1540s in England

1540s in England

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Events from the1540sinEngland.

Incumbents

• Monarch–Henry VIII(until 28 January 1547), thenEdward VI
• Regent–Catherine, Queen Consort(starting 15 July, until 30 September 1544)
• Lord Protector– Thomas Seymour,1st Duke of Somerset(starting 4 February 1547, until 20th March 1549)

Events

• 1540
  • 1 January – King Henry VIII meets Anne of Cleves in person for the first time, informally atRochester.
  • 2 January –Gloucester Abbeyis surrendered to the Crown as part of the Dissolution of the Monasteries.
  • 6 January – KingHenry VIIImarries German noblewomanAnne of Cleves,his fourthQueen consort.
  • 14 January –Southwark Prioryin London is surrendered to the Crown as part of the Dissolution of the Monasteries.
  • 29 January –Bolton Abbey,a Yorkshire priory, is closed down as part of the Dissolution of the Monasteries.
  • January –Shap AbbeyandDunstable Prioryare closed down as part of theDissolution of the Monasteries.
  • 16 February –Thetford Prioryis closed down as part of the Dissolution of the Monasteries.
  • 23 March –Waltham Abbeyis the last abbey to close as part of the Dissolution of the Monasteries.ComposerThomas Tallis,a musician here, moves to Canterbury Cathedral.
  • April – the cathedral priories ofCanterburyandRochesterare transformed into secular cathedral chapters, concluding the Dissolution of the Monasteries.
  • June – Anne of Cleves is banished from court toRichmond Palace.
  • 9 July – Henry's marriage to Anne of Cleves is annulled.She is given a generous settlement with several residences in England, is referred to as "the King's Beloved Sister" and will outlive him and all his other wives.
  • 24 July –Statute of Willsmakes it possible to dispose ofreal estatebywill.
  • 28 July –Thomas Cromwellis executed on order from the king on charges oftreasonin public onTower Hill,London. Henry marries his fifth wife,Catherine Howard,on the same day atOatlands Palace.
  • Summer –Council of the Westlast sits.
  • 17 September – AnglicanDiocese of Westminsterformed.
  • Completion of the first of theDevice Fortsalong the coast:Calshot,Deal,Sandgate,SandownandWalmer Castles.
  • "Big Sun Year": Great heat and drought.
  • Regius Professorshipsendowed at theUniversity of Cambridge.
  • Publication ofThe Byrth of Mankynde,the first printed book inEnglishonobstetrics,and one of the first published in England to include engraved plates.
• 1541
  • 18 June – by theCrown of Ireland Act,theParliament of Irelanddeclares King Henry VIII of England and his heirs to beKings of Ireland,replacing theLordship of Irelandwith theKingdom of Ireland.
  • Early summer –Collyer's Schoolopens to scholars inHorsham.
  • 14 August – AnglicanDiocese of Chesterformed.
  • 3 September – AnglicanDiocese of Gloucesterformed from part of theDiocese of WorcesterwithJohn Wakeman(lastAbbot of Tewkesbury) as firstBishop of Gloucester.
  • 1 November – the King receives allegations against Queen Catherine.
  • 23 November – Catherine is stripped of her title as queen and imprisoned in the newSyon Abbey,Middlesex.
  • 1 December –Thomas CulpeperandFrancis Derehamare arraigned atGuildhall, London,forhigh treasonbecause of their relationships with Catherine Howard; on 10 December they are executed atTyburn.
  • Anglican Diocese of Peterboroughformed.
  • The King's School, Canterbury,King's School, Chester,The King's School, Ely(Now known asKing's Ely),King's School, Gloucester,The King's (The Cathedral) School,Peterborough,King's School, RochesterandKing's School, Worcesterare established (or re-endowed) by Henry VIII.Berkhamsted Schoolis founded byJohn Incent,Dean of St Paul's.
  • Portland Castlecompleted on theIsle of Portland.
  • John Brooke and Sons established atArmitage Bridgein West Yorkshire as textile manufacturers; the business will still exist in family hands into the 21st century.
• 1542
  • 7 February – Parliament passes abill of attainderagainst Catherine Howard. TheRoyal Assent by Commission Act 1541makes her guilty of treason.
  • 13 February –Catherine Howard,the fifth wife of Henry VIII, is executed by axe in theTower of London.
  • 1 April
    • Unlawful Games Act 1541,prohibiting "Several new devised Games" as part of the promotion ofarchery,receives royal assent.
    • Witchcraft Actfirst defineswitchcraftas a felony, punishable by death (repealed 1547).
  • 4 June – AnglicanDiocese of Bristolformed from part of the newly-createdDiocese of GloucesterwithPaul Bushas firstBishop of Bristol.
  • 24 August –Battle of Haddon Rig:Scottishvictory over the English.
  • 4 September – earliest recordedPreston GuildCourt in the modern sequence, which lasts unbroken until 1922.
  • September – AnglicanDiocese of Oxfordformed.
  • 24 November –Battle of Solway Moss:English victory over the Scots.
  • Completion of moreDevice Fortsalong the coast:PendennisandSt Mawes CastlesinCornwall,East Cowes Castleon theIsle of WightandSandsfoot Castleat modern-dayWeymouth, Dorset.Musterrolls are compiled in the counties.
• 1543
  • 11 February – Henry allies withEmperor Charles VagainstFrance.
  • March –Consolidating Act of Welsh Union:Parliamentestablishes counties and regularises parliamentary representation inWales.
  • 1 July –Treaty of Greenwichbetween England and Scotland (repudiated by Scotland 11 December).
  • 12 July – King Henry VIII marries his sixth and final wife,Catherine Parr,atHampton Court Palace.
  • 4 August – three ProtestantWindsor Martyrssufferdeath by burning.
  • ComposerThomas Tallisbecomes a Gentleman of theChapel Royal.
• 1544
  • March –Third Succession Act,reinstating PrincessesMaryandElizabethto theline of succession to the English throne,givenRoyal Assent(having been passed by Parliament in July 1543).
  • April – posthumous publication of CardinalJohn Fisher'sPsalmi seu precationesin the original and in an anonymous English translation by its sponsor, QueenCatherine Parr.
  • 3 May –Edward Seymour, Earl of HertfordcapturesLeithandEdinburghfrom Scotland,start of the first major campaign in theRough Wooing.
  • 19 July–18 September –Italian War of 1542–1546:Henry VIII leads theFirst Siege of Boulognein France.
  • Thomas Cranmer's "Exhortation and Litany"is issued, the first officially authorised vernacular church service inEnglish.
  • King's College Chapel, Cambridge,is completed.
  • Second programme of construction ofDevice Fortsfor defence of theSolentis ordered.
  • The Great Debasementof English coinage begins.
• 1545
  • 27 February – Scottish victory over the English at theBattle of Ancrum Moor.
  • 29 May – publication ofCatherine Parr'sPrayers or Meditations,the first book published by an English queen under her own name, and theKing's Primer,another devotional work overseen by her.
  • July –Italian Wars:AttemptedFrench invasion of the Isle of Wight.
  • 18–19 July –Battle of the Solentbetween English and French fleets. On 19 July, Henry VIII's flagship, theMary Rose,sinksbut the French are unable to land on the English mainland.
  • c.21 July –Battle of Bonchurchon theIsle of Wight:The French are defeated.
  • SirThomas Cawardenbecomes the firstMaster of the Revelsto be head of an independent office.
  • Roger Ascham'sToxophilus,the first book onarcherywritten in English, is published.
  • Thomas Phaer'sThe Boke of Chyldren,the first book onpaediatricswritten in English, is published.
  • First published edition ofSir John Fortescue'sDe laudibus legum Angliae(written c.1471).
• 1546
  • c. Spring – a warrant is drawn up by an anti-Protestant faction for the arrest of Queen Catherine, but she is rapidly reconciled with the King.
  • 24 April –Navy Boardestablished.
  • 7 June – Treaty of Ardres ends theItalian War of 1542–1546;Henry VIII promises eventual return ofBoulogneto France.
  • 4 November –Christ Church, Oxford,refounded as a college by Henry VIII under this name.
  • 19 December –Trinity College, Cambridge,founded by Henry VIII.
  • Regius Professorship of Hebrewat theUniversity of Oxfordestablished by Henry VIII.
• 1547
  • 19 January – execution ofHenry Howard, Earl of Surrey,for treason.
  • 28 January –Henry VIIIdies at thePalace of Whitehalland is succeeded as King by his 9-year-old sonEdward VI,who is brought toElsyng PalaceatEnfield Townwhere his half-sister Elizabeth is in residence and they are both told the news.
  • 31 January – Edward Seymour becomesregentof England.
  • 20 February – Edward VI is crowned atWestminster Abbey.
  • 4 April –Catherine Parr,widow of KingHenry VIII,secretly marriesThomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley.
  • 10 September –Battle of Pinkie:An English army under Edward Seymour, now theDuke of Somerset,defeats a Scottish army underJames Hamilton, 2nd Earl of Arran,the Regent. The English seizeEdinburgh.
  • 24 December
    • Treason Actmakes ithigh treasonto interrupt the line of succession to the throne established by the Act of Succession; and requires twowitnessesto prove a charge oftreason.It also repeals theSix Articles.
    • Dissolution of Colleges ActallowsSt Stephen's Chapelin thePalace of Westminsterto become the meeting place of theHouse of Commons of England.
  • Edward Seymour begins the construction ofSomerset House,London.
  • King James's School, Almondbury,West Yorkshire, founded as a chantry school.
• 1548
  • 7 September – the funeral of dowager queenCatherine Parr,widow of Sir Thomas Seymour, in the chapel atSudeley Castle(Gloucestershire) is the first in the British Isles to be held in theEnglish language.
  • Dissolution ofcollegiate churchesandchantries:
    • Beverley Minsterin Yorkshire is suppressed as a collegiate church on Easter Sunday.
    • Howden Minsterin Yorkshire is suppressed as a collegiate church.
    • Destruction of the religious colleges ofGlasneyandCrantockinCornwallend the formal scholarship that has helped sustain theCornish languageand cultural identity.
  • King's School, Pontefract,re-founded.
  • John BalewritesKynge Johan,the earliest Englishhistorical drama.
  • Edward Hall'sThe Union of the Two Noble and Illustre Families of Lancastre and Yorke( "Hall's Chronicle" ) is published posthumously.
• 1549
  • 15 January –Act of Uniformityimposes theBook of Common Prayer.
  • 14 March –Clergy Marriage Act 1548receives royal assent, removing bars toclerical marriage.
  • 9 June
    • Book of Common Prayer (The Booke of the Common Prayer) introduced in churches.
    • Prayer Book Rebellionagainst the Book of Common Prayer breaks out atSampford CourtenayinDevonand inCornwall.
  • July –Kett's RebellioninNorfolkagainst land enclosures;rebellion inOxfordshireagainst landowners associated with religious changes.
  • 6 August –Prayer Book Rebellion: Battle of Clyst Heath–John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedforddefeats rebels.
  • 8 August – France declares war on England.
  • 9 August – England declares war on France.
  • 17 August –Battle of Sampford Courtenay:Prayer Book rebellion quashed.
  • 26 August –Battle of Dussindale,nearNorwich:Kett's Rebellion quashed.
  • 10 October –Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somersetloses the position ofLord Protector,John Dudley, Earl of Warwickassumes his powers but does not acquire the title.
  • 5 December – CardinalReginald Polereceives 26 votes at thePapal conclave,only two short of the requisite two-thirds majority to be elected as Pope.
  • December –Sternhold and Hopkins Psalter(Al such psalmes of Dauid asThomas Sternehold... didde in his life time draw into English Metre) is published.
  • ThespireofLincoln Cathedralis blown down.

Births

• 1540
  • 24 January –Edmund Campion,Jesuit and Roman Catholic martyr (died1581)
  • 25 February –Henry Howard, 1st Earl of Northampton,courtier and scholar (died1614)
  • c. February or March – SirFrancis Drake,explorer and soldier (died1596)
  • 11 June –Barnabe Googe,poet (died1594)
  • William Byrd,composer (died1623)
  • George Hastings, Earl of Huntingdon,nobleman (died1604)
  • Christopher Hatton,politician (died1591)
• 1541
  • Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex,nobleman (died1576)
• 1542
  • 5 May –Thomas Cecil, 1st Earl of Exeter,politician (died1623)
  • 6 June –Richard Grenville,soldier and explorer (died1591)
• 1543
  • 8 November –Lettice Knollys,noblewoman (died1634)
  • Thomas Deloney,novelist and balladeer (died1600)
  • Douglas Sheffield, Baroness Sheffield,née Howard, lover ofRobert Dudley, Earl of Leicester(died1608)
• 1544
  • April –Thomas Fleming,judge (died1613)
  • 24 May –William Gilbert,scientist (died1603)
  • Richard Bancroft,Archbishop of Canterbury (died1610)
  • Thomas Hobson,carrier and origin of the phrase "Hobson's choice"(died1631)
  • John Knewstub,Puritan (died1624)
  • George Whetstone,writer (died1587)
• 1545
  • 2 March –Thomas Bodley,diplomat and library founder (died1613)
  • Nicholas Breton,poet and novelist (died1626)
  • John Field,Puritan clergyman and controversialist (died1588)
  • John Gerard,botanist (died1612)
• 1546
  • 13 June –Tobias Matthew,archbishop of York (died1628)
  • 24 June –Robert Persons,Jesuit priest (died1610)
  • Thomas Digges,astronomer (died1595)
• 1547
  • Peter Bales,calligrapher (died1610)
  • George Carey, Baron Hunsdon,politician (died1603)
  • Richard Stanyhurst,translator of Virgil (died1618)
• 1548
  • William Stanley,soldier (died1630)
• 1549
  • 12 July –Edward Manners, Earl of Rutland(died1587)
  • 30 November –Sir Henry Savile,educator (died1622)
  • John Rainolds,scholar and Bible translator (died1607)

Deaths

• 1540
  • c. January –Elizabeth Blount,mistress ofKing Henry VIII(born1502)
  • 28 July –Thomas Cromwell, 1st Earl of Essex,statesman (executed) (born c.1485)
  • 30 July
    • Thomas Abel,priest (martyred) (born c.1497)
    • Robert Barnes,reformer (martyred) (born1495)
• 1541
  • 27 May –Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury,courtier (executed) (born1473)
  • 24 November –Margaret Tudor,daughter ofKing Henry VIIand queen consort ofJames IV of Scotland(born1489)
  • 10 December –Thomas Culpeper,courtier (executed) (year of birth unknown)
• 1542
  • 13 February –Catherine Howard,fifth wife ofKing Henry VIII(executed) (born c.1522)
  • 3 March –Arthur Plantagenet, 1st Viscount Lisle,illegitimate son ofKing Edward IV(year of birth unknown 1461–1475)
  • 6 October –Thomas Wyatt,poet and diplomat (born1503)
• 1543
  • 19 July –Mary Boleyn,mistress of KingsFrancis I of FranceandHenry VIII of England(born1500)
  • 20 September –Thomas Manners, 1st Earl of Rutland(born1492)
  • October/November –Hans Holbein the Younger,painter (born c. 1497 in Germany)
  • Margaret Lee,lady-in-waiting, sister of poetThomas Wyatt(born1506)
• 1544
  • 30 April –Thomas Audley, 1st Baron Audley of Walden,Lord Chancellor(born1488)
• 1545
  • April/October –William Latimer,churchman and scholar (born c.1467)
  • May –Agnes Howard, Duchess of Norfolk,noblewoman (born c.1477)
  • 24 August –Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk,politician and husband ofMary Tudor(born c.1484)
  • 18 October –John Taverner,composer (born c.1490)
• 1546
  • 26 March –Thomas Elyot,diplomat and scholar (born c.1490)
  • 16 July –Anne Askew,Protestant (burned at the stake) (born1521)
• 1547
  • 19 January –Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey,nobleman, politician and poet (executed) (born c.1517)
  • 28 January –King Henry VIII(born1491)
  • c. May –Edward Hall,chronicler and lawyer (born c.1496)
  • October or November –John Redford,composer, poet and playwright (born c. 1500)
• 1548
  • 7 September –Catherine Parr,dowager queen consort of Henry VIII (complications from childbirth) (born c.1512)
• 1549
  • 10 March –Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley,politician and diplomat (born1508)
  • April –Andrew Boorde,traveller (born1490)
  • 15 April –Henry Somerset, Earl of Worcester(born1496)
  • 7 December –Robert Kett,rebel (executed) (year of birth unknown)