Syllabus Edition
First teaching 2016
Last exams 2025
The Pilgrimage of Grace, 1536 (Edexcel GCSE History)
Revision Note
How Serious of a Threat was the Pilgrimage of Grace on Henry VIII's Reign? - Timeline & Summary
The Pilgrimage of Grace presented a significant challenge to Henry's authority. The event brought together a range of individuals angry at the government. The rebels expressed their concerns through a series of demands. These included the protection of religious houses, the reinstatement of the Pope's authority and the removal of Protestant influences from the English Church. The rebellion grew rapidly. It attracted tens of thousands of supporters across Northern England. The rebel leaders, including Robert Aske, effectively organised their forces and negotiated with royal representatives. The Pilgrimage of Grace posed a direct threat to Henry's control of northern England. The suppression of the Pilgrimage of Grace marked a decisive victory for Henry. It reaffirmed his authority and showed his willingness to use force against his people. Despite initial successes, the rebellion failed to overturn Henry's religious reforms. Henry maintained his position as the King of England. It showed Henry the challenges and tensions in Tudor England. |
Reasons for the Pilgrimage of Grace
The Pilgrimage of Grace was a series of rebellions that started in the North of England in 1536
They occurred for multiple reasons
Motivations for the Pilgrimage of Grace
Motivation | Why did this cause the Pilgrimage of Grace? |
|---|---|
Social | After the government closed smaller religious houses, many people in society were homeless and had no access to care. People wanted the monasteries to reopen |
Political | Cromwell's reforms reduced the power of the northern lords. People wanted to have more say in how the North was run |
Religious | Many people were Catholics in the North. They worried that the government would change parish churches in their 'attack' on Catholicism |
Economic | Many people could not afford to pay taxes. These included the 1534 Subsidy Act and tax on inheritance from the 1536 Statute of Uses Act |
Access to land was limited. Enclosure meant that more people had to rent land to grow crops and raise livestock. The dissolution of the monasteries increased land rents, making land unaffordable for many people. | |
There were food shortages in the North. Bad weather caused a poor harvest in 1535. This created high food prices and rising poverty in the North |
Worked Example
‘Henry VIII’s religious changes were the main cause of the Pilgrimage of Grace.’ How far do you agree? Explain your answer
16 marks
Partial answer:
Overall, Henry's religious changes partially caused the Pilgrimage of Grace. People in the North wanted to practice their Catholic faith and believed in the authority of the Pope. However, I believe that the main cause of the Pilgrimage of Grace was economic factors. The bad harvest in 1535 led to serious issues in the North including high food prices and inability to pay taxes. This had a significant, day-to-day impact on people's lives. People became desperate for change. They were more willing to rise up against Henry.
Exam Tip
The example above is a conclusion to this question. You may notice that it compares multiple factors and explains why religious problems were the most significant cause of the Pilgrimage of Grace. This means that the conclusion is justified with evidence.
To complete this answer, you should add three well-explained paragraphs that explains the reasons why the North rose up against Henry. These could be written in the PEEL format.
Events of the Pilgrimage of Grace
Aims of the rebellion
The rebellion had two main aims:
To restore Catholicism or the ‘old religion’ to England
The rebels saw themselves as 'Christ’s soldiers'
To negotiate their reforms with the king
The rebels did not want to fight
They wanted to persuade Henry to reverse the government's religious reforms
Key people in the Pilgrimage of Grace
Leaders of the rebellion | Leaders supporting Henry VIII |
|---|---|
Robert Aske – A lawyer and leader of the rebellion in Yorkshire | Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk. Henry sent Norfolk to stop the rebellion in Yorkshire |
Nicholas Melton – A shoemaker and leader of the rebellion in Lincolnshire | Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk. Suffolk attempted to end the Lincolnshire rebellion |
Lord Darcy – A nobleman |
Exam Tip
Edexcel GCSE History requires you to remember key people within the course. To help you do this, you could create a wanted poster for each of the leaders of the Pilgrimage of Grace. Add key facts about the person and what they have done against the king.
What happened in the Pilgrimage of Grace?
Flow diagrams showing the events of the Yorkshire and the Lincolnshire rebellions in the Pilgrimage of Grace
Why Did the Pilgrimage of Grace Fail?
The noble's actions | Aske's actions | Henry's actions |
|---|---|---|
When the nobles backed down, the Pilgrimage of Grace was more likely to fail. The nobles could have combined their power and influence to gain more support for the rebellion outside of the North | Aske put too much faith in Henry. He trusted that he would keep to the agreement. Aske disbanded the army, ending the threat of an uprising. This gave Henry the ability to punish the rebels in 1537 | Henry reacted strongly to the uprising. He could not allow the rebels to challenge his authority. He was willing to kill hundreds of the pilgrims to keep his power and religious policies |
Exam Tip
An exam question could ask you to explain why the Pilgrimage of Grace failed.
This is a 12-mark question. Ensure you write three paragraphs that:
P - Make a point about the question
E - Use evidence that supports the point that you have made
E - Explain why this evidence caused the Pilgrimage of Grace to fail. Avoid repeating the point again. Explain how this factor either weakened the rebellion or strengthened Henry VIII
L - Link your explanation back to the question by stating how significant this factor is in causing the failure of the Pilgrimage of Grace
The Significance of the Pilgrimage of Grace
The Pilgrimage of Grace threatened the king
The Pilgrimage of Grace involved:
40,000 people
The capturing of cities and castles across the North
The uprisings had the potential to overthrow the king
The rebel army could have marched to the South
The size of the army could have forced Henry to abdicate or die defending his position
The Pilgrimage of Grace strengthened the Council of the North
Henry recognised that he needed to get the North of England under his control
He instructed Cromwell to pass a series of reforms to make the Council of the North:
A permanent government institution
Responsible for the law and order of the North
The Pilgrimage of Grace sped up the closure of the monasteries
Henry identified the monasteries as a threat to his authority
Many monasteries supported the rebels
Monks and nuns disagreed with Henry's religious policies
Henry decided to target large religious houses for dissolution
Before the Pilgrimage of Grace, Henry had targeted smaller religious houses
The Pilgrimage of Grace halted further religious reforms
The North had proven that it was:
Strongly Catholic
Willing to rebel against further changes to the Church
Cromwell saw that it was too dangerous to introduce further Protestant reforms to the Church
The government postponed the planned reforms
Cromwell did not achieve his aims of creating a Protestant Church of England
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