Sacheverell, Henry (c. 1674-1724)

English cleric. In 1710, for having condemned the principles of the Glorious Revolution in his sermons, he was found guilty in a politically motivated sedition trial before the House of Lords. It is probable that this affair contributed to the crushing defeat of the Whigs in the general election of Oct-Nov 1710.

In 1709 Sacheverell delivered two sermons, at Derby and at St Paul's Cathedral, London, in which he expressed extreme High Church and Tory views. The Whig-dominated House of Commons passed a resolution denouncing them as ‘malicious, scandalous and seditious libels’ and Sacheverell was impeached for high crimes and misdemeanours. He was suspended from preaching for three years. This light sentence was regarded as a Tory and High Church victory, and, when Sacheverell set out to take a church benefice in Shropshire, his journey was a continued triumph. On the expiration of the sentence in 1713, Sacheverell preached in London on the Christian triumph, and shortly afterwards Queen Anne arranged for him to become rector of St Andrew, Holborn, London.