Pilgrimage of Grace

(1536) Uprising in the northern counties of England against the Reformation legislation of Henry VIII.

Royal mandates to dissolve the monasteries in the north triggered riots in Lincolnshire and Yorkshire, where 30,000 armed rebels under Robert Aske occupied York, demanding a return to papal obedience and a parliament free from royal influence. Playing for time to assemble enough royal forces to oust the rebels, the 3rd duke of Norfolk made vague promises, and the rebels dispersed, believing they had won, only to be arrested later; about 220 were executed, including Aske.

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▪ English history

      (1536), a rising in the northern counties of England, the only overt immediate discontent shown against the Reformation legislation of King Henry VIII. Part of the resentment was caused by attempts, especially under Henry's minister Thomas Cromwell, to increase government control in the north; there was an element of agrarian opposition to enclosures for pasture; and there was a religious element, aroused especially by the dissolution of the monasteries, then in progress. The arrival of commissioners sent by Cromwell to collect a financial subsidy and to dissolve the smaller monasteries triggered the rising. In Louth in Lincolnshire there were riots on October 1, and commissioners were attacked. The rebels occupied Lincoln, demanding an end to the dissolution, revenge on Cromwell, and the dismissal of heretical bishops. But Henry refused to treat with men in arms against him (although professing their loyalty), and the Lincolnshire movement collapsed on October 19. Meanwhile, a more serious rising had begun in Yorkshire, led by Robert Aske, a country gentleman and lawyer. Aske took York and by October 24 was supported by about 30,000 armed men and by magnates such as Edward Lee, archbishop of York, and Thomas Darcy, Baron Darcy of Templehurst. The government had insufficient troops in the area, but on October 27, at Doncaster Bridge, Thomas Howard, the 3rd duke of Norfolk, temporized with Aske, playing for time until adequate forces could be assembled. At a council at Pontefract on December 2, the rebels drew up their demands, similar to those of the Lincolnshire men but including a return of England to papal obedience and the summoning of a Parliament free from royal influence. To these Norfolk, on December 6, made vague promises and offered a full pardon, whereupon Aske naively assumed he had gained his objectives and persuaded his followers to disperse. Sporadic riots in January and February 1537 enabled the government to deal with the troubles piecemeal; about 220–250 men were executed, including Darcy and Aske. The pilgrimage achieved nothing and received no support from other parts of the country.

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