Wingate's clerk visited him, seeking to get him to change his mind.
The clerk said that all the authorities wanted was for Bunyan to undertake not to preach at private gatherings, as it was suspected that these non-conformist meetings were in fact being used by people plotting against the king.
In answer to the clerk, John argued that God's law obliged him to preach at any and every opportunity, and refused to consider the suggested compromise.
In January 1661, Bunyan was brought before the quarter sessions in the Chapel of Herne, Bedford. His prosecutor, Mr. Justice Wingate, despite Bunyan's clear breaches of the Religion Act of 1592, was not inclined to incarcerate Bunyan.
This attitude left the magistrates - Sir John Kelynge of Southill, Sir Henry Chester of Lidlington, Sir George Blundell of Cardington, Sir Wllm Beecher of Howbury and Thomas Snagg of Milbrook - with no choice but to imprison him.
So Bunyan was incarcerated for 3 months for the crimes of:
Strenuous efforts were made by Bunyan's wife to get his case re-heard at the spring assizes but Bunyan's continued assertions that he would, if freed, preach to his awaiting congregation meant that the magistrates would not consider any new hearing.
Similar efforts were made in the following year but, again, to no avail. In early 1664, an Act of Parliament the Conventicles Act made it illegal to hold religious meetings of five or more people outside of the auspices of the Church of England.
It was during his time in Bedford County Gaol that John Bunyan conceived his allegorical novel: "The Pilgrim's Progress".Many scholars however believe that he commenced this work during the second and shorter imprisonment of 1675, referred to below.
Bunyan's incarceration was punctuated with periods of relative freedom - lax gaolers allowing him out to attend church meetings and to minister to his congregation.
In 1666, John was briefly released for a few weeks before being re-arrested for preaching and sent back to Bedford's County gaol, where he remained for a further six years.
During that time, he wove shoelaces to support his family and preached to his fellow prisoners - a congregation of about sixty.
In his possession were:
John Bunyan was released in January 1672, when Charles II issued the Declaration of Religious Indulgence.
John Bunyan: 1672 to 1688;
In the same month as his release, John Bunyan became pastor of the Independent church. On May 9, 1672, John Bunyan was the recipient of one of the first licences to preach under the new law. He was licenced as an Independent.
A barn in Mill Street, Bedford was purchased by the church and set up as a Meeting House for the church on the site that is the present-day location of the Bunyan Meeting House that is affiliated with both the Congregational and Baptist Churches.
By his preaching, Bunyan became popular in Bedfordshire and several surrounding counties, including Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Huntingdonshire and Northamptonshire.
His own congregation at the independent church in Bedford grew strongly at this time, and many village chapels for miles around Bedford owed their roots to John Bunyan’s influence.
He would even speak to large crowds and congregations as far away as London and, as his fame and popularity as a preacher increased, he became affectionately known as 'Bishop Bunyan'.
John Bunyan: New Laws, Re-Arrested:
In March 1675, following Charles II's withdrawal of the Declaration of Religious Indulgence, John Bunyan was again imprisoned for preaching.
This was not, as formerly thought, in the Bedford town jail on the stone river bridge, but once again in the county gaol. (The original warrant, discovered in 1887, is published in facsimile by Rush and Warwick, London).
It was the Quakers who most probably helped secure Bunyan's release.
When the King asked for a list of names to pardon, the Society gave Bunyan's name along with those of their own members. Within six months, John was free and, as a result of his popularity, was never arrested again.
When, in 1687, the King James II of England asked Bunyan to over