The Court of High Commission was the supreme ecclesiastic court in England. One of its powers was to license plays for publication. It was instituted by the crown in the 16th century. John Whitgift, the Archbishop of Canterbury, obtained increased powers for the Court by the 1580s. He proposed and had passed the Seditious Sectaries Act 1593, thus making Puritanism an offence. The Court reached the height of its powers during the Reformation and was finally dissolved by the Long Parliament in 1641. The court was convened at will by the sovereign, and had near unlimited power over civil as well as church matters.
One such court was created by King James II on 27 July 1686, which lasted until 26 August 1688.
Dissolution by the Triennial Act
The Court of High Commission was dissolved by the Triennial Act, passed by Parliament in 1641. The Triennial Act held that the Crown summon Parliament every three years. It also impeached archbishop William Laud, who had been supported by Charles I. Laud's new ideas and prayers had upset the Scots, and when Charles was refused an army from Parliament, which did not trust him, he created his own. This led in part to the English Civil War.