From its inception what came to be known as the Oxford Movement was always intended to be more than just an abstruse dialogue about the theoretical nature of Anglicanism. Instead, it was meant to spread its ideas not only through college common rooms, but also bishop's palaces, and above all the parsonages of the Church of England. The Oxford Movement in Practice presents an analysis of Tractarianism in the generation after Newman's conversion to Roman Catholicism. While much scholarly work has been done on the Oxford Movement between 1833 and 1845, and on a number of specific individuals or aspects of the Movement after this period, this work adopts a different approach. It examines Tractarianism in the parochial setting, and charts the development of the Movement through its influence on the parishes of the Church of England. George Herring offers detailed explanation of the development of ritualism in the 1860's, and shows how the Ritualists diverted the course the Movement had been taking from 1845.

Discusses the converts who joined the Roman Catholic Church in the middle years of the nineteenth century. This work deals primarily with the ways in which the converts' own lives were affected by their change of religion - how conversion impacted on their relations with family and friends, their work, and their daily life.

This account of the Oxford or Tractarian movement provides essential information to the study of English church history and the history of England during the Victorian era. This book is an up-to-date, scholarly but approachable exploration of the Movement which features primary material from a range of its key members. Herring looks at the relationship beween the Movement and the older, pre-1833 High Church tradition and, crucially, at developments after Newman's departure for Rome in 1845. By placing the Tractarians in the general political and social context of Victorian movements that sought to revitalize England's traditional institutions during a period of urbanization and industrialization, Herring brings new meaning to the movement.