[1] When the petition was debated in the House of Commons, the call for radical reforms in the Church of England was supported by Henry Vane and Nathaniel Fiennes, among others.

[7] The first reading of the bill was moved by Edward Dering, not because he agreed with it, but because he thought the radical idea of abolishing the episcopacy would force the passage of the more moderate Clergy Act.

[11] After lengthy debates, the bill was eventually defeated in August 1641, dying without a vote as more critical matters began to occupy Parliament.

[14] In January 1642, Charles I fled London, accompanied by many Royalist MPs and Lords; this gave the anti-episcopal faction a majority in both houses, and the bill became law in February 1642.

[16] Following the end of the First Civil War, the aims of the Root and Branch Bill were ultimately achieved in October 1646, when Parliament passed the Ordinance for the abolishing of Archbishops and Bishops in England and Wales and for settling their lands and possessions upon Trustees for the use of the Commonwealth.