130-644: Victory for Edwardian forces The Prayer Book Rebellion or Western Rising was a popular revolt in Cornwall and Devon in 1549. In that year, the first Book of Common Prayer , presenting the theology of the English Reformation , was introduced. The change was widely unpopular, particularly in areas where firm Catholic religious loyalty (even after the Act of Supremacy in 1534 ) still existed, such as Lancashire . Along with poor economic conditions,
260-404: A coup d'état . By 1 October 1549, Somerset had been alerted that his rule faced a serious threat. He issued a proclamation calling for assistance, took possession of the king's person, and withdrew for safety to the fortified Windsor Castle , where Edward wrote, "Me thinks I am in prison". Meanwhile, a united council published details of Somerset's government mismanagement. They made clear that
390-845: A treatise on the pope as Antichrist and was making informed notes on theological controversies. Many aspects of Edward's religion were essentially Catholic in his early years, including the celebration of the mass and reverence for images and relics of the saints. Both Edward's sisters were attentive to their brother and often visited him—on one occasion, Elizabeth gave him a shirt "of her own working". Edward "took special content" in Mary's company, though he disapproved of her taste for foreign dances; "I love you most", he wrote to her in 1546. In 1543, Henry invited his children to spend Christmas with him, signalling his reconciliation with his daughters, whom he had previously illegitimised and disinherited. The following spring, he restored them to their place in
520-470: A "beggarly king". He also urged the king to throw off the Protector within two years and "bear rule as other kings do"; but Edward, schooled to defer to the council, failed to co-operate. In the spring of 1547, using Edward's support to circumvent Somerset's opposition, Thomas Seymour secretly married Henry VIII's widow Catherine Parr, whose Protestant household included the 11-year-old Lady Jane Grey and
650-427: A "godly imp". Edward was depicted during his life and afterwards as a new Josiah, the biblical king who destroyed the idols of Baal . He could be priggish in his anti-Catholicism and once asked Catherine Parr to persuade Lady Mary "to attend no longer to foreign dances and merriments which do not become a most Christian princess". Edward's biographer Jennifer Loach cautions, however, against accepting too readily
780-560: A "worm in the bud". As King Edward's uncle, Thomas Seymour demanded the governorship of the king's person and a greater share of power. Somerset tried to buy his brother off with a barony , an appointment to the Lord Admiralship , and a seat on the Privy Council — but Thomas was bent on scheming for power. He began smuggling pocket money to King Edward, telling him that Somerset held the purse strings too tight, making him
910-532: A 500th anniversary march, "Keskerdh Kernow 500", celebrating the rebellion, retraced the route of the original march from St Keverne, via Guildford to London. The parish is a large one. It includes some 10 miles of coast from Nare Point at the mouth of the Helford River to Kennack Sands , and the Manacles offshore. Settlements on the coast include Porthallow , Porthoustock and Coverack . Inland
1040-571: A Catholic, reversed Edward's Protestant reforms during her reign, but Elizabeth restored them in 1559. Edward was born on 12 October 1537 in his mother's room inside Hampton Court Palace , in Middlesex . He was the son of King Henry VIII by his third wife, Jane Seymour , and was the only son of Henry VIII to outlive him. Throughout the realm, the people greeted the birth of a male heir, "whom we hungered for so long", with joy and relief. Te Deums were sung in churches, bonfires lit, and "their
1170-507: A barony, joined Warwick when he realised that a conservative policy would not bring the emperor onto the English side over Boulogne. Southampton prepared a case for executing Somerset, aiming to discredit Warwick through Somerset's statements that he had done all with Warwick's co-operation. As a counter-move, Warwick convinced Parliament to free Somerset, which it did on 14 January 1550. Warwick then had Southampton and his followers purged from
1300-446: A colossal failure of government, and the council laid the responsibility at the Protector's door. In July 1549, Paget wrote to Somerset: "Every man of the council have misliked your proceedings ... would to God, that, at the first stir you had followed the matter hotly, and caused justice to be ministered in solemn fashion to the terror of others ...". The sequence of events that led to Somerset's removal from power has often been called
1430-414: A compromise, was attacked by traditionalists for dispensing with many cherished rituals of the liturgy, such as the elevation of the bread and wine, while some reformers complained about the retention of too many "popish" elements, including vestiges of sacrificial rites at communion. Many senior Catholic clerics, including Bishops Stephen Gardiner of Winchester and Edmund Bonner of London, also opposed
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#17327662150911560-477: A contented child. From the age of six, Edward began his formal education under Richard Cox and John Cheke , concentrating, as he recalled himself, on "learning of tongues, of the scripture, of philosophy, and all liberal sciences". He received tuition from his sister Elizabeth's tutor, Roger Ascham , and from Jean Belmain , learning French, Spanish and Italian. In addition, he is known to have studied geometry and learned to play musical instruments, including
1690-588: A deal with some of the executors, who almost all received hand-outs. He is known to have done so with William Paget, private secretary to Henry VIII, and to have secured the support of Sir Anthony Browne of the Privy Chamber. Somerset's appointment was in keeping with historical precedent, and his eligibility for the role was reinforced by his military successes in Scotland and France. In March 1547, he secured letters patent from King Edward granting him
1820-615: A destroyed fogou at Polkernogo. Iron Age St. Keverne has a number of Iron Age sites, with two of the most dramatic being the cliff castles of Chynalls and Lankidden. All that is left in these sites are the faint markings of the ditches and banks that would have protected these castles, but during the Iron Age they would have provided a "prominent focus within a landscape quite densely populated by contemporary settlements or "rounds."" Another notable Iron Age artefact originating in St. Keverne
1950-482: A government-run appointment system, authorising ministers to preach the gospel and administer the sacraments rather than, as before, "to offer sacrifice and celebrate mass both for the living and the dead". After 1551, the Reformation advanced further, with the approval and encouragement of Edward, who began to exert more personal influence in his role as Supreme Head of the church. The new changes were also
2080-461: A majority of councillors, he encouraged a working council and used it to legitimise his authority. Lacking Somerset's blood-relationship with the king, he added members to the council from his own faction in order to control it. He also added members of his family to the royal household. He saw that to achieve personal dominance, he needed total procedural control of the council. In the words of historian John Guy , "Like Somerset, he became quasi-king;
2210-497: A regency council that would rule collectively, by majority decision, with "like and equal charge". Nevertheless, a few days after Henry's death, on 4 February, the executors chose to invest almost regal power in the Duke of Somerset. Thirteen out of the sixteen (the others being absent) agreed to his appointment as Protector, which they justified as their joint decision "by virtue of the authority" of Henry's will. Somerset may have done
2340-641: A response to criticism from such reformers as John Hooper , Bishop of Gloucester, and the Scot John Knox, who was employed as a minister in Newcastle upon Tyne under the Duke of Northumberland and whose preaching at court prompted the king to oppose kneeling at communion. Cranmer was also influenced by the views of the continental reformer Martin Bucer , who died in England in 1551; by Peter Martyr , who
2470-569: A significant force. Marching east to Crediton , the Devon rebels laid siege to Exeter , demanding the withdrawal of all English liturgies. Although a number of the inhabitants in Exeter sent a message of support to the rebels, the city refused to open its gates. The gates were to stay closed because of the siege for over a month. In Cornwall and Devon, the issue of the Book of Common Prayer proved to be
2600-463: A similar size. After the rebels passed Plymouth , Devonian knights Sir Gawen and Sir Peter Carew were sent to negotiate with the Devon rebels at Crediton . They found their approaches blocked and they were attacked by longbowmen . Shortly before, the Cornish rebels arrived and Arundell had to divide his combined force, sending one force to Clyst St Mary to assist the villagers and the other with
2730-410: A time of population growth and unemployment – possibly suggests an attack on the prestige of the gentry. Certainly such contemporaries as Thomas Cranmer took this view, condemning the rebels for deliberately inciting a class conflict by their demands: "to diminish their strength and to take away their friends, that you might command gentlemen at your pleasures". Protector Somerset himself saw dislike of
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#17327662150912860-485: A unanimous council which they and observers, such as the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V 's ambassador, expected to reverse Somerset's policy of religious reform. Warwick, on the other hand, pinned his hopes on the king's strong Protestantism and, claiming that Edward was old enough to rule in person, moved himself and his people closer to the king, taking control of the Privy Chamber. Paget, accepting
2990-611: A withdrawal from Scotland. During 1548, England was subject to social unrest. After April 1549, a series of armed revolts broke out, fuelled by various religious and agrarian grievances. The two most serious rebellions, which required major military intervention to put down, were in Devon and Cornwall and in Norfolk . The first sometimes called the Prayer Book Rebellion , arose from the imposition of Protestantism , and
3120-538: Is evidence of human habitation from at least the Mesolithic period, c. 5550 BC. The area is rich in archaeological history from a variety of different periods, including flints, pottery, cists, round houses, and cliff castles. The Mesolithic In 1967, A Mesolithic site known as Rock Mound was discovered at Poldowrian Site, which is situated near the Lankidden Cliff Castle. The Mesolithic site
3250-666: Is the elaborately engraved bronze mirror discovered in a cist grave, in 1833. This mirror was accompanied by two brooches, some beads, and two rings. St Keverne was in Celtic times part of the Meneage which belonged to several small monasteries. The monastery at St Keverne survived the Norman Conquest but was seized soon after by a lay lord. (According to the Geld Inquest of 1083 the canons of St Achebranus held one hide in
3380-768: The Demands of the Western Rebels , the eighth Article of which states: "...and so we the Cornyshe men (whereof certen of us understande no Englysh) utterly refuse thys newe Englysh". Responding to this, however, Archbishop Cranmer asked why the Cornishmen should be offended by holding the service in English rather than Cornish when they had before held it in Latin and not understood that. In London, King Edward VI and his Privy Council became alarmed by this news from
3510-485: The chrisom ; the Garter King of Arms proclaimed him as Duke of Cornwall and Earl of Chester . The queen, however, fell ill and died from postnatal complications on 24 October, days after Edward's birth. Henry VIII wrote to Francis I of France that "Divine Providence ... hath mingled my joy with bitterness of the death of her who brought me this happiness". Edward was a healthy baby who suckled strongly from
3640-486: The lute and the virginals . He collected globes and maps and, according to coinage historian C. E. Challis developed a grasp of monetary affairs that indicated a high intelligence. Edward's religious education is assumed to have favoured the reforming agenda. His religious establishment was probably chosen by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer , a leading reformer. Both Cox and Cheke were "reformed" Catholics or Erasmians and later became Marian exiles . By 1549, Edward had written
3770-405: The parishioners of Sampford Courtenay in Devon compelled their priest to revert to the old service. The rebels argued that the new English liturgy was "but lyke a Christmas game." This claim was probably related to the book's provision for men and women to file into the quire on different sides to receive the sacrament , which seemed to remind the Devon men of country dancing. Justices arrived at
3900-461: The 13-year-old Lady Elizabeth. In summer 1548, a pregnant Catherine Parr discovered Thomas Seymour embracing Lady Elizabeth. As a result, Elizabeth was removed from Parr's household and transferred to Sir Anthony Denny's. That September, Parr died shortly after childbirth, and Seymour promptly resumed his attentions to Elizabeth by letter, planning to marry her. Elizabeth was receptive, but, like Edward, unready to agree to anything unless permitted by
4030-427: The 16 shal chose emong themselfes til th'eire come to (18 erased) 14 yeare olde, and then he by ther aduice shal chose them" (1553). St Keverne St Keverne ( Cornish : Pluw Aghevran (parish), Lannaghevran (village) ) is a civil parish and village on The Lizard in Cornwall , England, United Kingdom. In addition to the parish, an electoral ward exists called St Keverne and Meneage . This stretches to
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4160-497: The 20th century, historians have presented the whole gamut of possibilities, "balanc[ing] an articulate puppet against a mature, precocious, and essentially adult king", in the words of Stephen Alford. A special "Counsel for the Estate" was created when Edward was fourteen. He chose the members himself. In the weekly meetings with this council, Edward was "to hear the debating of things of most importance". A major point of contact with
4290-555: The Devon rebels near Crediton. The religious aims of the rebellion were highlighted in the slogan "Kill all the gentlemen and we will have the Six Articles up again, and ceremonies as they were in King Henry 's time." However, it also implies a social cause (a view supported by historians such as Guy and Fletcher). That later demands included limiting the size of households belonging to the gentry – theoretically beneficial in
4420-493: The Duke of Northumberland's policies. The regime also cracked down on widespread embezzlement of government finances, and carried out a thorough review of revenue collection practices, which has been called "one of the more remarkable achievements of Tudor administration". In the matter of religion, the regime of Northumberland followed the same policy as that of Somerset, supporting an increasingly vigorous programme of reform. Although Edward VI's practical influence on government
4550-481: The L Fraunces to be (reget altered to) gouuernres. For lakke of her, the her eldest daughters,4 and for lakke of them the L Marget to be gouuernres after as is aforsaid, til sume heire masle be borne, and then the mother of that child to be gouuernres. 6. And if during the rule of the gouuernres ther die 4 of the counsel, then shal she by her letters cal an asseble of the counsel w'in on month folowing and chose 4 more, wherin she shal haue thre uoices. But after her death
4680-443: The L Katerins heires masles, To the L Maries heires masles, To the heires masles of the daughters wich she shal haue hereafter. Then to the L Margets heires masles. For lakke of such issu, To th'eires masles of the L Janes daughters. To th'eires masles of the L Katerins daughters, and so forth til yow come to the L Margets [daughters inserted] heires masles. 2. If after my death theire masle be entred into 18 yere old, then he to have
4810-480: The Middle Ages. Summarising the research, Mark Stoyle says that by 1450, the county was divided into three main linguistic blocs: "West Cornwall was inhabited by a population of Celtic descent, which was mostly Cornish speaking; the western part of East Cornwall was inhabited by a population of Celtic descent, which had largely abandoned the Cornish tongue in favor of English; and the eastern part of East Cornwall
4940-482: The Protector's power came from them, not from Henry VIII's will. On 11 October, the council had Somerset arrested and brought the king to Richmond Palace . Edward summarised the charges against Somerset in his Chronicle : "ambition, vainglory, entering into rash wars in mine youth, negligent looking on Newhaven, enriching himself of my treasure, following his own opinion, and doing all by his own authority, etc." In February 1550, John Dudley, Earl of Warwick , emerged as
5070-465: The Succession 1. For lakke of issu [masle inserted above the line, but afterwards crossed out] of my body [to the issu (masle above the line) cumming of thissu femal, as i have after declared inserted, but crossed out] . To the L Franceses heires masles, [For lakke of erased] [if she have any inserted] such issu [befor my death inserted] to the L' Janes [and her inserted] heires masles, To
5200-683: The West Country. On instructions from the Lord Protector the Duke of Somerset , one of the Privy Councillors, Sir Gawen Carew, was ordered to pacify the rebels. At the same time, Lord John Russell was ordered to take an army to impose a military solution. The rebels were of many different backgrounds, some farmers, some tin miners, and some fishermen. Cornwall appears to have had a significantly larger militia than other areas of
5330-448: The age of four, he fell ill with a life-threatening " quartan fever ", but, despite occasional illnesses and poor eyesight, he enjoyed generally good health until the last six months of his life. Edward was initially placed in the care of Margaret Bryan , "lady mistress" of the prince's household. She was succeeded by Blanche Herbert, Lady Troy . Until the age of six, Edward was brought up, as he put it later in his Chronicle , "among
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5460-660: The almost monarchical right to appoint members to the Privy Council himself and to consult them only when he wished. In the words of historian Geoffrey Elton, "from that moment his autocratic system was complete". He proceeded to rule largely by proclamation , calling on the Privy Council to do little more than rubber-stamp his decisions. Somerset's takeover of power was smooth and efficient. The imperial ambassador , François van der Delft , reported that he "governs everything absolutely", with Paget operating as his secretary, though he predicted trouble from John Dudley, Viscount Lisle, who had recently been raised to Earl of Warwick in
5590-627: The announcement of the king's death until arrangements had been made for a smooth succession. Seymour and Sir Anthony Browne , the Master of the Horse , rode to collect Edward from Hertford and brought him to Enfield , where Lady Elizabeth was living. He and Elizabeth were then told of their father's death and heard a reading of his will . Lord Chancellor Thomas Wriothesley announced Henry's death to Parliament on 31 January 1547, and general proclamations of Edward's succession were ordered. The new king
5720-634: The area of St. Keverne Parish. The clay lies at a depth of 8 – 18 inches below the topsoil. In the late 1960s, Dr. D. Peacock examined numerous potsherds from around Cornwall, and came to the conclusion that they were all made from the same gabbroic clay from St. Keverne. Most of the paleolithic pottery from around Cornwall has been found to be made of gabbroic clay, such as the sherds at the Neolithic site of Carn Brea at Redruth. Beaker Pottery St. Keverne has yielded an exceptional amount of Beaker pottery . The Beaker Mound at Poldowrian has yielded one of
5850-465: The attack, and the contemporary Exeter historian John Hooker wrote that "the Cornish would not give in until most of their number had been slain or captured". Lord John Russell reported that his army had killed between five and six hundred rebels, and his pursuit of the Cornish retreat had killed a further seven hundred. Many involved in the rebellion initially escaped the grasp of government forces, including Arundell, who fled to Launceston . There, he
5980-489: The centre of power. Stephen Gardiner was refused access to Henry during his last months. Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk , found himself accused of treason ; the day before the king's death his vast estates were seized, making them available for redistribution, and he spent the whole of Edward's reign in the Tower of London. Other historians have argued that Gardiner's exclusion was based on non-religious matters, that Norfolk
6110-533: The chronicler John Hayward . When news of the atrocity reached Arundell's forces, a new attack took place early on August 6. Lord Grey later commented that he had never seen the like nor taken part in such a murderous fray. As he had led the charge against the Scots in the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh , this was a telling statement. Some 2,000 soldiers had died at the battle of Clyst Heath. A group of Devon men went north, up
6240-432: The command of Lord William Grey . With promised reinforcements from Wiltshire and Gloucestershire , Russell would have had more than 8,600 men, including a cavalry force of 850 men, all of whom were well armed and well trained. Russell had estimated the combined rebel forces from Cornwall and Devon at only 7,000 men. On July 28, Arundell decided to block their approach to Exeter at Fenny Bridges. The result of this conflict
6370-459: The common people against a rapacious landowning class. More recently, however, he has often been portrayed as an arrogant and aloof ruler, lacking in political and administrative skills. In contrast, Somerset's successor the Earl of Warwick, made Duke of Northumberland in 1551, was once regarded by historians merely as a grasping schemer who cynically elevated and enriched himself at the expense of
6500-481: The council after winning the support of council members in return for titles, and was made Lord President of the Council and great master of the king's household. Although not called a Protector, he was now clearly the head of the government. As Edward was growing up, he was able to understand more and more government business. However, his actual involvement in decisions has long been a matter of debate, and during
6630-491: The council. In January 1549, the council had Thomas Seymour arrested on various charges, including embezzlement at the Bristol mint . King Edward, whom Seymour was accused of planning to marry to Lady Jane Grey, himself testified about the pocket money. Lack of clear evidence for treason ruled out a trial, so Seymour was condemned instead by an act of attainder and beheaded on 20 March 1549. Somerset's only undoubted skill
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#17327662150916760-591: The country, not only in Norfolk and the west. The origin of the popular view of Somerset as sympathetic to the rebel cause lies partly in his series of sometimes liberal, often contradictory, proclamations, and partly in the uncoordinated activities of the commissions he sent out in 1548 and 1549 to investigate grievances about loss of tillage, encroachment of large sheep flocks on common land , and similar issues. Somerset's commissions were led by an evangelical MP called John Hales , whose socially liberal rhetoric linked
6890-462: The crown. Since the 1970s, the administrative and economic achievements of his regime have been recognised, and he has been credited with restoring the authority of the royal council and returning the government to an even keel after the disasters of Somerset's protectorate. The Earl of Warwick's rival for leadership of the new regime was Thomas Wriothesley, Earl of Southampton, whose conservative supporters had allied with Warwick's followers to create
7020-403: The curate of Pillaton ). In the aftermath of the rebellion, the government came to associate the Cornish language with sedition and "backwardness". This was one of the reasons why the Book of Common Prayer was never translated into Cornish (unlike Welsh ), as proposals to do so were suppressed in the rebellion's aftermath. The failure to translate the Book of Common Prayer into Cornish led to
7150-447: The difference was that he managed the bureaucracy on the pretence that Edward had assumed full sovereignty, whereas Somerset had asserted the right to near-sovereignty as Protector". Warwick's war policies were more pragmatic than Somerset's, and they have earned him criticism for weakness. In 1550, he signed a peace treaty with France that agreed to withdrawal from Boulogne and recalled all English garrisons from Scotland. In 1551, Edward
7280-445: The disastrous state of the kingdom's finances. However, his regime first succumbed to the temptations of a quick profit by further debasing the coinage. The economic disaster that resulted caused Warwick to hand the initiative to the expert Thomas Gresham . By 1552, confidence in the coinage was restored, prices fell and trade at last improved. Though a full economic recovery was not achieved until Elizabeth's reign, its origins lay in
7410-527: The discontent. A damaged social structure then meant this local uprising was not sufficiently dealt with by nearby landowners. The Marquess of Exeter , a large landowner in Sampford Courtenay, had recently been attainted . His successor, Lord Russell, was based in London and rarely came out to his land. It is possible this created a lack of local power that would have normally been expected to quell
7540-514: The distress of women, forced them to surrender. Sir Richard Grenville found refuge in the ruins of Trematon Castle . Deserted by many of his followers, the old man was enticed outside to parley . He was seized and the castle ransacked. Sir Richard and his companions were imprisoned in Launceston gaol. The Cornish army then proceeded to march east across the Tamar border into Devon to join with
7670-519: The divisive matter of the communion service. Cranmer's formulation of the reformed religion, finally divesting the communion service of any notion of the real presence of God in the bread and the wine, effectively abolished the mass. According to Elton, the publication of Cranmer's revised prayer book in 1552, supported by a second Act of Uniformity , "marked the arrival of the English Church at Protestantism". The prayer book of 1552 remains
7800-456: The efficiency of Somerset's takeover of power, in which they detect the organising skills of allies such as Paget, the "master of practices", with the subsequent ineptitude of his rule. By autumn 1549, his costly wars had lost momentum, the crown faced financial ruin, and riots and rebellions had broken out around the country. Until recent decades, Somerset's reputation with historians was high, in view of his many proclamations that appeared to back
7930-543: The enforcement of the English language led to an explosion of anger in Cornwall and Devon, initiating an uprising. In response, Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset sent John Russell to suppress the revolt, with the rebels being defeated and its leaders executed two months after the beginning of hostilities. One probable cause of the Prayer Book Rebellion was the religious changes recently implemented by
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#17327662150918060-578: The executions of numerous individuals suspected of involvement with the rebellion as part of the post-rebellion reprisals. These included figures such as mayor of Bodmin Nicholas Boyer, portreeve of St Ives John Payne and mayor of Gluvian William Mayow , the latter of which was hanged outside a tavern in St Columb. Several priests were hanged, including Richard Bennett (vicar of St Veep and St Neot ) and Simon Morton (vicar of Poundstock and
8190-462: The final indignity that the people could peaceably bear. Two decades of unpopular government policies were followed by two years of rampant inflation, in which wheat prices had quadrupled. Along with the rapid enclosure of common lands, the attack on the Church, which was felt to be central to the rural community, led to an explosion of anger. In Cornwall, an army gathered at the town of Bodmin under
8320-563: The finest caches of Beaker pottery in Cornwall. Bronze Age Goonhilly Downs contains over 65 Bronze Age barrows, as well as the "dry tree" standing stone. A Bronze Age standing stone exists at Tremenheere, which means "Standing Stone Farm" ( Tre = place/farm, Menhir = standing stone) and there is another place of the same name in Ludgvan . Other antiquities are a cist called the Three Brothers of Grugith on Crowza Downs and
8450-420: The form Keverne was revived at the Reformation. The church is very large for a village church and in its present form is 15th-century: however parts of the stonework appear to have been reused from a previous church building. Unusually for Cornwall, the tower is topped by a spire. Other features of interest include the bench ends and a mural painting. A 32-pounder carronade that divers recovered in 1978 from
8580-671: The formal scholarship, supported by the monastic orders , that had sustained the Celtic Cornish and the Catholic Devonian cultural identities. The dissolution of Glasney College and Crantock College as well as Tavistock Abbey in Devon played a significant part in fomenting opposition to future cultural reforms. It has been argued that the Catholic Church had "proved itself extremely accommodating of Cornish language and culture" and that government attacks on
8710-552: The foundation of the Church of England's services. However, Cranmer was unable to implement all these reforms once it became clear in spring 1553 that King Edward, upon whom the whole Reformation in England depended, was dying. After the Rough Wooing and Thomas Seymour's plan to marry him off to Lady Jane Grey, the 13-year-old King was betrothed to the five-year-old Elisabeth of Valois , daughter of Henry II of France and Catherine de' Medici , in 1550. The marriage alliance
8840-440: The gentry as a common factor in all of the 1549 rebellions: "indeed all hath conceived a wonderful hate against the gentlemen and taketh them all as their enemies." The Cornish rebels were also concerned with the use of the English language in the new prayer book. The language-map of Cornwall at this time is quite complicated, but philological studies have suggested that the Cornish language had been in territorial retreat throughout
8970-697: The government of the new king, Edward VI . In the late 1540s, Lord Protector Somerset , on behalf of the young king, introduced a range of legislative measures as an extension of the English Reformation in England and Wales , with the primary aim of changing theology and practices, particularly in areas of traditionally Catholic religious loyalty – for example, in Cornwall and Devon . When traditional religious processions and pilgrimages were banned, commissioners were sent out to remove all symbols of Catholicism, in line with Thomas Cranmer 's religious policies favouring Protestantism ever more. In Cornwall, this task
9100-765: The granddaughter of his chamberlain, William Sidney, who in adulthood recalled the prince as "a marvellous sweet child, of very mild and generous condition". Edward was educated with sons of nobles, "appointed to attend upon him" in what was a form of miniature court. Among these, Barnaby Fitzpatrick , son of an Irish peer, became a close and lasting friend. Edward was more devoted to his schoolwork than his classmates and seems to have outshone them, motivated to do his "duty" and compete with his sister Elizabeth's academic prowess. Edward's surroundings and possessions were regally splendid: his rooms were hung with costly Flemish tapestries, and his clothes, books and cutlery were encrusted with precious jewels and gold. Like his father, Edward
9230-497: The hole rule and gouernauce therof. 3. But if he be under 18, then his mother to be gouuernres til he entre 18 yere old, But to doe nothing w'out th'auise (and agremet inserted) of 6 parcel of a counsel to be pointed by my last will to the nombre of 20. 4. If the mother die befor th'eire entre into 18 the realme to be gouuerned by the cousel Prouided that after he be 14 yere al great matters of importaunce be opened to him. 5. If i died w'out issu, and there were none heire masle, then
9360-701: The hundred of Winningtone (i.e. Kerrier ) that never paid geld.) The Condura and Tregarne manors in St Keverne parish were associated with Condura , the Cornish Earl of Cornwall at the time of the Norman Conquest , according to antiquary William Hals . By 1236 the churches and demesnes of Tregonan had come into the possession of the Cistercian abbey at Beaulieu and their title was confirmed by Richard, Earl of Cornwall in 1258. This
9490-453: The issue of enclosure with Reformation theology and the notion of a godly commonwealth . Local groups often assumed that the findings of these commissions entitled them to act against offending landlords themselves. King Edward wrote in his Chronicle that the 1549 risings began "because certain commissions were sent down to pluck down enclosures". Whatever the popular view of Somerset, the disastrous events of 1549 were taken as evidence of
9620-400: The king was the Privy Chamber, and there Edward worked closely with William Cecil and William Petre , the principal secretaries . The king's greatest influence was in matters of religion, where the council followed the strongly Protestant policy that Edward favoured. The Duke of Northumberland's mode of operation was very different from Somerset's. Careful to make sure he always commanded
9750-464: The language's rapid decline during the 16th and 17th centuries, to the point that by 1700, Cornish had become an endangered language . In June 2007, Bishop of Truro Bill Ind was awarded the Trelawny Plate, an award given to people seen as making an "outstanding contribution to Cornish life". During his acceptance of the award, Ind made a speech in which he apologised for the suppression of
9880-530: The last minute, which allowed the executors to freely distribute lands and honours to themselves and the court, particularly to Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford, the new king's uncle who became Lord Protector of the Realm , Governor of the King's Person and Duke of Somerset . Henry VIII's will did not provide for the appointment of a Protector. It entrusted the government of the realm during his son's minority to
10010-468: The leader of the council and, in effect, as Somerset's successor. Although Somerset was released from the Tower and restored to the council, he was executed for felony in January 1552 after scheming to overthrow Dudley's regime. Edward noted his uncle's death in his Chronicle : "the duke of Somerset had his head cut off upon Tower Hill between eight and nine o'clock in the morning". Historians contrast
10140-458: The leadership of its mayor, Henry Bray, and two staunch Catholic landowners, Sir Humphrey Arundell of Helland and John Winslade of Tregarrick. Many of the gentry sought protection in old castles. Some shut themselves in St Michael's Mount where they were besieged by the rebels who started a bewildering smoke-screen by burning trusses of hay . This, combined with a shortage of food and
10270-451: The link between the English Church and Rome but continued to uphold most Catholic doctrine and ceremony. It was during Edward's reign that Protestantism was established for the first time in England with reforms that included the abolition of clerical celibacy and the Mass , and the imposition of compulsory English in church services. In 1553, at age 15, Edward fell ill. When his sickness
10400-472: The main army to advance upon Exeter, where it besieged the city for 5 weeks. The rebel commanders unsuccessfully tried to persuade John Blackaller , Exeter 's pro-Catholic mayor, to surrender the town. The city gates were closed as the initial force of some 2,000 men gathered outside. On July 2, Lord John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford 's initial force had reached Honiton. It included 160 Italian arquebusiers and 1,000 landsknechts , German foot soldiers, under
10530-430: The main contingent of 6,000 soldiers at Clyst St Mary , but they were attacked by a central force led by Sir William Francis on August 5. After a ferocious battle, Russell's troops gained the advantage and left a thousand Cornish and Devonians dead and many more taken prisoner. Russell pitched camp on Clyst Heath where he had 900 bound and gagged rebel prisoners killed, with their throats slit in 10 minutes, according to
10660-451: The most savage campaign ever launched by the English against the Scots. The war, which continued into Edward's reign, has become known as "the Rough Wooing ". The nine-year-old Edward wrote to his father and stepmother on 10 January 1547 from Hertford thanking them for his New Year 's gift of their portraits from life. By 28 January, Henry VIII was dead. Those close to the throne, led by Edward Seymour and William Paget , agreed to delay
10790-472: The next service to enforce the change. An altercation at the service led to a proponent of the change (William Hellyons) killed by being run through with a pitchfork on the steps of the church house. Following this confrontation, a group of parishioners from Sampford Courtenay decided to march to Exeter to protest at the introduction of the new prayer book. As the group of rebels moved through Devon, they gained large numbers of Catholic supporters and became
10920-558: The outset. His father was delighted with him; in May 1538, Henry was observed "dallying with him in his arms ... and so holding him in a window to the sight and great comfort of the people". That September, the Lord Chancellor, Lord Audley , reported Edward's rapid growth and vigour, and other accounts describe him as a tall and merry child. The tradition that Edward VI was a sickly boy has been challenged by more recent historians. At
11050-540: The pageants for a previous boy king, Henry VI . He laughed at a Spanish tightrope walker who "tumbled and played many pretty toys" outside St Paul's Cathedral . At the coronation service, Cranmer affirmed the royal supremacy and called Edward a second Josiah , urging him to continue the reformation of the Church of England , "the tyranny of the Bishops of Rome banished from your subjects, and images removed". After
11180-537: The parish includes the hamlets of Zoar , Laddenvean , Traboe , Trelan and Gwenter. The eastern part of Goonhilly Downs is also in the parish. St Keverne lies within the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). St Keverne was, in the Middle Ages , the site of an important monastery. The church is dedicated to St Akeveranus , although for a considerable period this was corrupted to Kieran;
11310-462: The peace with Edward's betrothal to the seven-month-old Mary, Queen of Scots , granddaughter of Edward's aunt and Henry's sister Margaret Tudor . The Scots were in a weak bargaining position after their defeat at the Battle of Solway Moss in November 1542, and Henry, seeking to unite the two realms, stipulated that Mary be handed over to him to be brought up in England. When the Scots repudiated
11440-599: The pious image of Edward handed down by the reformers, as in John Foxe's influential Acts and Monuments , where a woodcut depicts the young king listening to a sermon by Hugh Latimer . In the early part of his life, Edward conformed to the prevailing Catholic practices, including attendance at mass, but he became convinced, under the influence of Cranmer and the reformers among his tutors and courtiers, that "true" religion should be imposed in England. The English Reformation advanced under pressure from two directions: from
11570-416: The prayer book. Both were imprisoned in the Tower and, along with others, deprived of their sees. In 1549, over 5,500 people died in the Prayer Book Rebellion in Devon and Cornwall. Reformed doctrines were made official, such as justification by faith alone and communion for laity as well as clergy in both kinds , of bread and wine. The Ordinal of 1550 replaced the divine ordination of priests with
11700-410: The property of the bishops transferred into lay hands. The religious convictions of both Somerset and Northumberland have proved elusive for historians, who are divided on the sincerity of their Protestantism. There is less doubt, however, about the religious fervour of King Edward, who was said to have read twelve chapters of scripture daily and enjoyed sermons, and was commemorated by John Foxe as
11830-574: The realms through conquest became increasingly unrealistic. The Scots allied with France, who sent reinforcements for the defence of Edinburgh in 1548. The Queen of Scots was moved to France, where she was betrothed to the Dauphin . The cost of maintaining the Protector's massive armies and his permanent garrisons in Scotland also placed an unsustainable burden on the royal finances. A French attack on Boulogne in August 1549 at last forced Somerset to begin
11960-595: The rebellion, stating that "I am often asked about my attitude to the Prayerbook Rebellion and in my opinion, there is no doubt that the English Government behaved brutally and stupidly and killed many Cornish people . I don't think apologising for something that happened over 500 years ago helps, but I am sorry about what happened and I think it was an enormous mistake." Edward VI of England Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553)
12090-601: The revolt. The Cornish had long regarded themselves as a distinct territory of the Kingdom of England, a belief which was reinforced by the Cornish language's central role as a expression of ethnic identity; as such, the Reformation, with its emphasis on the usage of English, was seen as a threat to the Cornish national identity. After the Cornish rebellion of 1497 and the subsequent destruction of monasteries from 1536 through to 1545 under King Henry VIII had brought an end to
12220-407: The second , led by a tradesman called Robert Kett , mainly from the encroachment of landlords on common grazing ground. A complex aspect of the social unrest was that the protesters believed they were acting legitimately against enclosing landlords with the Protector's support, convinced that the landlords were the lawbreakers. The same justification for outbreaks of unrest was voiced throughout
12350-484: The service, Edward presided at a banquet in Westminster Hall , where, he recalled in his Chronicle , he dined with his crown on his head. Henry VIII's will named sixteen executors , who were to act as Edward's council until he reached the age of eighteen. These executors were supplemented by twelve men "of counsail" who would assist the executors when called on. The final state of Henry VIII's will has been
12480-691: The share-out of honours. In fact, in the early weeks of his Protectorate, Somerset was challenged only by the Chancellor, Thomas Wriothesley , whom the Earldom of Southampton had evidently failed to buy off, and by his own brother. Wriothesley, a religious conservative, objected to Somerset's assumption of monarchical power over the council. He then found himself abruptly dismissed from the chancellorship on charges of selling off some of his offices to delegates. Somerset faced less manageable opposition from his younger brother Thomas, who has been described as
12610-463: The subject of controversy. Some historians suggest that those close to the king manipulated either him or the will itself to ensure a share-out of power to their benefit, both material and religious. In this reading, the composition of the Privy Chamber shifted towards the end of 1546 in favour of the reforming faction . In addition, two leading conservative Privy Councillors were removed from
12740-526: The succession with a Third Succession Act , which also provided for a regency council during Edward's minority. This unaccustomed family harmony may have owed much to the influence of Henry's sixth wife, Catherine Parr , of whom Edward soon became fond. He called her his "most dear mother" and in September 1546 wrote to her: "I received so many benefits from you that my mind can hardly grasp them." Other children were brought to play with Edward, including
12870-466: The succession", in which he undertook to change the succession, most probably inspired by his father Henry VIII's precedent. He passed over the claims of his half-sisters and, at last, settled the Crown on his first cousin once removed, the 16-year-old Lady Jane Grey, who on 25 May 1553 had married Lord Guilford Dudley , a younger son of the Duke of Northumberland. In the document he writes: My devise for
13000-509: The traditional religion had reawakened the spirit of defiance in Cornwall, and in particular the majority Cornish-speaking far west. Immediate retribution followed with the execution of twenty-eight Cornishmen at Launceston Castle . One execution of a "traitor of Cornwall" occurred on Plymouth Hoe – town accounts gave details of the cost of timber for both gallows and poles. Martin Geoffrey, the pro-Catholic priest of St Keverne , near Helston,
13130-421: The traditionalists on the one hand and the zealots on the other, who led incidents of iconoclasm (image-smashing) and complained that reform did not go far enough. Cranmer set himself the task of writing a uniform liturgy in English, detailing all weekly and daily services and religious festivals, to be made compulsory in the first Act of Uniformity of 1549 . The Book of Common Prayer of 1549 , intended as
13260-524: The treaty in December 1543 and renewed their alliance with France, Henry was enraged. In April 1544, he ordered Edward's uncle, Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford , to invade Scotland and "put all to fire and sword, burn Edinburgh town , so razed and defaced when you have sacked and gotten what ye can of it, as there may remain forever a perpetual memory of the vengeance of God lightened upon [them] for their falsehood and disloyalty". Seymour responded with
13390-508: The valley of the Exe, where they were overtaken by Sir Gawen Carew who left the corpses of their leaders hanging on gibbets from Dunster to Bath. Lord Russell continued his attack with the relief of Exeter. In London, a proclamation was issued, allowing the lands of those involved in the uprising to be confiscated. Arundell's estate was transferred to Sir Gawen Carew, and Sir Peter Carew was rewarded with John Winslade's estate in Devon. Lord Russell
13520-481: The western Lizard coast at Gunwalloe . The population of the ward at the 2011 election was 5,220. The Cornish rebellion of 1497 started in St Keverne. The leader of the rebellion Michael An Gof ("the smith " in Cornish) was a blacksmith from St Keverne and is commemorated by a statue in the village. Before his execution, An Gof said that he should have "a name perpetual and a fame permanent and immortal". In 1997
13650-477: The women". The formal royal household established around Edward was, at first, under William Sidney , and later Richard Page , stepfather of Edward's aunt Anne (the wife of Edward Seymour ). Henry demanded exacting standards of security and cleanliness in his son's household, stressing that Edward was "this whole realm's most precious jewel". Visitors described the prince, who was lavishly provided with toys and comforts, including his own troupe of minstrels , as
13780-486: The wreck of HMS Primose stands by the lych-gate to the churchyard. ( Primrose was wrecked on The Manacles off The Lizard on 21 January 1809 with the loss of 125 lives and only one survivor, a drummer boy.) The peal of ten bells is one of the largest two peals in a Cornish parish church; until 2001 St Keverne had eight bells to which two more were then added ( Carbis Bay already had a peal of ten). St. Keverne has been inhabited for many thousands of years, and there
13910-551: Was King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. The only surviving son of Henry VIII by his third wife, Jane Seymour , Edward was the first English monarch to be raised as a Protestant . During his reign, the realm was governed by a regency council because Edward never reached maturity. The council was first led by his uncle Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset (1547–1549), and then by John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland (1550–1553). Edward's reign
14040-485: Was a valuable possession including as it did the rectorial tithe of a large and prosperous parish, the tithe of fish, and the lands of the churchtown. The right of sanctuary held by Beaulieu Abbey was extended to St Keverne. A small cell of monks was maintained at Tregonan; slight remains of the building there existed until the early 20th century. In the parish is Lesneague which can be derived from Cornish lis (court) and manahec (monks' land) which would indicate that it
14170-440: Was as a soldier, which he had proven on expeditions to Scotland and in the defence of Boulogne-sur-Mer in 1546. From the first, his main interest as Protector was the war against Scotland. After a crushing victory at the Battle of Pinkie in September 1547, he set up a network of garrisons in Scotland, stretching as far north as Dundee . His initial successes, however, were followed by a loss of direction, as his aim of uniting
14300-504: Was betrothed to Elisabeth of Valois , King Henry II 's daughter, and was made a Knight of Saint Michael . Warwick realised that England could no longer support the cost of wars. At home, he took measures to police local unrest. To forestall future rebellions, he kept permanent representatives of the crown in the localities, including lords lieutenant , who commanded military forces and reported back to central government. Working with William Paulet and Walter Mildmay , Warwick tackled
14430-477: Was captured and taken to London together with Winslade, who was caught at Bodmin. In total, over 5,500 people died during the rebellion. Further orders were issued on behalf of the king by the Duke of Somerset and Archbishop Thomas Cranmer to government forces, instructing them to carry out pacification operations the West Country under the leadership of Sir Anthony Kingston . Kingston subsequently ordered
14560-520: Was crowned at Westminster Abbey on Sunday 20 February. The ceremonies were shortened, because of the "tedious length of the same which should weary and be hurtsome peradventure to the King's majesty, being yet of tender age", and also because the Reformation had rendered some of them inappropriate. On the eve of the coronation , Edward progressed on horseback from the Tower to the Palace of Westminster through thronging crowds and pageants, many based on
14690-487: Was dated between 5,550 and 5250 BC, from some hazelnut fragments. Flint tools were first discovered during attempts to plow the land for planting, and overall, nearly 48,000 flint tools were discovered. Neolithic During the Neolithic period and beyond, St. Keverne was one of the primary sources of clay for pottery. Gabbroic clay covers an area of approximately 7 square miles of the Lizard Peninsula, mainly in
14820-433: Was discovered to be terminal, he and his council drew up a "Devise for the Succession" to prevent the country's return to Catholicism . Edward named his Protestant first cousin once removed, Lady Jane Grey , as his heir, excluding his half-sisters, Mary and Elizabeth . This decision was disputed following Edward's death, and Jane was deposed by Mary - the elder of the two half-sisters - nine days after becoming queen. Mary,
14950-503: Was fascinated by military arts, and many of his portraits show him wearing a gold dagger with a jewelled hilt, in imitation of Henry. Edward's Chronicle enthusiastically details English military campaigns against Scotland and France, and adventures such as John Dudley 's near capture at Musselburgh in 1547. On 1 July 1543, Henry signed the Treaty of Greenwich with the Scots , sealing
15080-445: Was given to William Body, whose perceived desecration of religious shrines led to his murder on 5 April 1548 by William Kylter and Pascoe Trevian at Helston . This pressure on the lower classes was compounded by the recent poll tax on sheep. This would have affected the region significantly, with the West Country being an area of sheep farming. Rumours circulating that the tax would be extended to other livestock might have increased
15210-487: Was in a hopeless condition. The king's death and the succession of his Catholic half-sister Mary would jeopardise the English Reformation, and Edward's council and officers had many reasons to fear it. Edward himself opposed Mary's succession, not only on religious grounds but also on those of legitimacy and male inheritance, which also applied to Elizabeth. He composed a draft document, headed "My devise for
15340-498: Was inconclusive. Approximately 300 men on each side were reported to have died with Lord Russell and his army returned to Honiton. Lord Russell's reinforcements arrived on August 2 and his army of 5,000 men began a march upon Exeter, westward, across the downs. Russell's advance continued on to Woodbury Common where they pitched camp. On August 4, the rebels attacked, but the result was inconclusive with large numbers of prisoners taken by Lord Russell. Arundell's forces re-grouped with
15470-404: Was inhabited by a population of Anglo-Saxon descent, which was entirely English speaking." This tripartite model is however not borne out by modern genetic evidence which shows distinctly Cornish and Devonian genetic identities separate from, but closely related to, both each other and the 'Anglo-Saxon' English. The West Cornish, outraged by the introduction of English in their 1549 services, wrote
15600-423: Was institutionally Protestant. The confiscation of church property that had begun under Henry VIII resumed under Edward—notably with the dissolution of the chantries —to the great monetary advantage of the crown and the new owners of the seized property. Church reform was therefore as much a political as a religious policy under Edward VI. By the end of his reign, the church had been financially ruined, with much of
15730-419: Was limited, his intense Protestantism made a reforming administration obligatory; his succession was managed by the reforming faction, who continued in power throughout his reign. The man Edward trusted most, Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, introduced a series of religious reforms that revolutionised the English church from one that—while rejecting papal supremacy—remained essentially Catholic to one that
15860-440: Was marked by many economic problems and social unrest that in 1549 erupted into riot and rebellion. An expensive war with Scotland , at first successful, ended with military withdrawal from Scotland and Boulogne-sur-Mer in exchange for peace. The transformation of the Church of England into a recognisably Protestant body also occurred under Edward, who took great interest in religious matters. His father, Henry VIII, had severed
15990-437: Was negotiated in secrecy, although Pope Julius III became aware of the plan and threatened to excommunicate both Henry and Elisabeth if the marriage went forward. A dowry of 200,000 écus was agreed to, but was never paid due to Edward's death before marriage. Elisabeth later married his sister Mary's widower, Philip II of Spain . In February 1553, Edward VI became ill, and by June, after several improvements and relapses, he
16120-404: Was not noticeably conservative in religion, that conservatives remained on the council, and that the radicalism of such men as Sir Anthony Denny , who controlled the dry stamp that replicated the king's signature, is debatable. Whatever the case, Henry's death was followed by a lavish hand-out of lands and honours to the new power group. The will contained an "unfulfilled gifts" clause, added at
16250-459: Was once the seat of a local chieftain. There have been Cornish wrestling tournaments in St Keverne for prizes. James Polkinghorne (1788–1851) was born at St Keverne and was one of the most famous champion Cornish wrestlers who had a number of famous contests against Devon fighters, including Flower, Jackman (1816) and Abraham Cann (1826), which drew very large crowds of spectators (c17,000). Henry Cuttance (1807–?), from St Keverne,
16380-422: Was shott at the Tower that night above two thousand gonnes". Queen Jane, appearing to recover quickly from the birth, sent out personally signed letters announcing the birth of "a Prince, conceived in most lawful matrimony between my Lord the King's Majesty and us". Edward was christened on 15 October, with his 21-year-old half-sister Lady Mary as godmother and his 4-year-old half-sister Lady Elizabeth carrying
16510-414: Was taken to London. After Geoffrey's execution, his head was impaled on a staff erected upon London Bridge as was customary. The new prayer book was not uniformly adopted and in 1549, the Act of Uniformity made it unlawful to use the Latin liturgical rites from Whitsunday 1549 onwards. Magistrates were given the task of enforcing the change. Following the enforced change on Whitsunday, on Whitmonday
16640-459: Was taken to the Tower of London , where he was welcomed with "great shot of ordnance in all places there about, as well out of the Tower as out of the ships". The following day, the nobles of the realm made their obeisance to Edward at the Tower, and Seymour was announced as Protector . Henry VIII was buried at Windsor on 16 February, in the same tomb as Jane Seymour, as he had wished. Edward VI
16770-533: Was teaching at Oxford; and by other foreign theologians. The progress of the Reformation was further speeded by the consecration of more reformers as bishops. In the winter of 1551–52, Cranmer rewrote the Book of Common Prayer in less ambiguous reformist terms, revised canon law and prepared a doctrinal statement, the Forty-two Articles , to clarify the practice of the reformed religion, particularly in
16900-478: Was under the impression that the rebels had been defeated, but news arrived that Arundell's army was re-grouping at Sampford Courtenay . This interrupted his plans to send 1,000 men into Cornwall by ship to cut off his enemy's retreat. Russell's forces were strengthened by the arrival of a force under Provost Marshal Sir Anthony Kingston . His army now numbered more than 8,000, vastly outnumbering what had remained of his opposition. Lord Grey and Sir William Herbert led
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