HistoryThe English Reformation, 1509–160338 min★★ difficulty

Lesson 5: Reformation from above and below

Orders from the centre reached parishes through objects, words, rituals and resistance.

Part of your national curriculum

Britain 1066-1901: Understand the development of Church, state and society in Britain 1509-1745, including the English Reformation and its impact
Historical enquiry: Understand historical concepts such as continuity and change, cause and consequence, similarity, difference and significance
Historical enquiry: Understand how our knowledge of the past is constructed from a range of sources, and how and why historians have interpreted the past in different ways

Lesson overview

What you'll learn in this lesson

Explain how official religious change affected ordinary communities

Key learning points

• Seeing and hearing change
• Not one response
• Measuring change

This lesson at a glance

38 minutes
25 parts to scroll through
3 quick checks
Marked quiz at the end
Gentle pace: short sittings with pauses

Words to know

officialreligiouschangeaffectedordinary

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Part 1 of 25 · Discover4%

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Part 1 of 25

Lesson 5: Reformation from above and below illustration

Archive-led lesson

Historical enquiry

Lesson 5: Reformation from above and below

Orders from the centre reached parishes through objects, words, rituals and resistance.

In a nutshell

Explain how official religious change affected ordinary communities

What you already know

Part 2 of 25

Before we start

What you already know

You should already know that royal supremacy and the dissolution changed the Church from the top, and that most people experienced religion in their parish.

Recap: Lesson 4: Dissolving the monasteries

Key words

Part 3 of 25

Key words

Words you'll need today

Inventory: A list of goods, here of the objects owned by a parish church.
Iconoclasm: The removal or destruction of religious images.
Pilgrimage of Grace: The large northern rising of 1536 against religious and political change.
Conformity: Outward obedience to official religion, whatever a person privately believed.

Reset break

Part 4 of 25

Pause

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Your lesson plan

Part 5 of 25

Lesson brief

How much did ordinary life really change?

By the end, you will be able to

• Trace visible parish changes
• Compare obedience, adaptation and resistance
• Use local evidence to judge impact

Resources

• English Reformation document set (c.1527–1590)
• Lesson notes and marked knowledge check

4 minRecall the chronology and frame the enquiry

15 minRead the textbook explanation and build the argument

11 minInterrogate the archive evidence in context

8 minAnswer the checks and write a supported conclusion

Learning cycle

Part 6 of 25

Learning cycle 1 of 2

Change in the parish

A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.

Explore the idea

Part 7 of 25

Learn

Seeing and hearing change

English Bibles, altered services, removed images and new preaching changed the sensory world of worship.

Reset break

Part 8 of 25

Pause

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Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.

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Explore the idea

Part 9 of 25

Learn

Not one response

Some welcomed reform; others conformed reluctantly or resisted. The Pilgrimage of Grace in 1536 mixed religious and political grievances.

Quick check

Part 10 of 25

Quick check

Which was a visible parish change?

Give me a hint

Quick check

Part 11 of 25

Quick check

What was the Pilgrimage of Grace?

Give me a hint

Reset break

Part 12 of 25

Pause

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Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.

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Learning cycle

Part 13 of 25

Learning cycle 2 of 2

Measuring belief

A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.

Explore the idea

Part 14 of 25

Learn

Measuring change

Inventories show objects disappearing; wills reveal changing religious language. Neither source gives direct access to private belief.

Quick check

Part 15 of 25

Quick check

Why can inventories not prove belief?

Give me a hint

Reset break

Part 16 of 25

Pause

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Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.

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Investigate evidence

Part 17 of 25

Evidence 1 of 1

primary

English Reformation document set

Tudor officials and subjects, c.1527–1590

Royal orders, inventories and petitions show official religion changing repeatedly across four reigns.

The collection places documents from Henry VIII through Elizabeth I side by side, allowing change and continuity to be tested rather than assumed.

Think like a historian

Which changes would an ordinary parishioner have seen, heard or lost?

Source: The National Archives, English Reformation c.1527–1590

View the archive record ↗

Common mix-ups

Part 18 of 25

Common mix-ups

Things people often get wrong

People often assume everyone resisted or everyone accepted. Responses varied by region, age and status.
People often think inventories reveal belief. They record objects, not what worshippers thought.

Challenge round

Part 19 of 25

Game · Sort it

Which of these are true?

Drag each card into the right column. Tap a card first if dragging is fiddly.

True

Not true

Reset break

Part 20 of 25

Pause

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Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.

Stop here for now

Challenge round

Part 21 of 25

Game · Fill the gaps

Finish the sentences

Choose the word that belongs in each gap.

The Pilgrimage of Grace in 1536 mixed ____ and political grievances.

Challenge round

Part 22 of 25

Game · Recall cards

Who led the western Church in 1509?

Card 1 of 4

Exit quiz

Part 23 of 25

Exit quiz

Show what you've learned

6 questions, marked together at the end. Nothing is timed.

1. Which was a visible parish change?
2. What was the Pilgrimage of Grace?
3. Why can inventories not prove belief?
4. Conformity means…
5. Wills help historians because religious wording in them…
6. The fairest summary of parish responses is…

Mastery quiz

Part 24 of 25

Marked quiz

End of lesson quiz: Lesson 5: Reformation from above and below

4 questions, marked with the reasoning shown. No timer.

1. Who led the western Church in 1509?
2. Which source best reveals parish spending?
3. Which judgement is strongest?
4. What was Henry seeking?

Lesson round-up

Part 25 of 25

Lesson round-up

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How this is going

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Understand the development of Church, state and society in Britain 1509-1745, including the English Reformation and its impact
Not looked at yet
Understand historical concepts such as continuity and change, cause and consequence, similarity, difference and significance
Not looked at yet
Understand how our knowledge of the past is constructed from a range of sources, and how and why historians have interpreted the past in different ways