This article is an attempt to study the position of the Church of England in one particular region ± the diocese of London in the south-east of England ± throughout the eighteenth century. It considers three problems which the author came across when ®rst researching the subject several years ago: ®rstly, the social and economic status of parishes; secondly, clerical recruitment and the careers of the clergy; and ®nally, the pastoral life and work of the Church, especially through the corpus of episcopal visitations.