the Huguenot community in Spitalfields, were ransacked and burned. Provincial towns from the Southwest to the Midlands erupted in pro-Sacheverell riots. Faced with widespread disorder and insufficient military resources, the government opted for damage control, imposing a laughably light sentence: a three-year preaching ban and the ceremonial burning of his offending sermon by the common hangman.

The public response was euphoric. Celebrations across England rivaled those marking the 1660 Restoration, with bonfires, bell-ringing, and a new wave of chapel destruction. The political consequences were immediate and profound – in the subsequent election, Tories swept back into power, demonstrating how profoundly the trial had shifted public sentiment.

The Jacobite Threat and Hanoverian Insecurity

When Queen Anne died in 1714, England held its breath. The Sacheverell riots had unleashed political passions that now threatened to boil over into civil conflict. Street battles between Whig and Tory factions became commonplace, with the Whig Duke of Newcastle’s “Mughouse Boys” regularly clashing with High Tory and Jacobite supporters.

Rumors swirled that Anne had secretly favored her half-brother James Edward Stuart over the Hanoverian Elector George, though no such will was ever found. Jacobite newspapers mercilessly mocked George as a lecherous fool who spoke no English, maintained two ugly mistresses, and had allegedly arranged the murder of his wife’s former lover. During George’s coronation, at least twenty English towns erupted in fresh riots, while Scotland’s response was even more hostile – in Inverness, magistrates interrupted the proclamation of George’s accession with cries of “Damn them and their king!”

The ’15 Rebellion: A Missed Opportunity

George I, a military man by background, moved decisively against the Tories, purging government offices and using civil list money to secure a Whig parliamentary majority in the 1715 election. Faced with political oblivion, Tory leaders like the Duke of Ormonde and Bolingbroke gambled on a Jacobite restoration – a desperate move that proved disastrous.

The 1715 Jacobite rising, led by the Earl of Mar, initially showed promise. Support for the Hanoverians melted away with startling speed across Scotland. Edinburgh Castle prepared for siege, while London panicked, making contingency plans for George to flee to Holland. Yet the rebellion ultimately failed due to poor coordination, lack of French support following Louis XIV’s death, and Mar’s inability to secure decisive victories. When James finally arrived in Scotland in December 1714, he stayed just six weeks before returning to France.

The aftermath saw brutal reprisals. Jacobite earls were executed for treason on Tower Hill, with the Earl of Derwentwater delivering a dramatic final speech. Though the immediate threat passed, the Jacobite specter would haunt British politics for decades, providing Whig governments with a convenient bogeyman to justify repressive measures against political opponents.

Walpole’s Rise: Stability Through Patronage

Against this backdrop of turmoil emerged Robert Walpole, who would dominate British politics for over two decades. His genius lay in replacing ideological conflict with practical management, creating what historian J.H. Plumb termed “the growth of political stability.”

Walpole’s approach was consciously anti-ideological. Drawing on Lockean empiricism rather than political theory, he sought to drain politics of its existential stakes. His recipe combined financial pragmatism with lavish patronage – the South Sea Bubble crisis of 1720, which he skillfully managed, cemented his reputation as the indispensable man of government.

The “Screen Master” (as contemporaries called him) built Britain’s first true political machine, using government offices and pensions to create loyal parliamentary majorities. The Septennial Act of 1716, extending parliamentary terms to seven years, gave his system time to work. Walpole cultivated backbench MPs through personal attention and fine dining – “He dressed for the House of Commons,” noted Lord Chesterfield, “as if going to see his mistress.”

Cultural Transformation: From Conflict to Consumerism

Walpole’s political settlement found cultural expression in the restrained Palladian architecture of country houses like his Houghton Hall. These estates, with their carefully managed landscapes and ha-has (sunken fences creating visual continuity while maintaining separation), mirrored his political vision – maintaining appearances of harmony while enforcing strict boundaries.

This new stability allowed Britain’s propertied classes to turn from political and religious conflict to pleasures of consumption. London’s vibrant coffeehouse culture and burgeoning retail sector offered unprecedented opportunities for display and entertainment. The city’s 550 coffeehouses and numerous clubs fostered a new public sphere where politics mixed with commerce and culture.

Legacy of the Sacheverell Era

The Sacheverell riots and their aftermath marked a critical transition in British history. They demonstrated both the fragility of the post-1688 settlement and the emerging mechanisms that would stabilize it. Walpole’s system, though corrupt by modern standards, provided the breathing space needed for Britain to develop its distinctive blend of commercial imperialism and constitutional monarchy.

The cultural shifts were equally profound. As partisan passions cooled, a new ideal of polite sociability took hold, embodied in publications like The Spectator. Joseph Addison’s lament about the “furious party spirit” that had “filled a nation with spleen and rancour” gave way to Walpole’s vision of politics as management rather than salvation.

Yet this stability came at a cost. The brutal suppression of the 1715 rising and subsequent penal laws against Catholics and Jacobites showed the darker side of Hanoverian rule. The Walpolean system, for all its pragmatism, entrenched oligarchic control and systematic corruption that would fuel later reform movements.

From the fiery sermons of Sacheverell to the calculating politics of Walpole, these tumultuous years forged the template for modern British politics – one where ideological fervor gradually yielded to management and commerce, where stability became the highest political virtue, and where the specter of civil conflict receded before the allure of economic growth and imperial ambition.