The Impact of the Reformation in English Parishes c.1534-c.1550

1534-45 – Development and Changes in Religious Policy under Henry VIII

• The Act of Supremacy in 1534 gave the king specific powers within the Church
  • He had rights of visitation, the right to discipline and correct preachers, the right to supervise doctrine and the right to try heretics
  • The Treasons Act made it an offence to even speak against the king or his supremacy of the Church
• The reformers, introduced to Henry by the Boleyns, persuaded him to provide and English Bible for every Church
  • Henry agreed with Erasmus about the idea that ordinary people have the right to study the Bible themselves
  • The clergy was weary of this idea because it meant that they may be challenged
• Anne Boleyn had strongly influenced Henry, so when she fell, reforms slowed
  • Henry allowed the Ten Articles to be published in 1536 and a year later ‘The Institution of the Christian Man’ (The Bishop’s Book) was published which set out the key features of Henry’s Church of England
    • This did not go as far as reformers had hoped
  • There are suggestions that Henry simply intended to reform and strengthen the Catholic Church, not establish a Protestant Church
• In his later years, Henry was influenced by nobles at court so Catholic principles were re-established
• In 1539, the Duke of Norfolk and the Bishop of Durham, wrote the Act of the Six Articles
  • They reaffirmed the importance of confession, the value of private masses, belief in transubstantiation and the importance of the clergy’s celibacy
  • This led to the resignation of Hugh Latimer and another Bishop
• Cromwell had been extremely powerful but was executed in July 1540
  • Just after, three leading reformers were burned for heresy
  • Three Catholic supporters of Catherine of Aragon were also burned
• ‘The Necessary Doctrine and Erudition for Any Christian Man’ (The King’s Book) was published in 1543 to replace The Bishop’s Book from 1537
  • Henry wrote it to lay out the revised teachings of the Church of England
  • He reasserted a belief in transubstantiation and rejected the reformist belief of justification by faith alone
• In 1543, Henry issued the Act for the Advancement of True Religion which forbade members of the lower classes and all women below the gentry to read the Bible
• In 1545, Henry issued the first Chantries Act to mark the final stage of the dissolution of the monasteries
  • This said that the wealth and land of the chantries had been wrongfully donated and would pass to the crown
• Henry was between traditional and reformist ideas and his personal beliefs defined how far Church reform would go

1547-52 – Development and Changes in Religious Policy under Edward VI

• Edward VI was nine years old when Henry died in January 1547
  • Henry has appointed 12 men as Edward’s advisors until he was 18
    • Most were Protestant reformers but two were particularly opposed to reform
    • It was led by the Duke of Somerset, Edward’s uncle, and he began a series of Protestant reforms
•  In July 1547, a series of Royal Injunctions was issued, ordering all clergy to perform their spiritual duties
  • This was not particularly reformist as the council believed it better to gradually introduce changes
  • It banned the worship of images, the sprinkling of holy water and religious processions
  • Priests had to read out a doctrine of justification by faith alone to their congregations
  • Bishops Stephen Gardiner and Edmund Bonner were imprisoned when they protested against these measures
• In 1547, Somerset introduced another Chantry Act which ordered them to be closed down
  • There were 2374 chantries in England which provided education and practical support as well as prayer services
  • This was an extension of the dissolution of the monasteries
  • It was a religious measure as the reformers were against the idea of praying for souls in purgatory
  • It was also a financial measure as it brought in £600 000 and many chantries were privately sold
  • Some chantries became grammar schools but most of the money was taken by Edward’s advisers
• Edward VI’s first parliament led by Thomas Cranmer repealed Henry VIII’s Act of Six Articles and issued the Royal Proclamations in 1548
  • This ordered the removal of altars, sculptures and rood screens in all churches
  • This destruction of holy images and relics is known as iconoclasm and it was intended to rid England of Catholic symbols
  • This also ended popular festivals including Candlemas and Good Friday
  • A law was passed that allowed priests to marry
• The Book of Common Prayer was introduced in 1549 and Cranmer led the committee that compiled it
  • It was written in English rather than Latin, but was generally quite conservative
    • Cranmer feared parishes’ extreme reactions
  • It included a service of Holy Communion, but the wording over the sacrament could be interpreted in Catholic or Protestant ways
  • Its introduction was widely unpopular and provoked the Western Rebellion
    • Somerset was blamed for this so fell from power and was executed in 1552
• The Duke of Northumberland replaced the Duke of Sussex, and began a clearer drive towards Protestantism
  • In January 1550, laws were passed which encouraged the defacing of images and abolished old service books, which had to be handed in for destruction
  • A Second Act of Uniformity required everybody in England to attend Church on Sundays
  • In 1552, a more radical prayer book was issued; it was deeply controversial but not massively opposed because traditional thinkers had been replaced by more radical ones

1538-53 – Impact on the Fabric of Churches

• The first acts of Henry’s Reformation had little real impact on parish churches
• In 1538, the every parish was forced to purchase a Bible, extinguish all candles in the church except on the altar, remove any images and no longer worship saints or purchase relics
  • In most parish churches, a candle had burned continuously before the image of a saint for years
    • These were a folk ritual paid for by parishioners
  • Existing images of saints continued to be maintained however only one new image was added to any parish church in 1538-53
• In 1547, changes became more dramatic
  • Statues, stained glass and church plate were removed, and the brass, pewter and iron was sold
  • It is said that within three years the ‘campaign against saints’ had triumphed across the country
  • Most church interiors were coated with white lime to cover wall paintings
• In 1550, the order to remove images caused widespread iconoclasm
  • Many relics, statues and images of saints were hidden away
• Edward VI’s changes had to be paid for by each parish
  • Most had to sell off chalices and other valuable items to pay for a pulpit, communion table and whitewashed walls

1540s – Effects on the Clergy

• The dissolution of the chantries devastated the clergy
• Many clerical staff lost their jobs
• The law to ban the selling of church ales in 1547 also affected many clergy, particularly in the West Country, where the ales were an important source of income
• The Crown now took the tithes and any profits from the sale of church goods
  • This meant that parishes lost many sources of revenue
• The majority of the clergy seem to have carries on as best they could, remaining in their posts as local vicars while adapting to the new laws
• Few of them chose to confront or resist the government
• The number of people who chose to join the clergy drastically dropped after the reforms began
  • In the 1540s, no priests were ordained in the dioceses of Chester, Durham and Exeter
  • Even in the great religious centre of Canterbury, there was a drop in the number of serving priests

1534-52 – Enforcement of New Religious Policies

• Henry VIII used his power to make people fear him and his policies
  • The Treasons Act allowed the government to prosecute heretics more easily
  • Cromwell created policies and ensured bishops and priests carried them out
    • He had many people working for him due to his extensive power and people were aware of them, creating an atmosphere of fear
  • Henry VIII wrote to his bishops ordering them to hunt down any clergy preaching radically or evangelically, and to arrest those who presumed to marry
  • Six months after
• Edward VI and his council of advisers also instilled fear in the population
  • The Act of Uniformity in 1553 replaced the First Common Prayer Book with a second, and it was an act of heresy not to use this book
    • Judges were instructed to enforce its usage, but the responsibility really fell on the clergy
    • The government did not want hundreds of people charged with heresy as it could provoke a rebellion, so the priests persuaded people to adopt it
  • The government paid for a ‘Book of Homilies’ which was a series of sermons on key topics, used to help clergy encourage new beliefs
    • Less than 20% of parishes actually bought the book
• The governments also used propaganda to convince people to accept religious reforms
  • There were official declarations, translations, Latin, legal treaties, preaching tracts, pamphlets and poems to win over people from all walks of life
  • Radical preachers also produced their own pamphlets and images to help build a ‘more godly realm’
    • Most imagery produced was allegorical
• During the Reformation, churchwardens often had to meet with representatives of the king and bishops, who instructed them
  • For example, the churchwardens of Yatton, north Somerset, had to attend visitations in 1547, 1548 and 1549, and then report twice to commissioners in 1550
  • The clergy were governed in a new fashion to ensure religious enforcement
• Many traditional Catholic practices continued until being forcible stopped
  • Less than half of churches had not bought an English Bible until the threat of a £2 fine was introduced in 1545

1940s-50s – Response of Ordinary People

• London was different from anywhere else in England as it was the centre of commerce and government
  • Radical ideas spread from reformers gathering there
  • Southern and eastern parts of England, that were close to London and Oxford and Cambridge universities, were more exposed to Protestant ideas
  • Throughout the reformation period over 80% of people maintained their traditional ideas and Catholic beliefs survived
• The evangelistic efforts of preachers also determined the responses of people
  • Powerful and persuasive preachers such as Hugh Latimer and Mathew Price spread ideas in their regions
• When chantries were dissolved, the lives of most people were significantly impacted
  • At least a quarter of chantry priests had been caring for those in need in the local community
    • This was especially true in northern England
  • Chantry priests also worked as teachers, so education suffered
  • Some chantries were saved by selling them back to their congregations
    • In Lancashire, land became unaccounted for as parishioners attempted to conceal chantry lands from commissioners
  • People began to leave money to the poor people rather than to chantries
• In March 1551, commissioners ordered all remaining church plate to be taken away and destroyed
  • Clergy and parishioners were quick to sell off church treasures to avoid theft by the Crown and because they needed money, not because they approved of the reforms
  • In a number of parishes, treasures were hidden
• The Second Act of Uniformity in 1552 openly acknowledged that many people were refusing to attend church services
  • Absenteeism was not new, but occurred on a much larger scale
  • Some people even visited churches in other parishes because they used the old prayer book
• Before the Reformation, 70% of people left money in their will to their parish Church but by Edward’s reign, this fell to 32%
  • People did not trust or value their religion anymore
  • Money was left for poor relief instead
• It was imperative for the gentry to support religious reforms as they were responsible for maintaining peace in towns and villages
• John Scudamore rose to prominence under Cromwell and was on the council that oversaw the dissolution of the monasteries
  • Despite this, his will revealed that he remained unrepentantly Catholic
    • He left much of his wealth to Jesuit priests, who were trying to bring Catholicism back to England
    • He left many books to students at Oxford University who were known Catholics
• Sir George Throckmorton was a pious Catholic with estates in Warwickshire
  • He went on pilgrimages, paid for masses for his soul, paid for a chantry to be set up and funded the education of his tenants’ children
  • He was Justice of Peace and was loyal to the king despite being imprisoned several times for meeting with papists
  • His will revealed that despite his loyalty to the Crown, he was still a devout Catholic
    • He bequeathed his soul to ‘Almighty God my maker and redeemer’ and hoped to dwell amongst saints’ company in heaven

1548-49 – Resistance and Protest

• The first demonstration of discontent with the religious reforms under Edward VI took place in April 1548 in Cornwall
  • A group of men murdered Archdeacon William Body who had been carrying out a visitation to ensure church images had been destroyed
  • Ten of the ringleaders were hanged, and peace was restored
• The Book of Common Prayer was issued in 1549, leading to a full-scale rebellion, known as ‘The Prayer Book Rebellion’ or ‘The Western Rebellion’ breaking out in Devon and Cornwall
  • Religious factors were central to the rebellion but other factors, such as ‘Sheep Tax’ contributed to the discontent
• The rebels demanded a return to the religious practices that had been accepted under Henry VIII
• A major landowner, Humphrey Arundell, led the rebels in Cornwall
  • They marched under the banner of the Five Wounds of Christ, just as rebels had done during the Pilgrimage of Grace in 1536
  • By June 1549, a considerable force had gathered and the rising spread to Devon
• Sir Peter Carew was a committed reformer who tried to calm the rebels
• Around 2000 rebels marched to Exeter on 10 July and besieged the city
• Carew was replaced by Lord Russell who brought 8000 men to save Exeter by 14 August
  • Around 4000 people died at the hands of the royal army during the fighting
• Priests believed by the government to have led the rebellion were executed and it was ordered that the clergy had to have a licence issued by Archbishop Cranmer to preach outside their parish, in order to decrease external influence
• There wasn’t actually that much opposition and it’s surprising that there want more
  • People believed changes may be temporary as they had been with Henry VIII
  • The Prayer Book Rebellion was so brutally suppressed that it discouraged future revolts
  • People found ways to demonstrate dissatisfaction such as local landowners or judges refusing to enforce new laws
  • The propaganda won people over
  • Most changes were not obvious enough to cause resistance, but when there were big changes, there was opposition

Explain how religious reform changed the way people worshipped in the 1530s and 1540s. [10]

Explain why there were so many religious reforms between 1534 and 1550. [10]

Explain the effects of religious change on English parishes in the 1530s and 1540s. [10]

Explain why some people resisted religious change in the 1530s and 1540s. [10]

Study Sources 2, 4 and 8. How far do they convince you that religious changes in the 1530s and 1540s were driven by the monarchs themselves? [20]

Study Sources 5, 10 and 11. How far do they convince you that protests against religious reform were organised by devout Catholics? [20]

Study Sources 1, 2 and 9. How far do they convince you that the Reformation was deeply unpopular? [20]