As most of the citizens of London had either a near relation or friend in the army of the
Earl of Essex, clergymen were getting overwhelmed with requests to include prayers for these soldiers in their Sunday services. So a group of them agreed to set aside an hour at 7 am, every morning, with half an hour for prayer and half an hour for a broader exhortation of the population. It was started by
Thomas Case the
Presbyterian minister at
St. Mary Magdalen, Milk Street and continued there for a month. The exercises were then taken up by other churches across the
City of London. Shortly after
Westminster Abbey also started to host religious lectures between 6 - 8am, not only for local residents, but also for
Members of Parliament. The preachers here included
Edmund Staunton,
Philip Nye,
Stephen Marshall,
Herbert Palmer,
Charles Herle,
Jeremiah Whitaker and
Thomas Hill. ==At Cripplegate==