The Pilgrimage of Grace has been described as ―the rebellion that shook Henry VIII‘s throne‖, and commentators agree that for a few weeks in late 1536 an increasingly desperate monarch was in real danger of defeat, and perhaps even of being swept from power. A project to develop a thematic trail connecting religious sites is planned to start in the same year as the 350th anniversary of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer.

The Pilgrimage in East Yorkshire had its origins in an earlier rising which, although it attracted 10,000 at evensong in Lincoln Cathedral (!) was rap-idly quelled. The uprising was sparked by a host of grievances among the Northern population: economic, religious and constitutional, caused by Henry VIII‘s break with Rome and the ―old‖ Catholic tradition. The ―Reformation‖ of Church and State relations, Henry‘s divorce and marriage to Anne Boleyn and the new taxes and regulations went down badly with grumpy land owners and land workers alike. The Dissolution of the Monas-teries went down badly in rural areas particularly, as many jobs and supply chains were lost.
The reforms were seen as causing a deep north/south divide, nothing new, but the methods of the upstart Thomas Cromwell and his Civil Servants (many from the South) behind many of the new laws divided State from Church with their allegations of bribery and corruption in Northern institutions.

The uprising spread from the East Riding, where it grew under a lawyer, Robert Aske, to the North of England. A force of several thousand gathered at Market Weighton, with several thousand marching on Hull and several thousands more marching on York via Pocklington (where the new tourist trail will be based). Once York and Hull had surrendered, the Pilgrims converged on Pontefract Castle and Doncaster under the banner of the Sacred Heart, ready to march to London.

Aske thought he could rely on the fairness of Henry to negotiate; the King prevaricated until he could round up the ringleaders and charge them with treason. They were executed in London, along with another 200 in the North as examples. The dramatic and tragic story has many resonances with our lives today, including such topics as the North/South divide, political corrup-tion and debates on justice and morality.

Roy Thompson, OSG retiring Secretary (still burning with rebellion)