Many thanks to those that replied to my query. It would seem that the
in-church hat wearing was a probably a mark of disrespect to the curate, or
at least his doctrine. I thought little backgound might be of interest:
Torver chapelry was a hot bed of non-conformity - the court leet of about
1640 reports the release of "the Quakers horses" from the pound - no one was
prosocuted for it. George Fox of course found widespread support in the
area - Torver was a chapelry of Ulverston, the parish where Fox's wife
lived. At the end of the century about 25% of the entries in the chapel
christening register were recording births (for tax puposes) rather than
christenings and the marriage register records a marriage by "a
nonconformist priest". A Baptist chapel, still standing, was built there in
the 1730s, although there had been a baptist presence in the chapelry since
1678; and in 1717 the chapelwarden complained to the archdeacon about
"Presbeterians and Anabaptists".
Peter Park,
Walton on Thames, Surrey
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