 <unk> the king , between 12 February and 20 April 1642 , each county delegation of England in Commons chose two divines , in addition to two for each county of Wales , four for London , and two for each University ( Oxford and Cambridge ) . County <unk> often chose divines from their own county , but not always . Commons chose the members in this way to ensure that their local constituencies were represented in the decision . The House of Lords , Parliament 's upper house , added another fourteen names on 14 May , to which Commons agreed . Meanwhile , relations continued to deteriorate between the king and Parliament . Charles raised the royal standard at Nottingham on 22 August , marking the beginning of the First English Civil War . The start of the war lent support to the cause of the Assembly in Parliament , because holding it would convince the Scots that Parliament was serious about reforming the church and induce the Scots to come to their aid . On the other hand , the war added strain to the already busy Parliament . 
