1640
William Aspley and John Smethwick are both elected as Master of Stationers' Company.
1640
Habeas Corpus Act 1640. This act abolishes the Star Chamber, thus ending de facto censorship and leading to an increase in published materials.
1640
King Charles summons what came to be known as the Short Parliament on April 13.
1640
King Charles dissolves parliament on 5 May. This arises after a disagreement with members of Parliament regarding subsidies for a war against Scotland.
1640
King Charles summmons the Long Parliament on 3 November, in order to pass financial bills needed in the aftermath of the Bishops' Wars.
1641
Henry Fetherson is elected Master of Stationers' Company.
1641
The English Parliament (the Long Parliament) presents a list of grievances to King Charles I on 1 December.
1641
Triennial Act. Passed on 16 February, this ensures Parliament is called at least once every three years.
1641
The Long Parliament establishes a Committee of Printing, to deal with publication complaints.
1642
Thomas Downes is elected Master of Stationers' Company.
1642
The King raises the standard at Nottingham Castle, officially declaring war on Parliament.
1642
The Long Parliament issues an ordinance which orders all London theatres to be closed.
1643
Nicholas Bourne is elected Master of Stationers' Company. He is re-elected in 1651.
1643
This act brings back much of what the Star Chamber Decree of 1637 put in place, including giving the Stationers' Company the job of acting as censor, and a monopoly of the printing trade.
1644
Robert Mead is elected Master of Stationers' Company. He is re-elected in 1645, 1649 and 1656.
1644
Due to Puritan pressure, Sir Matthew Brand demolishes the Globe and builds housing on the same plot of land.
1644
He publishes his Areopagitica, a polemical work opposing censorship and espousing freedom of speech and expression.
1646
Samuel Mann is elected Master of Stationers' Company. He is re-elected in 1654 and 1658.
1646
The King surrenders to the Covenanter army at Newark.
1647
John Parker is elected Master of Stationers' Company.
1648
Thomas Downes and John Parker are both elected Master of Stationers' Company.
1648
The Long Parliament reinforces the 1642 ordinance and demands that theatres are to be pulled down and actors to be fined.
1649
King Charles I is beheaded outside the Banqueting Hall in Whitehall, after his surrender in 1646.
1650
George Latham is elected Master of Stationers' Company.
1652
Miles Flesher is elected Master of Stationers' Company. He is re-elected in 1653, 1662 and 1663.
1652
John Burroughs is appointed as Clerk to Stationers' Company.
1653
Oliver Cromwell is installed as Lord Protector on 16 December.
1655
Henry Walley is elected Master of Stationers' Company.
1657
Henry Seyle is elected Master of Stationers' Company.
1659
William Lee is elected Master of Stationers' Company.
1660
Philemon Stephens is elected Master of Stationers' Company.
1660
Charles II becomes King on 26 May.
1660
A lamentation produced by London printers decrying the number of printing houses and the inexperience of many of those working there.
1660
Upon the Restoration of the Stuart monarchy theatres are opened again.
1660
Charles II places successive advertisements in the weekly Mercurius Publicusregarding his lost dog which 'was taken from Whitehal, the eighteenth day of this instant June, or thereabout.'
1661
Humphrey Robinson is elected Master of Stationers' Company. He is re-elected in 1667.
1661
Charles II is crowned King on 23 Apr.
1662
Licensing of the Press Act 1662: This act re-establishes the Star Chamber Decree of 1637, and states that printing presses cannot be established without the Company being referred to.
1662
Act of Uniformity: This required the clergy to pledge adherence to the Prayer Book and made the use of the Prayer Book compulsory in service.
1663
George Tokefield is appointed Clerk to Stationers' Company.
1663
Thomas Killigrew builds the first of four incarnations of the theatre at Drury Lane.
1664
Richard Thrale is elected Master of Stationers' Company.
1665
Andrew Crooke is elected Master of Stationers' Company. He is re-elected the following year.
1666
Upon King Charles II's return to London after the Great Plague, the first issue of the London Gazette is published on 5 February.
1666
The Great Fire burns down Abergavenny House and much of its property, including books valued around £40,000. One clerk removes much of the Company's records to his house in Clerkenwell, so that all is not lost. Forty-three other Livery Company Halls were also destroyed.
1666
The Great Fire of London leaves the cathedral in poor condition, as wooden scaffolding erected around the building aids the conflagration, and leaves the cathedral in ruins.
1666
Thomas Minshell, an engraver, apprentices Joanna Nye.
1668
Thomas Davies is elected Master of Stationers' Company. He is re-elected the following year.
1670
William Leake is elected Master of Stationers' Company.
1670
Work begins to build a new hall for the Company.
1671
Evan Tyler is elected Master of Stationers' Company.
1672
Ralph Smith is elected Master of Stationers' Company.
1673
Richard Royston is elected Master of Stationers' Company. He is re-elected the following year.
1673
John Lilly is elected as Clerk to Stationers' Company.
1673
The Stationers' Hall opens and is used for dinner on Lord Mayor's Day in the autumn of that year
1675
Sir Christopher Wren receives a Royal Warrant to build St Paul's Cathedral in May.
1675
George Sawbridge is elected Master of Stationers' Company .
1675
Motivated by political reasons, King Charles II passes a royal proclamation in order to shut down all coffee houses. This was later overturned.
1676
Abel Roper is elected Master of Stationers' Company.
1676
Sir Thomas Davis, a member of Stationers' Company, is elected Lord Mayor of London.
1677
Robert White is elected Master of Stationers' Company.
1678
Roger Norton is elected Master of Stationers' Company. He is re-elected in 1682, 1683, 1684 and 1687.
1678
Several new ordinances passed, specifying dress, comportment, Company structure, and more.
1679
Samuel Mearne is elected Master of Stationers' Company. He is re-elected in 1681 and 1682.
1679
In October, a royal proclamation "For the Suppressing of Seditious and Treasonable Books and Pamphlets" is issued which offers a forty pound reward for anyone who discovers the printer or author of a seditious book or pamphlet.
1679
Licensing Act of 1662 lapses: The act is strictly enforced for a period of three years, before the years of the Great Plague causes it to slacken. It lapses in in 1679.
1680
John Macock is elected Master of Stationers' Company.
1681
Thomas Vere and Samuel Mearne are both elected Master of Stationers' Company.
1681
John Garret is appointed Clerk to Stationers' Company.
1683
Roger Norton is elected Master of Stationer's Company on 30 June.
1684
Roger Norton is re-elected Master of Stationers' Company on 5 July.
1684
Charles II issues a new charter to the Company, this time including an oath of allegiance to himself.
1684
Following on from the destruction of the church in the Great Fire of London, St-Martin-within-Ludgate completes it rebuild from a design by Sir Christopher Wren.
1685
Henry Herringman is elected Master of Stationers' Company on 4 July.
1685
James II becomes King on 6 February and is crowned on 23 April.
1686
John Bullinger is elected Master of Stationers' Company on 3 July. He is re-elected in 1693.
1687
Henry Hills is elected Master of Stationers' Company on 12 October.
1688
Henry Hills is re-elected Master of Stationers' Company on 30 June and stays in the post for less than five months.
1688
John Towse is elected Master of Stationers' Company on 27 November.
1689
Mary II becomes Queen on 13 February, with William III co-reigning as King. Both are crowned on 11 April.
1689
Edward Brewster is elected Master of Stationers' Company on 6 July. He is re-elected in 1692.
1690
A month after Brewster is re-elected, Ambrose Isted takes his place as Master of Stationers' Company after previously serving as Under-Warden.
1692
Christopher Grandorge is appointed Clerk to Stationers' Company.
1694
John Simms is elected Master of Stationers' Company. He is re-elected in 1695.
1695
Parliament decides to not renew the Licensing Act of 1662, effectively removing the Stationers' Company control and monopoly of the press and printing.
1696
Henry Mortlock is elected Master of Stationers' Company. He is re-elected in 1697.
1697
Simon Beckley is appointed Clerk to Stationers' Company
1698
Robert Clavell is elected Master of Stationers' Company. He is re-elected the following year.
1700
William Phillips is elected Master of Stationers' Company. He is re-elected in 1701, 1702, 1709, 1710, 1711 and 1712.
1702
Anne succeeds as Queen: Anne is crowned Queen on 23 April.
1703
Thomas Parkhurst is elected Master of Stationers' Company.
1703
Buckingham Palace, known as Buckingham House, is built In Westminster.
1704
Richard Simpson is elected Master of Stationers' Company. He is re-elected the following year.
1705
The Queen's theatre, currently known as Her Majesty's Theatre, is established by John Vanbrugh on Haymarket.
1706
Walter Kettilby is elected Master of Stationers' Company.
1707
Edward Darrel is elected Master of Stationers' Company.
1707
The kingdoms of England and Scotland becomes one united kingdom, including the creation of a single Parliament of Great Britain.
1708
Charles Harper is elected Master of Stationers' Company.
1709
The company is granted a royal charter on 19 April.
1710
Parliament passes the Copyright Act of 1709, the first copyright act which allowed for copyright to be regulated by the government rather than private parties.
1710
Christopher Wren's son places the final stone on the cathedral. The total cost of building the new cathedral was £850,000.