I would like to thank all those who have contributed to the preparation of this volume. I am grateful to the Warden and Scholars of New College, Oxford, where the diary is held, for permission to publish it, and to their archive staff, Caroline Dalton and Jennifer Thorp, for their great kindness and helpfulness during my work on transcription. It was Richard Cust, the supervisor of my University of Birmingham PhD thesis, who first grasped the significance of the manuscript and then, with characteristic generosity, passed it to me to work on. I owe him a great debt of gratitude for introducing me to historical research in the first place, and for his generous encouragement and intelligent guidance ever since. It is my great good fortune to have also received every kind of kindly support, and mental stimulation, from another eminent historian, Peter Lake, with whom I have discussed the diary at intervals over the last thirty years. These two have been my main sponsors in the quest to publish the document, and have read and commented on my efforts at all stages. I am grateful to several other friends and contemporaries at the University of Birmingham and at the Institute of Historical Research in London, who discussed aspects of the diary with me at various times. Pauline Croft, Andrew Foster, David Hebb, Nigel Jackson, Ian Palfrey, Victor Stater, and Nicholas Tyacke have all expressed interest and encouragement. I am also grateful to John Morrill, who oversaw the publication of my original article in the Historical Journal. I would like to thank Ken Fincham, Hester Higton, and Ian Archer for their encouragement and patience in preparing the volume, and Ken for his help with Woodford's Latin. Finally, I want to thank Lilian, without whose love and support in very difficult times none of this would have been possible.

The life of Robert Woodford, 1606–1654

‘To worke out my salvacon wth feare’

The holy family

Holy duties and ordinances

The godly community

Godly example

Godly unity?

The godly's relationship with the ungodly

Godly attorney

Religion and current affairs

The diary

The spelling, punctuation, and capitalization of Woodford's diary have been left unchanged as the sense is generally clear. Wellingborough he spells as variations on ‘Wellingborow’; Towcester as ‘Toucester’. Christ (either standing alone or as part of Antichrist) is shortened to ‘Xt’, except in such words as Christian and christened or when forming part of the name Christopher; these he spells as follows: ‘xxian’, ‘xxned’, ‘xxofer’. The only letter that I have altered is his ‘j’, which I have changed to ‘i’ where necessary. In the introduction, Woodford's surname is spelled without a final ‘e’ because this is the way that he spells the word throughout the diary; the only exception to this applies to later generations of the family. Where editorial additions and explanations have been made they appear either in square brackets or in a note. Some of Woodford's abbreviations and contractions have been expanded in this way: Northampton, which he writes ‘Northton’, has been rendered ‘North[amp]ton’.

who ever finds this booke (if lost) I pray be sparinge in looking into it, & send it to Robte Woodford at [crossed out: Northton] Northampton.

20° Augusti. 1637 Sab.[bath]

I prayed alone and I and my deare wife prayed in private this morninge to beseech the Lord for his blessinge uppon the sacrament of Baptisme to our poore child this day that the inward grace might goe a longe with the outward signe &, and that the Lord would make it an Instrument of some service to him in his Church in time to come and a Comfort to us the parents and surely the Lord hath heard us in m[er]cye we prayed not to be hindred in our sanctificacon of his Sabath this day & to order Conveniences &. Mr ffisher preached in the morninge, but my hart somewhat heavy Lord p[ar]don my dulnes.