William of Orange lands at Brixham, proceeds to Exeter and holds court at the Deanery, while James II, the last English King to try to govern without Parliament, flees to France, dropping the Great Seal of England in the Thames on the way.

Many devout members of the Church of England (e.g. George Hickes, scholar and Dean of Wells) and the Scottish Episcopal Church refuse to accept William and form the body known as the Nonjurors. The schism was largely ended in 1788, when Charles Edward Stuart, also known as Bonnie Prince Charlie, died in exile, and they recognised the Hanovarian George III as their rightful Monarch.