Historic practices of penance in the Church of England in the 18th century

I was looking at some church records from a local parish just recently. There were several reports from the late 18th century of individuals having to do public penance in church for various sins. (For being drunk in church, sex before marriage etc). There was even a case of public excommunication for a man persistently missing 'Divine Service without reasonable excuse'!

The public penance of the drunkard, after the second lesson of Evensong:

I do humbly confess and acknowledge that I have highly offended Almighty God by coming to this church drunk and behaving indecently, for which I do here in your presence declare my hearty sorrow and penitence, and promise by God's assistance, amendment of life for the future, beseeching God to pardon me and desiring you to pray for me. He was then required to say the Lord's Prayer whilst kneeling.

 

The bit about excommunication for non attendence is insane ,,there is no other word that fits it

 

There were many grounds for excommunication under the old Canons of 1603/4. They make interesting reading. One could even be excommunicated for disagreeing with the 39 Articles. This was regarded as a 'wicked error' and the excommunicate could only be restored by the Archbishop after repentance and public revocation.