HistoryThe English Reformation, 1509–160338 min★★★ difficulty

Lesson 7: Reformation balance sheet

The final judgement must connect high politics with experiences in homes, parishes and communities.

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 the methods of historical enquiry, including how evidence is used rigorously to make historical claims
Britain 1066-1901: Understand the development of the Church, state and society in Britain 1509-1745, including the theory and practice of monarchy and the origins and progress of the English Reformation
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

Reach a supported judgement about causes and consequences of the English Reformation

Key learning points

• Cause
• Change
• A defensible answer

This lesson at a glance

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

Words to know

supportedjudgementcausesconsequencesenglish

Scroll down — the lesson carries on below

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Lesson 7: Reformation balance sheet

An English teaching video on this topic from The Northern Historian. Watch it, then scroll down for the lesson.

In a nutshell

Reach a supported judgement about causes and consequences of the English Reformation

What you already know

Part 2 of 20

Before we start

What you already know

You should already know the sequence from 1509 to 1559 and be able to describe changes in authority, worship and parish life.

Recap: Lesson 3: Breaking with Rome Recap: Lesson 6: Edward, Mary and Elizabeth

Key words

Part 3 of 20

Key words

Words you'll need today

Criteria: The measures you choose to judge change by, such as law, worship or belief.
Significance: How important a change was, and for whom.
Provenance: Who made a source, when, and why.
Balance sheet: Weighing gains and losses before concluding.

Your lesson plan

Part 4 of 20

Lesson brief

Why did England break with Rome—and how much did ordinary life really change?

By the end, you will be able to

• Build a multi-causal explanation
• Use named primary sources
• Reach a qualified judgement about change

Resources

• Act of Supremacy (1534)
• Dissolution records (1530s)
• 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 5 of 20

Learning cycle 1 of 2

Causes and changes

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

Explore the idea

Part 6 of 20

Learn

Cause

Succession triggered the crisis, but royal power, Parliament, international politics and reforming ideas shaped the outcome.

Explore the idea

Part 7 of 20

Learn

Change

Authority, institutions, worship and material culture changed profoundly. Pace, acceptance and private belief varied.

Quick check

Part 8 of 20

Quick check

A strong final answer should…

Reset break

Part 9 of 20

Pause

That's sitting 1 of 2 done

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

Quick check

Part 10 of 20

Quick check

Which changed most immediately in 1534?

Learning cycle

Part 11 of 20

Learning cycle 2 of 2

Writing the judgement

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

Explore the idea

Part 12 of 20

Learn

A defensible answer

Define criteria, compare periods and groups, cite sources by creator and date, and explain their limits before concluding.

Quick check

Part 13 of 20

Quick check

Which conclusion is most defensible?

Investigate evidence

Part 14 of 20

Evidence 1 of 3

primary

Act of Supremacy

Parliament of England, 1534

The King's Majesty justly and rightfully is and ought to be the supreme head of the Church of England.

This classroom extract preserves the Act's central claim. It made Henry, rather than the Pope, the legal head of the English Church; it did not by itself make worship Protestant.

Think like a historian

What changed legally in 1534, and what does this sentence not tell us about belief?

Source: Parliamentary Archives, Public Act 26 Henry VIII c.1, HL/PO/PU/1/1534/26H8n1

View the archive record ↗

Investigate evidence

Part 15 of 20

Evidence 2 of 3

primary

Dissolution records

Thomas Cromwell's commissioners, 1530s

The reports record monastery property, income and alleged faults before houses were surrendered to the Crown.

Commissioners gathered information for a government preparing to close religious houses. Their records are direct evidence of administration, but their purpose may have encouraged hostile reporting.

Think like a historian

How might the commissioners' employer and purpose shape what they recorded?

Source: The National Archives, Discover the Dissolution education collection

View the archive record ↗

Investigate evidence

Part 16 of 20

Evidence 3 of 3

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 17 of 20

Common mix-ups

Things people often get wrong

People often judge only by laws. Legal change was fast; changes in belief were slower and harder to measure.
People often write a conclusion with no criteria. Say what you are measuring before you decide.

Challenge round

Part 18 of 20

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

Mastery quiz

Part 19 of 20

Marked quiz

End of lesson quiz: Lesson 7: Reformation balance sheet

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

1. Which changed most slowly?
2. Provenance means…
3. International politics mattered because…

Lesson round-up

Part 20 of 20

Lesson round-up

Ready when you are

Quiz score

Not sat

Games

Not played

Points this lesson

Best run

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Luna: 0 out of 3 on the practice checks. Only if you feel up to it — one more?

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Do the work

Your written work for this lesson

This is the part you'd do in your book at school. Pick the pieces below, write here or on paper, and photograph anything you draw or work out.

Source

A factory inspector's notebook, 1842

"I visited the mill at seven in the morning. The machines were already running. I counted fourteen children at the frames, the youngest no more than nine years of age. The overseer told me they work from six until seven, with forty minutes for dinner."

"The air is thick with cotton dust and the windows are kept shut so the thread does not break. Two of the children showed me hands cut by the shuttles. The owner assured me that the work is light and that the families beg him for the places, since without the children's wages the rent cannot be paid."

"I have written to the magistrates. I doubt much will follow from it."

Original source-style text written for Good Learning Co.

Reading questions

Who wrote this, when, and why might that make it useful to a historian?
What does the source tell you about children's work — and what does it not tell you?
How far does this source show that mill owners were to blame? Answer with a judgement and evidence.

Sources for this lesson

Use these for the source work task below.

Act of Supremacy

primary

Parliament of England, 1534

The King's Majesty justly and rightfully is and ought to be the supreme head of the Church of England.

This classroom extract preserves the Act's central claim. It made Henry, rather than the Pope, the legal head of the English Church; it did not by itself make worship Protestant.

Source: Parliamentary Archives, Public Act 26 Henry VIII c.1, HL/PO/PU/1/1534/26H8n1

View the original record ↗

Dissolution records

primary

Thomas Cromwell's commissioners, 1530s

The reports record monastery property, income and alleged faults before houses were surrendered to the Crown.

Commissioners gathered information for a government preparing to close religious houses. Their records are direct evidence of administration, but their purpose may have encouraged hostile reporting.

Source: The National Archives, Discover the Dissolution education collection

View the original record ↗

English Reformation document set

primary

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.

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

View the original record ↗

Source work
Reading
Read the source closely. Write who made it, when, and what it tells you — then what it does not tell you.
2 paragraphs
Essay answer
Writing
Answer the enquiry question with a clear judgement. Use two pieces of evidence and finish with a sentence that weighs them up.
300–400 words
Timeline
Diagram
Draw a timeline of the events in this lesson with dates, then photograph it.
6–8 events

Write your answer, notes or working here

Saved as you type.

Photos of paper work, diagrams or working outHow many minutes did the written work take?

Part 1 of 20 · Watch & discover

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How this is going

Not looked at yet
Understand the development of Church, state and society in Britain 1509-1745, including the English Reformation and its impact
Not looked at yet
Understand the methods of historical enquiry, including how evidence is used rigorously to make historical claims
Not looked at yet
Understand the development of the Church, state and society in Britain 1509-1745, including the theory and practice of monarchy and the origins and progress of the English Reformation
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