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  • This week in history 13 – 19 November

    On this day in history…

    13th November:

    1536 – Murder of Robert Pakington, mercer and member of Parliament, at Cheapside, while making his way to mass at St Thomas of Acre Chapel.
    1537 – Burial of Jane Seymour, Henry VIII’s third wife, at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle. Henry VIII’s daughter, Mary, acted as chief mourner.
    1553 – Lady Jane Grey, her husband Guildford Dudley, his brothers Ambrose and Henry, and Archbishop Thomas Cranmer were tried for treason at a public trial at London’s Guildhall. They were all found guilty as charged, with the men being sentenced to being hanged, drawn and quartered, and Jane to be burned alive, or beheaded.
    1601 – Burial of Lady Mary Ramsey (née Dale), famous philanthropist, at Christ Church in London.
    1612 – Death of Sir George Carew, administrator, member of Parliament and diplomat, from typhus at his home in Tothill Street, Westminster, London. He was buried at St Margaret’s Church, Westminster. Carew’s served as secretary to Lord Chancellor Hatton and served Elizabeth I and James I as an ambassador.

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  • The Prayer Book Rebellion 1549

    The Prayer Book Rebellion was a rebellion that took place in the south-west of England in the summer of 1549, in the reign of King Edward VI.

    Henry VIII, Edward VI’s father and the previous monarch, had broken with Rome in the 1530s and had been declared the Supreme Head of the Church in England. Although Henry had died a Catholic, the break had brought religious changes to the country and these had become more Protestant when his young son came to the throne.

    In 1549, the Book of Common Prayer, which had been composed mainly by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer and which was the official liturgy of Edward VI’s Protestant Church, was introduced into England. It was in English and it replaced the Catholic Mass that the English people were used to celebrating. You can read more about the Book of Common Prayer in Beth von Staats’ excellent article – click here. This change wasn’t embraced by all of the English people and in the summer of 1549, there was trouble in Devon and Cornwall. The rebels called for the rebuilding of abbeys, the restoration of the Six Articles, the restoration of prayers for souls in purgatory, the policy of only the bread being given to the laity and the use of Latin for the mass.

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  • 9 June 1549 – First use of the Book of Common Prayer

    It was on this day in history, 9th June 1549, at Whitsun (Pentecost) services around the country that the Book of Common Prayer was first used.

    This prayer book was the official liturgy of Edward VI’s Protestant Church and was composed mainly by Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury. It was written in English and it replaced the traditional Latin mass. It was revised in 1552.

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  • This week in history 20 – 26 February

    On this day in history…

    20th February

    1516 – Baptism of Princess Mary, the future Mary I, in the Church of the Observant Friars at Greenwich. The princess was carried to the font by the Countess of Surrey, and her godparents were Catherine Courtenay, Countess of Devon and daughter of Edward IV; Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury and daughter of George, Duke of Clarence; the Duchess of Norfolk and Cardinal Thomas Wolsey. Click here to read more.
    1523 – Hanging of Agnes Hungerford, Lady Hungerford, at Tyburn. Agnes was hanged, with her servant William Mathewe, after they were found guilty of murdering Agnes’s first husband, John Cotell. It was said that Agnes arranged for her servants, William Mathewe and William Ignes, to strangle Cotell in 1518. Mathewe and Ignes were found guilty of murder ‘by the procurement and abetting of Agnes Hungerford’, and Agnes was found guilty of inciting and abetting the murder. Ignes was hanged at a later date. Agnes was buried at Grey Friars, London.
    1547 – Edward VI was crowned King at Westminster Abbey by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer. Edward VI was the first monarch to be anointed as Supreme Head of the English Church. Click here to read more about his coronation.

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  • 20 February 1547 – Nine-year-old Edward VI is crowned king

    On this day in history, 20th February 1547, the nine-year-old son of the late King Henry VIII was crowned King Edward VI by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer at Westminster Abbey.

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  • 9 February 1555 – The burnings of Bishop John Hooper and Archdeacon Rowland Taylor

    On this day in history, 9th February 1555, the burnings of two prominent Protestant churchmen took place.

    John Hooper, Bishop of Gloucester and Worcester, was burned at the stake in Gloucester. He had been deprived of his bishopric in March 1554, due to his marriage. Rowland Taylor, Rector of Hadleigh in Suffolk, Canon of Rochester Cathedral, Archdeacon of Bury St Edmunds, Archdeacon of Cornwall and former chaplain to Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, was burned on Aldham Common, near Hadleigh. Both men were executed as part of Queen Mary I’s persecution of Protestants.

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  • This week in history 7-13 November

    On this day in history events for 7th – 13th November:

    7 November:

    1485 – Richard III and his supporters were attainted at Henry VII’s first Parliament. Click here to read more.
    1541 – Archbishop Thomas Cranmer and the Duke of Norfolk went to Hampton Court Palace to interrogate Queen Catherine Howard, and to arrange that she should be confined to her chambers there. Click here to read more.
    1557 – Death of Sir John Arundell of Lanherne. He was buried at St Mawgan Church. Arundell served Henry VIII as Sheriff of Cornwall and Commander of troops against the rebels during the Pilgrimage of Grace. He also served in France in 1544. During Edward VI’s reign, in 1549, he was imprisoned after John, Baron Russell, accused him of refusing to raise troops and of ordering the mass to be performed. He was released in June 1552.
    1565 – Death of Sir Edward Warner, soldier, member of Parliament and Lieutenant of the Tower of London during the reigns of Edward VI and Elizabeth I. He was the gaoler of Katherine Seymour (née Grey), Countess of Hertford, who had been imprisoned for secretly marrying Edward Seymour, Earl of Hertford. Warner died in Norfolk and was buried at Little Plumstead Church in the county.
    1568 – Baptism of Dunstan Gale, poet and author of “Pyramus and Thisbe”, at St Giles Cripplegate, London.
    1581 – Death of Richard Davies, scholar and Bishop of St David’s, in Abergwili, Carmarthenshire, in the bishop’s palace. He was a friend of Matthew Parker, Archbishop of Canterbury, and undertook translations of parts of the Bible.
    1603 – Burial of Robert Allot, literary compiler, bookseller, poet and editor of the 1599 “Wits Theater” and the 1600 “Englands Parnassus”, at St Ann Blackfriars.

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  • God’s Kingdom Awaits: The Death of Henry VIII by Beth von Staats

    As today is the anniversary of the death of King Henry VIII in 1547, Beth von Staats, Tudor Life magazine contributor and author of Thomas Cranmer in a Nutshell, has written a very moving piece of fiction about Henry VIII’s final days from the viewpoint of Thomas Cranmer. I do hope you enjoy it.

    It is time for the Lord to act; they have frustrated Your law.  ~~~ Psalm 119:126

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  • 16 October 1555 – The Burnings of Bishops Ridley and Latimer

    he burnings of two of the Oxford martyrs: Hugh Latimer, Bishop of Worcester, and Nicholas Ridley, Bishop of London took place on this day in 1555, in the reign of the Catholic Mary I. The two men, along with Thomas Cranmer, who was burnt at the stake on the 21st March 1556, are known as the Oxford Martyrs and their lives and deaths are commemorated in Oxford by Martyrs’ Memorial, a stone monument just outside Balliol College and near to the execution site, which was completed in 1843. A cross of stones set into the road in Broad Street marks the site of their burnings.

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  • Martin Bucer, a Reformer who wanted Peace

    A German portrait of Martin Bucer

    On the night of 28th February 1551, a man who had spent his life fighting for religious reform took his last breath in Cambridge. His name was Martin Bucer—a theologian, a reformer, and a man whose influence stretched across Europe.
    But even in death, his struggles weren’t over. Six years after his burial, his body was dug up, put on trial for heresy, and publicly burned in Cambridge along with his works.

    So, who was Martin Bucer? Why was he considered such a threat that even his bones had to be destroyed? And why is he remembered today as a key figure in the Protestant Reformation?

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  • The Executions of Queen Catherine Howard and Jane Boleyn, Lady Rochford

    Catherine Howard

    On this day in Tudor history, 13th February 1542, Catherine Howard, the fifth wife of Henry VIII, and Jane Boleyn, Lady Rochford, were executed at the Tower of London.

    Their crime?

    Treason against the king – but was Catherine guilty of more than youthful indiscretion? And why was Jane condemned alongside her?

    The story of Catherine Howard is one of ambition, betrayal, and a tragic downfall. A young queen who once captured the heart of Henry VIII, she would ultimately face the same fate as her infamous cousin, Anne Boleyn. But Catherine’s downfall wasn’t just about her past—her secret meetings with Thomas Culpeper proved to be her undoing.

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  • A Tudor Power Grab

    Henry VIII, Edward VI, and Edward Seymour

    Henry VIII, one of England’s most famous monarchs, died on 28th January 1547 at the age of 55. His death, however, was not announced to the public immediately.

    Why?

    Well, the delay allowed his closest advisors and executors to figure out their next steps and secure their positions in this sudden transition of power.

    Henry’s death was formally announced three days later, on this day in Tudor history, 31st January 1547, by Thomas Wriothesley, his Lord Chancellor. Chronicler and Windsor Herald Charles Wriothesley recorded the momentous occasion, describing how the proclamation was made in Westminster Hall by Garter King of Arms and other heralds, declaring Edward VI as King of England, France, and Ireland, Supreme Head of the Church, and Defender of the Faith.

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  • #OTD in Tudor history – 21 December

    Stained glass window depicting Jasper Tudor and his wife, Catherine Woodville

    On this day in Tudor history, Henry VII’s uncle and mentor, Jasper Tudor, Duke of Bedford and Earl of Pembroke, died (1495), and the Feast of St Thomas the Apostle (or Didymus or Doubting Thomas) was celebrated…

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  • #OTD in Tudor history – 13 November

    Lady Jane Grey and Archbishop Thomas Cranmer

    On this day in Tudor history, 13th November, mercer and member of Parliament Robert Packington was shot to death by an unknown assailant (1536); and Lady Jane Grey and her husband, Lord Guildford Dudley, two of his brothers, and Archbishop Cranmer were tried for treason…

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  • #OTD in Tudor history – 8 November

    Portraits of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon

    On this day in Tudor history, 8th November, Henry VIII made a rather strange speech explaining his troubled conscience about his marriage to Catherine of Aragon (1528); and scholar, literary patron and chamberlain to Catherine of Aragon, William Blount, 4th Baron Mountjoy, died at Sutton on the Hill (1534)…

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  • #OTD in Tudor history – 21 September

    Lettice Knollys and Robert Dudley

    On this day in Tudor history, 21st September, theologian and chaplain Henry Pendleton, a man known for changing his faith, was buried; and Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, married Lettice Devereux in secret…

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  • #OTD in Tudor history – 8 August

    Photo of Edward VI's grave marker and a portrait of Edward VI

    On this day in Tudor history, Margaret Tudor married James IV of Scotland at Holyroodhouse; Edward VI was buried at Westminster Abbey in a Protestant service; and Elizabeth I accepted the Earl of Leicester’s invitation to visit the troops at Tilbury Fort…

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  • #OTD in Tudor history – 16 July

    Burning of Anne Askew and the Louvre portrait of Anne of Cleves

    On this day in Tudor history, Frances Grey (née Brandon), Duchess of Suffolk, was born; Anne Askew was burnt at the stake for heresy with two others; and Anne of Cleves, Henry VIII’s fourth wife, died at Chelsea Old Manor…

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  • #OTD in Tudor history – 30 June

    Portraits of Henry VIII, Catherine Howard, and Henry II of France

    On this day in Tudor history, Henry VIII and Catherine Howard set off on their ill-fated progress to the North; and keen sportsman, King Henry II of France, suffered a mortal head wound while jousting…

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  • #OTD in Tudor history – 9 June

    Portrait of William Paget and the frontispiece of The Book of Common Prayer

    On this day in Tudor history, 9th June, William Courtenay, 1st Earl of Devon, died; the Book of Common Prayer was used in English churches for the first time; and diplomat and administrator William Paget, 1st Baron Paget, died…

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  • #OTD in Tudor history – 28 May

    Painting of the Spanish Armada and an engraving of the gallows at Tyburn

    On this day in Tudor history, 28th May, Archbishop Cranmer, proclaimed the validity of Henry VIII’s marriage to Anne Boleyn; three Catholic priests were executed for a plot that may not have been real; and the Spanish Armada set sail from Lisbon in Portugal bound for the Spanish Netherlands…

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  • #OTD in Tudor history – 23 May

    Portraits of a young Elizabeth I, Henry VIII and Archbishop Cranmer

    On this day in Tudor history, 23rd May, Henry Grey was finally installed as a Knight of the Garter; Elizabeth (future Elizabeth I) arrived as Woodstock, where she was to be kept under house arrest; and Henry VIII’s first marriage was finally annulled…

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  • #OTD in Tudor history – 19 May

    Photo of the White Tower and a miniature of Anne Boleyn

    On this day in Tudor history, Queen Anne Boleyn was executed at the Tower of London; Henry VIII was issued a dispensation to marry wife number 3, the future Elizabeth I was released from the Tower of London into house arrest; and it’s the Feast of St Dunstan…

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  • #OTD in Tudor history – 17 May

    Portraits of Edward Stafford, Duke of Buckingham, and Anthony Bacon

    On this day in Tudor history, 17th May, Edward Stafford, Duke of Buckingham, was executed for treason; five men were executed as traitors for their involvement with Queen Anne Boleyn; and Elizabethan spy Anthony Bacon was buried…

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  • #OTD in Tudor history – 3 May

    An illumination of Cecilly Neville, and portraits of Anne Boleyn and Thomas Cranmer

    On this day in history, 3rd May, Cecily Neville, Duchess of York and mother of Edward IV and Richard III, was born; Archbishop Cranmer wrote of his shock about the investigation into Anne Boleyn; Sir Edward Rogers, a man who served three Tudor monarchs, died; and poet and farmer Thomas Tusser died…

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  • #OTD in Tudor history – 27 April

    Portraits of Henry VIII, Thomas Cranmer and Anne Boleyn

    On this day in Tudor history, 27th April, writs were issued summoning Parliament and a bishop consulted about Henry VIII abandoning Anne Boleyn; Elizabethan lawyer and judge David Lewis died; and adventurer Sir Edward Michelborne died…

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  • #OTD in Tudor history – 21 March

    An engraving of the burning of Archbishop Cranmer and a portrait of him

    On this day in Tudor history, 21st March, Puritan Sir John Leveson, a man who helped put down Essex’s Rebellion, was born; Archbishop Cranmer was burnt at the stake in Oxford for heresy; and a dying Elizabeth I took to her bed…

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  • #OTD in Tudor history – 20 February

    Portrait of Edward VI

    On this day in Tudor history, 20th February, Mary I was baptised, Lady Agnes Hungerford was hanged for murder, Edward VI was crowned king at Westminster Abbey, and Anne Herbert (née Parr), Countess of Pembroke, died…

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  • #OTD in Tudor history – 14 February

    Portraits of Sir Nicholas Carew and an older Henry VIII

    On this day in Tudor history, 14th February, former royal favourite Sir Nicholas Carew was found guilty of treason, Henry VIII’s coffin leaked yucky stuff, fulfilling a prophecy, and “William Waste-all” died…

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  • #OTD in Tudor History – 9 February

    A portrait of Lady Jane Grey and a coloured engraving of Bishop John Hooper

    On this day in Tudor history, 9th February, Jane Boleyn, Lady Rochford, was taken to the Tower of London, Lady Jane Grey’s execution was postponed, and a prominent bishop was burnt at the stake for heresy…

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