9. Tudor

1485 -1603

The Early Reformation

The English Reformation started during the reign of Henry VIII. The King was desperate to have a son but his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, was too old to have any more children so Henry decided to divorce her. In order to do this, Henry broke away from the Roman Catholic Church which did not allow divorce and which was led by the Pope in Rome. Henry made himself Head of the Church in England in 1534.

The Dissolution of the Monasteries

Henry's break with the Roman Catholic Church caused a problem. Over a quarter of the land in England at this time was owned by powerful monasteries such as Chertsey and Waverley who were loyal to the Roman Catholic Church and the Pope. Henry's solution was simple: to get rid of the monasteries. Some people were already beginning to feel unhappy with the very rich monasteries and Henry knew he could make a lot of money by selling them. So the King ordered his chief minister Thomas Cromwell to lead an investigation into the behaviour of the monks. After reading Cromwell's reports, Henry decided to begin closing down the monasteries. Land was taken and sold off and the buildings where the monks had once lived were pulled apart and used to build new houses. Stone was taken from Chertsey Abbey and used to build a new palace for the King at Oatlands, while materials from Waverley Abbey were used in the building of Loseley House.

The Royal Palaces

PX_49_3
Nonsuch Palace, from a print by George Hoefnagel, 1582
Surrey History Centre ref. PX/49/3

The destruction of the monasteries marked a major change to the landscape of Surrey as Henry used some of the money and materials to build lavish royal palaces such as Nonsuch and Oatlands. By the time of his death in 1547, Henry VIII owned eleven royal palaces in Tudor Surrey. Henry's youngest daughter, Elizabeth I, used these palaces a great deal.

The Later Reformation

After the death of Henry VIII, there were more changes in religion in England. Henry's son, Edward VI began to introduce Protestant ideas. He commissioned two new prayer books and ordered beautiful decorations and precious objects to be removed from churches. When his sister Mary became Queen in 1553, she tried to bring England back to the Roman Catholic Church. When Elizabeth I came to the throne in 1558 the Protestant religion in England became more settled.

Tudor Surrey

Royal Palaces

Nonsuch Palace - Henry VIII demolished the nearby village of Cuddington, including the manor house and church, in order to make way for this enormous and luxurious hunting lodge on the scale of an incomparable palace. Building began in 1538 on the 30th anniversary of Henry's accession. There is little left to see but it may get its name from Henry's wish that there should be 'Nonsuch like it'! More can be discovered about Nonsuch Palace at the Bourne Hall Museum, Ewell.

Oatlands Palace, Weybridge - one of Henry VIII’s palaces, the Tudor gate can still be seen.

Royal Palace, Guildford Castle - visit Guildford Museum.

Woking Palace - the site of Woking Manor and until recently known as Woking Old Hall. Find out more at The Lightbox, Woking.

Hampton Court Palace - strictly, in Middlesex but almost in Surrey and both Oatlands and Nonsuch Palaces seem to have been sited in relation to Hampton Court!

Houses

Loseley House near Guildford - constructed in 1562 by Sir William More, one of Elizabeth’s most trusted advisors and supporters in Surrey. Much of the stone used to build the house was taken from the Cistercian Abbey of Waverley.