The Medieval Parish Churches of England
Graham White
Sessions 10: The Reformation
The break with the Roman church and the subsequent Reformation constitute the
greatest revolution in English ecclesiastical history. During the course of sixty years,
traditional Catholic religion was swept away and the Anglican Church established.
Reform was not completed in one episode and several waves of reform and counterreform were experienced by the lay folk of the parish during this period. The impact
on the parish churches across England was significant; in the 1530s masses were
being celebrated, chantry and guild chapels were in operation and services were
predominantly in Latin. By the end of the period, space in the church had been opened
up, painted images and stained glass had been removed and the laity was seated for
services read in English.
How did ordinary members of the laity experience the Reformation? Were they ready
for it? Were they instrumental in its progress? Or did they have the new doctrine
enforced upon them by changes in ideology by a new ecclesiastical and royal regime?
In this session we will look at parish churches and historical documents to try to
understand the impact of the Reformation at a local level.
Bibliography
Addleshaw, G. 1948, The Architectural Setting of Anglican Worship (Faber & Faber)
Chatfield, M. 1979. Churches the Victorians Forgot (Moorland)
Cooper, T. and Brown, S. 2011, Pews, Benches and Chairs: Church Seating in Parish
Churches from the Fourteenth Century to the Present, Ecclesiological Society,
London
Duffy, E. 1992. The Stripping of the Altars: Traditional Religion in England 14001580 (New Haven & London)
Duffy, E. 2001, The Voices of Morebath: Reformation and Rebellion in an English
Village (London)
Gaimster, D & Gilchrist, R (eds.), 2003, The Archaeology of Reformation,1480-1580
Society of Post-medieval Archaelogy Monograph
Lonsdale, A. 1965, ‘A Note on Leeds Wills 1539-1561’ in Publications of the
Thoresby Society Miscellany, Vol. 14
Scarisbrick, J. J. 1984, The Reformation and the English People (Oxford)
Whiting, R. 2010, The Reformation of the English Parish Church (Cambridge)