Timeline of the English Reformation
This is a timeline of the Protestant Reformation in England. The list is not complete and you are welcome to expand it.
| Date | Event | Significance to the Reformation in England |
|---|---|---|
| 1496 | Catherine of Aragon's hand secured for Arthur, Prince of Wales, son of Henry VII | Brought Catherine of Aragon to England and kept her in the consciousness of the Tudor dynasty. |
| 1501, October | Arthur marries Catherine | |
| 1502, April | Arthur dies of tuberculosis | |
| 1503 | Henry VII's wife dies; considers taking Catherine, but decides to pass her to his son Henry VIII | |
| 1504 | Pope Julius II confirms the marriage between Catherine and Henry | |
| 11 June 1509 | Henry VIII marries Catherine | |
| 1514, December | A boy born to Catherine; dies 6 weeks later | |
| 18 February 1516 | Princess Mary born | |
| 31 October 1517 | Martin Luther posts his 95 Theses on the door of a church in Wittenberg, Germany, formally beginning the Protestant Reformation | |
| 1521 | Pope Leo X rewards Henry VIII for his written attack on Luther by granting him the title "Defender of the Faith" | Henry remains allied with Rome |
| 1524, May | William Tyndale expelled from the Catholic Church | |
| 1525 | Thomas Cromwell helps to suppress 29 monasteries | |
| 1525 | The New Testament of the Tyndale Bible (in English) is published in Worms, Germany. | Although banned in England, Tyndale's work heavily influenced subsequent approved Bible translations. |
| 1527 | Henry VIII sure of intentions to divorce Catherine | |
| 1527, May | Catherine appeals to Rome | |
| 1529, June | Court opens in England for divorce case | |
| 1529, August | Peace of Cambrai | |
| 9 August 1529 | Writs for new parliament; Thomas Wolsey removed as Lord Chancellor | |
| 9 October 1529 | Wolsey charged on Praemunire | |
| 1530, April | Wolsey returns to his see at York | |
| 1530, Summer | Writs of Praemunire against 15 clergy | |
| 1530, November | Wolsey dies on his journey back to London and the Tower | |
| 1530 | Cromwell part of the King's council's inner ring | |
| 1531 | Henry makes claims to imperial title | |
| 1531 | Henry extends protection to clergymen denying papal supremacy | |
| 1532 | Duke of Norfolk, Duke of Suffolk, Earl of Wiltshire fall out of favour | |
| 1532, March | Supplication against the Ordinaries | |
| 1532, March | Act in Conditional Restraint of Appeals | |
| 1532, May | Submission of the Clergy | |
| 16 May 1532 | Thomas More resigns as Lord Chancellor of England | |
| 1532, December | Anne Boleyn becomes pregnant | |
| 1533, January | Thomas Cranmer appointed Archbishop of Canterbury | |
| 1533, 25 January | Henry VIII marries Anne Boleyn at Whitehall [1] | |
| 1533, March | Statute in Restraint of Appeals | |
| 1533, May | Cranmer declares Henry's marriage null and void | |
| 1533, 4 July | John Frith burned at the stake | |
| 1533, September | Princess Elizabeth born | |
| 1534 | Henry begins negotiations with Paul III | |
| 1534, January to March | Act Concerning Ecclesiastical Appointments and Absolute Restraint of Annates, Act Concerning Peter's Pence and Dispensations, Act of Succession | |
| 1534, March | Clement VII pronounces marriage valid | |
| 1534, April | Elizabeth Barton ('Nun of Kent') executed | |
| 1534, November | Act of Supremacy, Treason Act, Act of First Fruits and Tenths | |
| 1535 | Henry adds "of the Church of England in Earth, under Jesus Christ, Supreme Head" to his royal style. Henry proclaims himself, not the Pope, to be the head of the Church of England | |
| 1535 | Bishop Gardiner's De Vera Obedientia published | |
| 1535 | The Coverdale Bible, compiled by Myles Coverdale published in Antwerp. | The first complete Modern English translation of the Bible (not just the Old Testament or New Testament), and the first complete printed translation into English. Coverdale's translation of the Psalms was adopted by Cranmer for the 1549 Book of Common Prayer and remained for centuries the translation of the psalter prescribed for liturgical use in the Anglican church. |
| 1535 | Cranmer appoints Hugh Latimer, Edward Foxe, Nicholas Shaxton to episcopacy | |
| 1535, May | Middlemore, Exmere, Newdigate locked up for seventeen days. Ten more starve | |
| 1535, 22 June | John Fisher executed | |
| 1535, 6 July | Thomas More executed | |
| 1536 | Ten Articles; Act Extinguishing the Authority of the Bishop of Rome; Campeggio visits England | |
| 1536, January | Anne miscarries again | |
| 1536, March | First Act of Dissolution | |
| 19 May 1536 | Anne Boleyn is executed | |
| 1536, April | 'Reformation parliament' dissolved | |
| 1536, 1 October | Pilgrimage of Grace, Phase One | |
| 1536, 4 October | Pilgrimage of Grace led by 18 members of the gentry | |
| 1536, 13 October | York taken by 10,000 'pilgrims' | |
| 1536, 8 December | Duke of Norfolk offers pardon to rebels | |
| 1537 | Bishops' Book published, John Rogers produces the Matthew Bible | |
| 1537, January | Bigod's Rebellion, a further phase of the Pilgrimage of Grace, led by Sir Francis Bigod | |
| 1537, 12 October | Jane Seymour gives birth to Prince Edward at Hampton Court Palace. | |
| 1538 | 'Exeter Conspiracy' | |
| 1539, 28 June | Six Articles (1539) | Affirmed traditional Roman Catholic doctrine |
| 1539 | Publication of the Great Bible compiled by Miles Coverdale | This is the first English translation of the Bible to be authorised for use in parish churches. |
| 1539 | Second Act of Dissolution; Henry VIII intervenes to halt the doctrinal reformation | |
| 1540, 6 January | Henry marries Anne of Cleves | |
| 1540, 9 July | Henry's marriage to Anne of Cleves is annulled | |
| 1540, 28 July | Thomas Cromwell is beheaded | |
| 1540, 30 July | Robert Barnes is burned at the stake | |
| 1540, 30 July | Thomas Abel is hanged, drawn and quartered. | |
| 1543 | Cranmer is arrested on grounds of heresy, The King's Book is published | |
| 1544 | Bishop Gardiner is targeted | |
| 1546 | 'Creeping to the Cross' added to the list of forbidden practises | |
| 1547, 28 January | Henry VIII dies, Edward VI accedes to the throne aged 9 | Henry had appointed a Council of Regency dominated by Protestants, ensuring the continuation of the Reformation. |
| 1547 | The First Book of Homilies introduced by Thomas Cranmer | |
| 1549 | The First Book of Common Prayer is introduced by Thomas Cranmer and the Act of Uniformity 1549 | This makes the Book of Common Prayer the only lawful form of public worship |
| 1549 | Putting away of Books and Images Act orders the removal of religious books and the destruction of images in churches | |
| 1549, June–August | The Prayer Book Rebellion in the West Country against the imposition of the new liturgy, especially amongst Cornish speakers who knew no English | |
| 1552 | The Second Book of Common Prayer is introduced by Thomas Cranmer, the use of which is enforced by the Act of Uniformity 1552 | |
| 1553, 6 July | Edward VI dies aged 15, leaving the throne to his Protestant cousin, Lady Jane Grey and excluding both his half-sisters. | |
| 1553, 19 July | Jane is deposed after the Catholic Princess Mary gathers military and popular support in Suffolk, arriving in London on 3 August | |
| 1553, December | First Statute of Repeal nullifies all religious legislation passed under Edward VI | |
| 1554, 26 January | Start of Wyatt's rebellion in protest at Mary's planned marriage to Prince Philip of Spain | |
| 1554, 12 February | Lady Jane Grey is executed | |
| 1554, 25 July | Mary marries her cousin Philip, who becomes King of England in a coregency with Mary | |
| 1554, 30 November | Mary persuades Parliament to request that the Papal Legate, Cardinal Reginald Pole, obtain Papal absolution for England's separation from the Catholic Church. | This effectively returned the Church of England to Catholicism. |
| 1554, November | Revival of the Heresy Acts restored the death penalty for those that denied the principles of Catholicism. | More than 300 people would be executed during Mary's reign, mostly by burning at the stake, earning her the title of Bloody Mary, even though Queen Elizabeth executed many more people during her reign |
| 1555, January | Second Statute of Repeal removes all Protestant legislation passed since 1529 | |
| 1555, 16 October | Former bishops Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley were burned at the stake in Oxford. | |
| 1556, 21 March | Thomas Cranmer burned at the stake in Oxford. | |
| 1558, 17 November | Mary dies and her half-sister Elizabeth I accedes. Philip's English title lapses with the death of his wife. | |
| 1559, 15 January | Elizabeth is crowned. Because of her Protestant views, only the low-ranking Bishop of Carlisle is willing to officiate | The last Catholic coronation of a British monarch |
| 1558-59 | Elizabethan Religious Settlement, a compromise which secured Protestant reforms but allowed some Catholic traditions to continue. | |
| 1559 | Act of Supremacy 1558 confirmed Elizabeth as Head of the Church of England and abolished the authority of the Pope in England. | Final break with the Roman Church |
| 1559 | Act of Uniformity 1558 required attendances at services where a newly revised Book of Common Prayer was used. | |
| 1560 | Geneva Bible published in Switzerland | Published by Sir Rowland Hill. Although never authorised for use in England, it was the first English Bible to be divided into verses and became popular with Dissenters. |
| 1568 | Bishops' Bible published | A compromise between the vigorous but Calvinist Geneva Bible and the Great Bible, which it replaces in parish churches. |
| 1570, 27 April | Regnans in Excelsis a papal bull declaring Elizabeth a heretic and threatening those who obeyed her laws with excommunication. | |
| 1587, 8 February | Mary, Queen of Scots is executed | |
| 1588, 8 August | The Spanish Armada is defeated by the English fleet, aided by high winds | |
| 1597 | Irish Rebellion led by Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone | |
| 1603, 11 July | James VI of Scotland crowned King of England | |
| 1605 | Gunpowder Plot foiled, Guy Fawkes is executed(1606) | |
| 1609 | Plantation of Ulster | |
| 1611 | King James Bible first published and used throughout the English speaking world. | |
| 1625, 27 March | Charles I crowned King of England, Scotland and Ireland. | |
| 1642 | English Civil War breaks out | Issues largely centered on the Church of England's being seen as too Catholic |
| 1648 | The end of the Thirty Years War | |
| 1649, 30 January | Triumph of the Puritans, execution of King Charles I | |
| 1660 | Restoration of King Charles II | |
| 1688 | The Glorious Revolution |