- 10 January – England and the Dutch Republic sign a mutual alliance against France.[1]
- 21 March – Thomas Shadwell's comedy A True Widow is given its first performance, at The Duke's Theatre in London, staged by the Duke's Company.
- 31 May – the Godiva Procession, a commemoration held in honour of Lady Godiva's legendary 11th century naked horseback ride through the streets of Coventry in protest against her husband's treatment of the citizens, begins.
- 6 September – Titus Oates first presents sworn allegations of the "Popish Plot", a supposed Catholic conspiracy to assassinate King Charles II.[2] On 28 September before the Privy Council he makes allegations against numerous Jesuits and Catholic nobles. Oates applies the term Tory to those who disbelieve his allegations.
- 17 October – magistrate Sir Edmund Berry Godfrey is found murdered in Primrose Hill, London. Titus Oates claims it as a proof of his allegations.[2]
- 25 October – five Catholic peers accused of involvement in the "Popish Plot" are arrested at the instance of the House of Commons and committed to the Tower of London. On 1 November, impeachment proceedings begin.
- 26 November – William Staley, a Catholic banker, becomes the first person to be executed in connection with the "Popish Plot".
- 3 December – the Test Act provides that members of both the House of Lords and House of Commons must swear an anti-Catholic oath before taking office.
- Second Burying in Woollen Act, to support the home textile industry, more rigidly enforced.[3]
