Pilgrimage of Grace 1537

The following source list was originally available only on paper in one of the West Yorkshire Archive Service offices. It may have been compiled many years ago and could be out of date. It was designed to act as a signpost to records of interest on a particular historical subject, but may relate only to one West Yorkshire district, or be an incomplete list of sources available.

The Pilgrimage of Grace was a popular northern uprising in Yorkshire that began in 1536 and ended in 1537. There was an earlier uprising in Lincolnshire, 12 days before the Yorkshire revolt, which was quickly supressed. The Pilgrimage of Grace was a Yorkshire insurrection which broke out on 13 October 1536, although the title is often applied generally to include other uprisings of the same period in the north of England.

The rebellion emerged from a variety of factors. In part it was a popular protest against England's break with Rome and the Dissolution of the Monasteries, as well as other specific political, social and economic grievances. The conservative northern gentry had concerns over the new Statute of Uses. There were also popular fears of a new sheep tax. The harvest of 1535 had also led to high food prices, which may have contributed to discontent.

The political ramifications of Henry VIII marital problems had caused a shift in popular opinion against the King. Many people in northern England had disliked the way in which Henry VIII had 'cast off' Catherine of Aragon. Although Anne Boleyn, had been unpopular, both as Catherine's replacement, a rumoured Protestant and a Southerner, her execution in 1536 on trumped-up charges of adultery, witchcraft and treason, had done much to undermine the monarchy's prestige and the king's personal reputation. There was also anger at the rise of Thomas Cromwell.

The Dissolution of the Monasteries had undermined some of the natural order of society in the North where the large Cisterican monasteries had an important economic role to play. The examples of dispoiling of monastic buildings and property had upset many people of all social levels. The local church was, for many in the north, the centre of community life. Many ordinary peasants were worried that their church plate would be confiscated. There were also popular rumours at the time which hinted that baptism might be taxed. The recently released Ten Articles and the new order of prayer issued by the government in 1535 had also made official doctrine more reformed. This went against the conservative beliefs of most northerners.

Robert Aske was chosen to lead the insurgents; he was a London barrister, a resident of the Inns of Court, and the youngest son of Sir Robert Aske of Aughton near Selby. His was an old Yorkshire family from Richmondshire (Aske Hall). In 1536 Aske led a band of nine thousand followers, who entered and occupied York. There he arranged for the expelled monks and nuns to return to their houses; the king's newly installed tenants were driven out and Catholic observance resumed. The success of the rising was so great that the royal leaders, Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk and George Talbot, 4th Earl of Shrewsbury, opened negotiations with the insurgents at Doncaster, where Aske had assembled between thirty and forty thousand men.

Henry authorised the Duke of Norfolk to promise a general pardon and a Parliament to be held at York within a year. Trusting in the king's promises, Aske dismissed his followers.

The King's promises were not kept, and in January 1537 a new rising took place in Cumberland and Westmoreland (which Aske attempted to prevent) under Sir Francis Bigod, of Settrington in the North Riding of Yorkshire. Upon this the king arrested Aske and several of the other leaders, such as Lords Darcy, Constable, and Bigod, who were all convicted of treason and executed. Aske was hanged in chains from the walls of York Castle as a warning to other would-be 'rebels'. Sir John Bigod, Sir Thomas Percy, Sir Henry Percy, Sir John Bulmer, Sir Stephan Hamilton, Sir Nicholas Tempast, Sir William Lumley, Sir Edward Neville, Sir Robert Constable, the abbots of Barlings, Sawley, Fountains and Jervaulx Abbeys, and the prior of Bridlington were executed in July 1537. In all, 216 were put to death; lords and knights, half a dozen abbots, 38 monks, and 16 parish priests. The loss of the leaders enabled the Duke of Norfolk to quell the rising and martial law was imposed upon the demonstrating regions.

Contrary to popular myth, there were some partial successes due to the rebellions. The government postponed the collection of the October subsidy. This had been a major grievance amongst the Lincolnshire organisations. The Statute of Uses was negated by a new law, the Statute of Wills. Four of the seven sacraments that were omitted from the Ten Articles were restored in the Bishop's Book of 1537. This marked the end of the drift of official doctrine towards Protestantism. The Bishop's Book was followed by the Six Articles of 1539. An onslaught upon heresy was promised in a royal proclamation in 1538.

However, the dissolution of the monasteries continued unabated, with the largest monasteries being dissolved by 1540. Great tracts of land were seized from the Church and divided among the monarchy and its supporters. The moves towards official Protestantism achieved by Cromwell were not reversed (except in the reign of Mary I 1553–1558).

Some records related to the Pilgrimage of Grace and still held in Yorkshire archives. WYAS has transcripts related to the Pilgrimage of Grace (ref: SP:6/PG) as part of a collection at our Calderdale office. Some papers are also held at the WYAS Leeds (ref: MS1256). Proclamation of pardon after the Pilgrimage of Grace excepting certain named persons BC/I/55 24 Jul 1536 (East Riding Archives). Majority of records are held at The National Archives, Kew or the Surrey History Centre.