George Fox Trial (1674)
Fox travelled to the West Indies and America in 1671 with 12 other ministers to encourage those Quakers who had gone to live there. He returned in 1673 and later that year was put in prison again. He conducted a meeting in Worcestershire and was resting afterwards at his host’s house when he was arrested under the Conventicle Act. This was again an illegal arrest because it had to be done at a meeting but the meeting had ended. Fox and his wife’s son-in-law were put in Worcester jail. After several hearings he was sent to London for trial at King’s Bench and 14 months after his arrest the judges decided that there were so many errors in the indictment that he should go free.