A history of the domestic chaplain to the nobility and gentry between 1530 and 1840, this work examines the work and role of domestic chaplains during this period, when they were regulated by law. It also considers the connections between chaplains and key events in British history, such as the Restoration. Chaplains often made a hidden, but important, contribution to the religious life of the nation. Their work was not chronicled in the usual records of the Church since they often operated outside the supervision of the ecclesiastical hierarchy.