(Bloody Queen Mary 1553 to 1558 - VillageNet History)

Town Wards Local History
( Bloody Queen Mary - 1553AD - 1558AD )
Page created at 08:06 - 07/03/01

Background

The reign of King Henry VIII brought the rift between the Roman Catholic church and the English clergy to a head, and in 1538 he declared that the Protestant religion was the only English religion. The Monsteries the majority of whom were Roman Catholic were destroyed, and much of the Roman Catholic Church in England was outlawed.

The people took to the new religion for the next 15 years, and during this time gained many followers. At the same time the Spanish Inquisition had claimed more victims, and the reports and refugees from the barbarity helped to convert more people to the Protestant religion. To help furrther this religious change King Edward VI backed the publication of the Book of Common Prayer which was created by Archbishop Cranmer.
General

Queen Mary I was of Scottish decent, and of the Roman Catholic faith, she married King Philip II of Spain, was a religious zealot, and on her accession to the throne repealed all the religious laws passed since Henry VIII had set up the Church of England.

Now the religious laws had been changed, the vicars of the country had to change religion again or resign, of which about a quarter of them did. Many of the remainder were looked on as turncoats, however due to Mary's fervent beliefs, anyone expressing these feelings or denying the Roman Catholic faith were looked on as religious heretics , and many of these people were arrested.

It would seem that other events and old scores could be settled by accusing anyone of treason, as others were arrested because of the price they charged for their flour, or were accused of heresy . The fate of many local people was dependent on the tolerance of their Vicar or local Lord, as with most things, some were more tolerant than others.

The unlucky ones were tried at the nearest local assizes, then on being found guilty were burned at the stake in the major towns such as Lewes and Maidstone . However the villages were also involved as in 1556 on the 23rd September four Protestants were burned at the stake in Mayfield .