Not Just the Tudors – "Henry VIII's Reckoning: Pilgrimage of Grace"

Host: Professor Suzannah Lipscomb
Guest: Professor Andy Wood
Date: January 19, 2026
Podcast by History Hit

Overview

This episode of Not Just the Tudors delves into the Pilgrimage of Grace, the largest popular uprising of Henry VIII’s reign. Host Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Professor Andy Wood, a leading historian of social unrest in early modern England, to unpack the religious, social, and political complexities that fueled the rebellion in 1536–37. Together, they explore the causes and consequences of the uprising, giving voice to ordinary people whose world was upended by the Dissolution of the Monasteries and Henry’s sweeping religious reforms.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Setting the Scene: Northern England Before the Uprising

• Impact of Monasteries’ Dissolution
  • The north, especially Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, had vast monastic landholdings.
  • Local tenants depended on monasteries for low rents and wide common rights ([06:09]).
  • The religious culture was more conservative compared to the south.
  • Quote:
    “All of those are threatened by dissolution as tenants realise that they're going to lose these very generous tendencies that they have.”
    – Professor Andy Wood [06:32]
• Societal Disruption
  • The traditional order between tenants and monastic landlords was destroyed.
  • New buyers were often "acquisitive businessmen" intent on extracting greater profits and enclosing common land ([08:03]).

The Loss of Commons and Everyday Life

• Commons as a Lifeline
  • Common land was essential for the poor—fuel, grazing, foraging ([09:31]).
  • Enclosures privatized communal land, worsening hardship.
• Enclosure’s Significance
  • Enclosure—literally fencing off land—destroyed established economic security.
  • Memorable Moment: Reference to Thomas More’s critique in Utopia: “sheep are eating up men” ([09:31]).

Leadership and Community in Rebellion

• Rise of ‘Captain Cobbler’
  • Nicholas Melton, a cobbler, embodied the spirit of local resistance ([11:28]).
  • Artisans like cobblers and weavers were often at the forefront of unrest.
  • After the rebellion, Melton suffered severe punishment, and his family was viewed suspiciously by authorities.
• Gentry and Local Notables
  • As the movement spread, wealthier townsmen (the “honest men”) seized control.
  • Local gentry were often forced, rather than volunteering, into leadership positions ([13:21]).
• Roots in Social Hierarchy
  • The rebels sought to restore traditional order, not instigate revolution.
  • Quote:
    “They're just looking for restoration.”
    – Professor Susannah Lipscomb [14:26]

Culture of Continuity and Custom

• Custom as Social Glue
  • Societal continuity and "custom" were integral ([14:40]).
  • Custom governed rights to land, rents, and community life.
  • Oral tradition—the “world of custom”—was fiercely defended.
  • Quote:
    “Custom is something that's passed down the generations… It's that world of custom and tradition and long usage that the pilgrims are attempting to defend.”
    – Professor Andy Wood [15:45]

The Pilgrimage Expands: Robert Aske and the Faithful North

• Robert Aske’s Leadership
  • A middle-class lawyer, Aske was captured and persuaded to lead.
  • He rebranded the rising as a "pilgrimage," emphasizing faith and loyalty over rebellion ([16:53]).
• Force of Religious Imagery
  • The rebels’ banners bore the Five Wounds of Christ, blending suffering and communal solidarity ([17:53]).
  • Involvement of clergy deepened the intertwining of spiritual and social protest.
  • Quote:
    “Religion and politics are very mixed up in the pilgrimage. We shouldn't conceive of religion as something that's separate from politics any more than it's separate from everyday life.”
    – Professor Andy Wood [19:16]

Role of Women and Militia Organisation

• Women participated—particularly in acts of remembrance after executions—but were largely excluded from the formal army, which comprised the male militia ([20:01]).
• The militia tradition meant many men had prior military training, contributing to the discipline and size of the rebel force ([21:52]).

“Loyalty” to King, Hatred for Cromwell

• Rebels were careful not to criticize the king directly, focusing ire on Cromwell and other “new men” ([22:04]).
  • Quote:
    "The rebels find it possible to criticize Thomas Cromwell, for example... But this sense of a society of orders is something that underpins a popular royalism."
    – Professor Andy Wood [22:25]
• Strong discipline—looting and attacks were notably absent.

The Scale and Threat to Tudor Power

• Rebel army reached about 40,000—far larger than the official royal force ([23:32]).
• Duke of Norfolk negotiated a truce, knowing open battle would risk royal defeat—against Henry VIII's explicit instructions ([23:32], [25:12]).
  • Quote:
    “Norfolk... writes to Henry and says all the flower of the north was there... He knows that if they come to clash with the rebels, that they're going to lose."
    – Professor Andy Wood [23:56]

The Rebels’ Demands: Articles of the Pilgrimage

• Key Demands ([29:34]):
  • Purge the royal council of “villain blood” (newly elevated men like Cromwell).
  • Fix rents and fines at low levels to protect tenants against landlord greed.
  • End enclosures, restore monasteries, and ensure social order.
  • Fears and rumors over the possible suppression of all parish churches fueled anger ([33:08]).
• Notable regional divides: Northerners clashed with Protestant southerners.

Henry’s Response: Deceit and Repression

• Henry VIII refused to negotiate; saw the uprising as outright treason ([35:21]).
• Eventually lured Robert Aske to court with false promises, only to execute him ([37:10]–[37:38]).
  • Quote:
    “Henry charms [Aske]... persuades [him] that he'll go along with what the rebels are demanding, that they'll be able to negotiate a settlement... which of course is a pack of lies. And Ask ends up hanging from Clifford's Tower in York.”
    – Professor Andy Wood [37:10]

Aftermath: Bigod’s Rebellion and Violent Suppression

• A second wave, Bigod’s rebellion, was even more violently suppressed, with executions and the display of rebels’ corpses as warnings ([38:20], [40:37]).
• Written bills and rumors were essential for organizing and communicating among rebels.

The Nature and Legacy of the Rebellion

• Motivations

  • The rebellion was simultaneously religious, social, and political—a distinction modern historians draw, but not one contemporaries recognized ([45:08]).
  • The concept of "trespass"—the Crown overstepping into the established roles of Church and commons—captures the rebels’ sense of injustice.

• Legacy

  • The failed uprising ended a long tradition of northern popular protest. Afterwards, large-scale rebellion shifted to other regions ([46:28]).
  • The experience of brutal suppression left a lasting scar.
  • Later monarchs, especially Elizabeth I, learned to win the loyalty of the "middling sort" through propaganda and moderate Protestantism ([47:42]).

Myths and Misconceptions

• Not Just Conservative
  • While often called conservative, the rebels saw themselves as restoring the proper order—not simply resisting change.
  • The use of the language of order and custom could fuel both restoration and radical critique ([51:23]).
  • Quote:
    “It's possible for people to use, use those ideas to articulate a radical critique of the ways in which our rulers are behaving... That's what all of these rebellions are about. They're about poorer people asserting themselves within an economy, which is a scarcity economy...”
    – Professor Andy Wood [51:23]

Memorable Quotes & Timestamps

• “All of those are threatened by dissolution as tenants realise that they're going to lose these very generous tendencies that they have.”
  – Prof. Andy Wood [06:32]
• “They're just looking for restoration.”
  – Prof. Susannah Lipscomb [14:26]
• “Custom is something that's passed down the generations… It's that world of custom and tradition and long usage that the pilgrims are attempting to defend.”
  – Prof. Andy Wood [15:45]
• “Religion and politics are very mixed up in the pilgrimage. We shouldn't conceive of religion as something that's separate from politics any more than it's separate from everyday life.”
  – Prof. Andy Wood [19:16]
• “Norfolk... writes to Henry and says all the flower of the north was there... He knows that if they come to clash with the rebels, that they're going to lose."
  – Prof. Andy Wood [23:56]
• "Henry charms [Aske]... persuades [him] that he'll go along with what the rebels are demanding, that they'll be able to negotiate a settlement... which of course is a pack of lies. And Ask ends up hanging from Clifford's Tower in York."
  – Prof. Andy Wood [37:10]
• “It's possible for people to use, use those ideas to articulate a radical critique of the ways in which our rulers are behaving... That's what all of these rebellions are about. They're about poorer people asserting themselves within an economy, which is a scarcity economy...”
  – Prof. Andy Wood [51:23]

Key Timestamps for Important Segments

• [06:09] Monastic landholdings and impact of Dissolution in the north
• [09:31] Enclosure, commons, and the rural poor
• [11:28] Captain Cobbler and the artisan role
• [14:26] Ideological aims: restoration, not revolution
• [16:53] Robert Aske assumes leadership; religious rebranding
• [17:53] Five Wounds of Christ and religious symbolism
• [20:01] Women’s roles and the militia tradition
• [23:32] Size and threat posed by the rebel army
• [29:34] The Articles of the Pilgrimage: the rebels’ demands
• [35:21] Henry VIII’s uncompromising and deceptive response
• [38:20] Bigod’s rebellion and final suppression
• [45:08] The rebellion as religious, social, and political
• [46:28] Legacy: end of northern protest, lessons for later monarchs
• [51:23] Agency, conservatism, and myths about the rebel cause

Conclusion

Professor Lipscomb and Professor Wood guide listeners through the Pilgrimage of Grace as both a desperate defense of the “old ways” and a telling moment of popular agency. The episode highlights the complex interplay of religion, society, and power, revealing how the voices of the commons, though ultimately crushed, both shaped and were shaped by the tumultuous world of Tudor England.