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This was an exciting year for Henry and quite a few other people as well.
Firstly, in January, Catherine of Aragon died. She had lived in Kimbolton Castle for her final years but had not been allowed to see, or write to,
her daughter Mary. However it seems likely that some people smuggled letters between the two.
Next Henry ended his marriage to Anne Boleyn. In May, after a quick trial, she was found guilty for several legal reason although some historians
think there was some doubt about the charges brought against her. Among those were plotting to kill the King, also known as treason, and the fact she was having
an affair. However Henry had also found himself a new girlfriend and so he needed to get rid of Anne. In view of how he had got together with Anne, go back a few
years, you may not be surprised to learn that his new girlfriend was one of Anne’s maids of honour. Eleven days after Anne was executed, Henry married Jane Seymour.
In October 1537 Jane gave birth to a boy, Edward, but sadly Jane died from complications with the birth 12 days later. Henry was very upset about this. Firstly he
demanded that when he died he was to be buried alongside Jane and he didn’t marry again for three years. He also, at this time, declared that both Mary and
Elizabeth were illegitimate and Edward was his only true child.
Aside from wives and ex-wives, Henry was of course now Head of his
own Church. In this year he started to get rid of the monasteries. He had a few reasons; one was the monks still followed the Catholic Church (naughty, naughty)
but also the monasteries were exceedingly rich in treasure and this became Henry’s (greedy, greedy). In 1536 there were 825 monasteries and thousands of people
who worked in them alongside the monks, nuns and friars. By 1540, there were none. This was called the dissolution of the monasteries. The change in religion is
called The Reformation.
Many people in the north of England didn’t like the way Henry was running the country. There had been a poor harvest in 1535 so food prices were quite
high. The nobility in Yorkshire also disliked Thomas Cromwell who was born of poor parents not upper-class ones. Monasteries played a large part in rural life and
so closing them and, effectively, stealing their wealth, also upset the people.
On 13 October 1536, a guy called Robert Aske led a group of 9,000 followers, who entered and occupied York. This uprising became known as the
Pilgrimage of Grace. He arranged for expelled monks and nuns to return to their houses; the King's newly installed tenants were driven out, and Catholic
observances were resumed. The King’s men started to negotiate with the rebels. They promised a pardon for everyone, a Parliament in York within a year and
that monastery closures would stop until this Parliament had met. It seems that the Duke of Norfolk, who led negotiations on behalf of the King, had not been
told he could make these promises. He did it because he had 12,000 men and the rebels had now grown to 40,000. After the pilgrims went home, their leaders were
arrested and executed.
Finally, in this year, Wales was officially united with England. United may not be quite the right word as, put simply, Wales just became a part of
England.
Forward to 1540AD
