Stained glass with reference to Henry Langley, Master of Pembroke

A passionate Puritan, Henry Langley was made Master of Pembroke College by Parliament in 1647. He was expelled in 1660 on the Restoration of Charles II. Both these events had a wider significance. Langley was just one of many imposed on the colleges by Parliament as it sought to reform the University. Dozens of Fellows were expelled by a Commission from 1647 onward and new heads of house were found for almost all the colleges. Langley was also representative in being himself expelled when the monarchy returned. He remained in and around Oxford until his death in 1679, teaching and preaching to the end. But the triumph of Anglican Orthodoxy meant he was never allowed to return to the University.

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