Pilgrimage of Grace, 1536, rising of Roman Catholics in N England. It was a protest against the government's abolition of papal supremacy (1534) and confiscation (1536) of the smaller monastic properties, intensified by grievances against inclosures inclosure or enclosure, in British history, the process of inclosing (with fences, ditches, hedges, or other barriers) land formerly subject to common rights.
..... Click the link for more information. and high rents and taxes. The Catholics protested their loyalty to Henry VIII, citing as their "great grudge" the position and influence of Thomas Cromwell Cromwell, Thomas, earl of Essex, 1485?–1540, English statesman. While a young man he lived abroad as a soldier, accountant, and merchant, and on his return (c.1512) to England he engaged in the wool trade and eventually became a lawyer.
..... Click the link for more information. . In Oct., 1536, several thousand men occupied the city of Lincoln, but dispersed after receiving a sharp rebuke from the king. Almost immediately, another rally occurred in Yorkshire. The movement, which rapidly gathered strength in N England, was led by Robert Aske, a Yorkshire lawyer. Aske and his followers occupied York and then moved on to Doncaster. Thomas Howard, 3d duke of Norfolk, promised from the king a general pardon and a Parliament to be held at York within a year. The men dispersed. Aske was well received by the king in London. In Jan., 1537, Sir Francis Bigod of Settrington, Yorkshire, led an uprising at Beverley. Although Aske and other leaders of the Pilgrimage of Grace tried to prevent this new disorder, they were arrested, tried in London, and executed in June, 1537. The northern counties were placed under martial law, and many people were hanged on mere suspicion of disaffection. The repression in N England after the Pilgrimage of Grace put an end to open opposition to the government's religious policy.

Bibliography

See study by M. N. Dodds and R. Dodds (2 vol., 1915, repr. 1971).

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.