'The blessedness of those who are persecuted for righteousness sake': The Role of 'Candour' and the Priestley Riots in Birmingham Unitarian Identity, 1791–1815

AbstractThis article examines the aftermath of the Priestley Riots of 1791 through the experiences of the riots' principal victims — the Unitarians of Birmingham. An examination of the sermons given by the four New Meeting House ministers and of other Unitarian records allows the reconstruction of the form of identity constructed for the Birmingham Unitarians by their ministers. This identity was based around the 'doctrine of candour' and resolution in the face of perceived oppression. While the Unitarians were no longer politically outspoken, they remained active in society, and in the field of education in particular. In the larger context this article offers a qualification to the historiography which has stressed the growing weakness of Unitarianism and the rejection of 'enlightenment' in England in the early nineteenth century, and suggests that the Birmingham Unitarians remained an important section of Birmingham society.