In 1536 an act was passed closing the lesser monasteries worth less than £200 per year. By September there were three groups of commissioners in Lincolnshire i)commissioners to dissolve the monasteries, ii) commissioners to collect a subsidy and iii) commissioners to investigate the fitness of the clergy for their jobs. There were lots of rumours about church plate being stolen, that taxes were to be levied on all horned cattle, that there would be new taxes for baptisms, marriages and burials…there were other even wilder rumours. An atmosphere of suspicion and panic began to brew. It didn’t help that the monasteries were the organisations which provided alms and medical care to the poorest members of society. The gentry and northern nobility had their own grievances. Thomas Cromwell, the king’s chief minister was busy reducing the power of landowners. Inflation continued to rise. Basically the north was not a happy place and men had just about had enough of their king playing with their long established beliefs.

The Lincolnshire Rising turns into the Pilgrimage of Grace.

• 1 October 1536 – Thomas Kendall, Vicar of St. James’ Church, Louth, preached a sermon which made his listeners believe that the church, of which they were very proud because of its spire, and their beliefs were in danger.
• 2 October 1536 – The ordinary people of Louth, led by shoemaker Nicholas Melton (Captain Cobbler), seized John Heneage, the Bishop of Lincoln’s registrar, as he tried to read out Thomas Cromwell’s commission to the townspeople. His papers were ripped from his hands and burned.
• 3 October 1536 – 3,000 men marched from Louth to Caistor and seized the King’s subsidy commissioners (remember a subsidy is a tax that doesn’t conform to the accepted fifteenths and tenths).
• 4 October 1536 – Trouble in Horncastle. Thomas Wulcey (or Wolsey), one of Cromwell’s men, and Dr Raynes, the chancellor of the Bishop of Lincoln were murdered by the rebels. Articles of complaint were drawn up by the gentry, Sheriff Edward Dymmoke and his brother, and then presented them to the gathered crowd. The rising until then was inspired by the commons but now the gentry took their place as captains of the ordinary people. They objected to the dissolution of the religious houses, the grant to the king of the tenths and first-fruits of spiritual benefices ( a clerical tax that usually went to Rome), the rise of Thomas Cromwell and Richard Rich onto the King’s Council and the promotion of archbishops and bishops who they felt “subverted the faith of Christ”. The rebels then decided to march to Lincoln Cathedral. In north Lincolnshire the gentry called out the wapentakes for which they were responsible – the administrative system was turned against the king.
• 7 October 1536 – Rebels from Horncastle, Louth and other Lincolnshire towns met at Lincoln Cathedral. There were between 10,000 and 20,000 men. Peers loyal to the king discovered that their tenants would not join forces against the rebels. The clergy of Lincolnshire, in particular Barlings and Kirkstead, also did did their part to rouse the commons. Without the gentry and the clergy, the king was not able to use the administrative system to put down the rebellion locally.
• 8 October 1536 – Lawyer Robert Aske roused the people of Beverley in Yorkshire to the same cause as the Lincolnshire rebels – calling on them to maintain the ‘Holy Church’.
• 9 October 1536 – The rebels in Lincoln sent their petition of grievances to the King, and also sent messengers into Yorkshire. The rebellion began to spread throughout Yorkshire.
• 10 October 1536 – Robert Aske, a lawyer, was named the leader of the rebels in West Yorkshire, which now joined in with the uprising.
• 11 October 1536 – The King’s herald arrived at Lincoln with the King’s reply. He wasn’t amused and told them to go home unless they wanted to be found guilty of treason. If they didn’t he would send an army commanded by the Duke of Suffolk. Many of the rebels went home – they didn’t fancy being hanged, drawn and quartered.
• 13 October 1536 – Lord Darcy reported that the whole of Yorkshire was in rebellion and the following day rebels gathered in York.
• 15 October 1536 – Henry VIII wrote to his commanders, the Earl of Shrewsbury and the Duke of Suffolk with orders and also sent another message to the rebels in Lincolnshire promising to show them mercy if they left their weapons and went home.
• 19 October 1536 – Henry VIII wrote to the Duke of Suffolk ordering him to destroy Louth. He also wrote to the Earl of Derby, giving him instructions for the Abbey of Salley in Lancashire – which was to be recaptured, the rebellion put down and all the traitors executed including the abbot and the monks.
• 20 October 1536 – Lord Darcy handed Pontefract Castle to the rebels, or pilgrims as they were known. The castle’s inhabitants – which included Lord Darcy and Edmund Lee, Archbishop of York swore the rebel oath.
• 21 October 1536 – Robert Aske refused to allow the Lancaster Herald at Pontefract Castle read out the proclamation explaining that the Lincolnshire rebels had submitted. Instead, Aske announced that the rebels would march on London.
• 25 October 1536 – Four chaplains of Poverty were appointed by the Pilgrimage of Grace rebels to instruct them in the true Catholic faith. A mass, known as the Captains’ Mass was performed at Penrith Church and again on the following day.
• 26 October 1536 – The rebels stopped near Doncaster, where they met troops commanded by the Duke of Norfolk. There were about 50,000 pilgrims by then while the duke only had about 8,000 men. But Robert Aske who always declared his loyalty to the Crown preferred to negotiate. He wanted to make it clear that they did not object to the king but they did object to the changes he was making to religion.
• November 1536 – Norfolk promised, on behalf of Henry VIII that the people’s demands would be met and that they would be pardoned. Aske then dismissed his troops.
• 3rd December 1536 – A proclamation was made to the rebels of the Pilgrimage of Grace offering them a pardon. They hurried home to celebrate Christmas – little realising that the king had no intention of keeping his word and that someone had kept a list of all the gentry involved with the pilgrimage, whether they joined willingly or not….

There’s 2 more parts to the Pilgrimage of Grace – but to get you thinking, these are the kinds of question that sixteen year olds are being asked for their history exam where a working knowledge of the Pilgrimage of Grace is useful:

Have ideas, such as equality and democracy, been the main reason for protest in Britain?
Explain your answer with reference to ideas and other factors.
Use a range of examples from across your study of Power and the people: c1170 to the
present day. (16 marks)

Has religion been the main factor in causing protest in Britain since Medieval times?
Explain your answer with reference to religion and other factors.
Use a range of examples from across your study of Britain: Power and the People: c1170
to the present day. (16 marks)

And for those of you who would like to know more about The Pilgrimage of Grace – click on the picture to open a new tab.