Women who defied Henry VIII and stood at the forefront of religious upheaval during the 16th century in England, let’s explore their incredible stories. From the dissolution of monasteries under Henry VIII to the brutal persecutions under Mary I and Elizabeth I, this episode delves into the lives of the women who fought, suffered, and sacrificed for their faith.
Discover the hidden networks, secret rebellions, and enduring legacies of these often-overlooked figures, whose courage and resilience helped shape the course of English history. Whether as martyrs, exiles, or protectors of tradition, these women played a pivotal role in the religious transformations of their time. Join us as we uncover their powerful stories and reflect on how they continue to influence our understanding of faith and gender today.
We’re actually going to go and talk about something that we talked a little bit about during Women’s History Month and that was the role of the Reformation on women. Basically what women were doing during the religious changes of the 16th century and how that affected them. The reason why we’re going to talk about that is, I have been reading Philippa Gregory‘s book Normal Women which is really, really good.
It’s basically about what normal women were doing from the period from 1066 up to I think it goes up to just after the Civil War, 18th century. This is because of course it was men writing the history, women weren’t out in the public sphere as much, although many were, but the men who were writing about it, well, they weren’t writing about it. So there was that.
So this book has been really interesting for me. I have to say, I have a bit of a complicated relationship with Philippa Gregory. Because on the one hand, I read The Other Boleyn Girl back in 2003, 2004, or something like that, when it first came out.
Here’s a personal share. So I was living in New York City and it was summer. And I would go to Coney Island, to the beach. I would go there because it was a really easy train ride for me. Cause I lived right by Penn Station. So I had this easy train ride to go to Coney Island and I wasn’t fancy enough to go to the Hamptons or anything like that. I remember very clearly reading The Other Boleyn Girl, sitting on the beach in Coney Island. It must’ve been 2004.
Anyway, we are all like in this Tudor world, most of us have read The Other Boleyn Girl. If we haven’t, we’re familiar with it. We’ve read The White Queen, The White Princess, the multicolor rainbows of queens and princesses and duchesses and whatnot. In general, I mean, I love her storytelling. It’s wonderful. I’m really not a fan of the way some of the stories seem to be sensationalized.
Particularly around Lady Margaret Beaufort. I don’t know what Lady Margaret Beaufort ever did to Philippa Gregory to make her deserve to get the treatment that she has gotten. It used to really bother me when people would hop into a Facebook group and be like, “Well, I read The White Queen. And so therefore I know that Lady Margaret Beaufort killed the Princes in the Tower and she did it for her son to get to the throne.”
Honestly, I will admit. I also that I did kind of buy into that because I didn’t know any better. And I remember also very clearly interviewing Melita at Tudor times. It’s some episode from like maybe eight years ago when Margaret Beaufort was the person of the month for them, and we were doing those kinds of regular podcasts.
And I asked her, I said, “Well what about the idea that she was like, the mother-in-law from hell and everything like that?” And Melita started schooling me and then I did more of my own research as well and I found that indeed, there was very little evidence for Lady Margaret Beaufort actually being the mother-in-law from hell.
She spent most of her time when Henry was an exile, just trying to figure out how to get him back. She had accepted the Yorkist regime. It wasn’t like she was plotting for him to be king. And there’s so many people who benefited from the Princes’ disappearance. Yeah, it just seems so unfair to Lady Margaret and it’s kind of one of the things that really bothers me about Philippa Gregory. So I have a complicated relationship with her.
But I saw the book Normal Women, and I was like, I got to read that of course. So I’ve really been loving it. I’ve really been enjoying it. And so the part specifically about women in the Reformation in the 16th century really struck me. And I thought, I’m going to do something with that on this podcast because I think it’s a good story to tell.
So. I will say right now that everything I’m talking about is coming from that book. All of the examples, everything like that. If you want to dig in deep and really, really go for it. The book, Normal Women, it’s a really good book, highly recommended. As long as Lady Margaret Beaufort isn’t framed for killing the Princes in the Tower. So let us get into it.
The 16th century in England, as we know, seismic shifts in religion with the break from the Catholic church, set off a chain reaction of changes that would reverberate through every corner of society. And these changes didn’t just alter the relationship between England and Rome. They had profound effects on the lives of everyday people, particularly women.
While the kings and the bishops made the headlines, the women across the country were navigating the new religious landscape in ways that were both deeply personal and very impactful. Whether they were nuns who were displaced from their convents, noblewomen, protecting their faith in secret, or ordinary wives and mothers trying to keep their families together, amid all of the shifting doctrines, women played a crucial role in this period of religious upheaval.
Some fought back, some adapted, and others quietly carried on the traditions that were suddenly illegal. So today we’re going to explore how these women were both shaped by and instrumental in the religious changes of the 16th century. From the dissolution of the monasteries to the bloody battles over faith that followed, women were at the heart of it.
Dissolution of the Monasteries
Let’s start with the dissolution and how that affected religious women. So when Henry broke from the Catholic church, it wasn’t just an act of defiance against the Pope. It was a move that upended the lives of thousands of religious women across England. The dissolution beginning in the late 1530s meant the closure of nearly 900 religious houses, including nunneries that had been the centers of female religious life and female education, places for women to go, who didn’t want to marry. The center of all of this for centuries, one of the most immediate and brutal impacts of the Reformation was the closure of these religious houses.
Nuns who had dedicated their lives to God suddenly found themselves homeless and without a purpose. Let’s take, for example, the case of the Crabhouse Priory which was in Norfolk dating back to the 12th century, I believe. When one of Henry’s commissioners, Thomas Leigh, we’ve talked about the Leigh family a lot recently. It was Thomas Leigh who visited in 1535. He painted a very grim picture.
He accused the nuns of everything from pilfering items and selling monastic items, items that belong to the priory, to sexual misconduct. He claimed that one nun had born two children, one by a priest and one by a layman. These accusations, whether they were true or exaggerated were part of a broader effort to justify the closure of such establishments.
The nunnery along with many others was dissolved and the residents were left to fend for themselves. The closure of these religious houses didn’t mean just the loss of a home. It meant the end of a way of life that had given women a rare form of independence for centuries.
Nunneries had been places where women could live free from the control of men. They could manage their own affairs. They often contributed to the local community in significant ways. But with the dissolution, these women were not only displaced. They were stripped of their status and their roles. Thousands of nuns were expelled from their homes.
Some found themselves the subject of intense scrutiny and harsh judgments. The priory had only seven nuns. But it was enough for the authorities to accuse the prior use of mismanagement and even physical abuse against the other nuns. Whether these accusations were entirely true or partially fabricated to hurry up the priories’ closing, the result was the same, and other communities of women were forced out, their contributions erased.
Not all religious women simply faded into the background. Some have found ways to continue their spiritual lives despite the upheaval, Katherine Manne is a notable example. After the dissolution, she lived in a cell attached to the Dominican church in Norwich like an anchoress, continuing her religious practices in solitude.
Others joined small informal communities of ex-nuns who lived together, prayed together and kept the old traditions alive in secret. Well, many nuns were forced to reintegrate into a society that had little use for celibate women. Some resisted by maintaining their vows in private or adapting their roles to a new reality.
They might’ve lost their official status, but they didn’t lose their faith or their determination to live by it. Ex-nuns and church members were granted small pensions. They were expected to maintain their vows of celibacy until 1549 when Edward VI started to change that. Only 19% of nuns chose marriage and only about 17% of monks. So the majority of them continued to live by their faith.
Now as Henry VIII and his successors imposed all of these sweeping religious reforms, not everyone in England was happy and content to follow the new plan. For many women, these changes represented a direct threat to their faith, their way of life, and their communities. Some actually took up arms. Others use their homes as sanctuaries and still others operated in the shadows, keeping their faith alive, despite the dangers.
Pilgrimage of Grace
We’ve heard a lot about the Pilgrimage of Grace. When we did the rebellion series, we’ve talked about a number of times, one of the most significant uprisings against Henry VIII’s religious policies. Women actually played a very crucial role in this movement, which I hadn’t really ever thought about.
This rebellion took place in the north of England. Tens of thousands of people rose up in protest against the dissolution. This was in late 1536 and also the overall direction of the Reformation. Among these rebels were women who supported, organized, and even led aspects of the revolt.
Margaret Cheyney is one such woman whose involvement did not go unnoticed or unpunished. Cheyney and her husband were active participants in their rebellion. Margaret was accused of urging her neighbors to join the uprising. After the rebellion was quashed, she was arrested, sent to London, and ultimately executed. Her death is brutal as it was a chilling reminder of the risks that women faced when they stood against the crown.
But Margaret Cheyney was far from alone. Many other women suffered for their participation in the Pilgrimage of Grace as well. These women weren’t just passive supporters. They were ardent believers who saw the Reformation as a threat to their faith and their community. Their involvement shows how deeply their religious change has penetrated into the daily lives of ordinary people, compelling them to take extraordinary risks.
While women like Margaret Cheyney took to the streets, others fought the Reformation from within the walls of their own homes. Noblewomen in particular played a pivotal role in protecting the old faith. These women had the means, the influence, and the determination to resist the changes imposed by the crown, often at great personal risk.
The Countess of Westmoreland, Jane Neville is a prime example of such resistance. She and her husband, the Earl of Westmoreland were central figures in the Northern Rising of 1569, another major rebellion against the Protestant Reformation. Jane Neville not only supported their rebellion but also helped to organize it using her home as a refuge for Catholic priests and as a center for planning.
When the Northern Rising was crushed, Jane’s husband was executed and she was placed under house arrest for the rest of her life. Despite these harsh consequences, her actions ensured the Catholic traditions and practices continued in her community long after the rebellion was over. Noblewomen like Jane Neville didn’t just passively resist the Reformation. They actively worked to protect and preserve their faith. Often becoming the last line of defense in their regions.
Beyond the public rebellions and noble resistance, there was another quieter battle being waged by women across England. This was the hidden Catholic network, a network of homes, secret masses, and underground practices that kept the old faith alive in the face of intense persecution.
Women were at the heart of this network. They created and maintained priest holes, hidden spaces within their homes where Catholic priests could hide from the authorities. They organized secret masses ensuring that their families and communities could continue to practice their faith in secret. Their risks were enormous. Discovery could mean imprisonment, torture, and death.
But for these women, the preservation of their faith was worth the risk. One particularly striking example is that of Alice Line who had a priest hole built in her home and hosted a secret Candlemas service. When her home was raided, the priest managed to escape, but Alice was not so lucky. She was arrested, imprisoned, and eventually executed for her role in protecting the priest. Her last words on the scaffold were a defiant declaration of her faith and her refusal to repent for harboring a priest.
This hidden network of Catholic women played a crucial role in maintaining the old faith during a time when open practice was impossible. Through their quiet, determined actions, these women ensured that Catholicism in England survived even the harshest years of Protestant rule.
The Martyrs and Scholars
The religious upheavals of the 16th century didn’t just lead to rebellion and hidden networks. It also led to the persecution and execution of women who stood by their faith. This era of female martyrdom, not only highlighted the brutal consequences of religious conflict but also began to shift how women were perceived in society.
So to start with the Protestant martyrs during the reign of Mary I, the first Protestant women found themselves under intense scrutiny. No secret there. Mary was determined to restore Catholicism. She saw Protestantism as a heresy that needed to be stamped out and her methods were ruthless.
Of course, this period earned her the nickname Bloody Mary, which I don’t really like. But it is what it is. And the women who resisted her efforts paid the ultimate price. Perhaps one of the best-known Protestant martyrs, this is even before Mary, would be Anne Askew.
She was a young educated woman from a noble family. She was a vocal critic of Catholic doctrine, particularly the practice of transubstantiation. Her refusal to recant her beliefs led to her arrest, torture, and eventual execution by burning at the stake in 1546.
What makes Anne’s story particularly poignant is her resilience. Even under torture, she refused to name other Protestants, protecting her fellow believers to the end. In fact many people believe that Anne was tortured because they were trying to get to Katherine Parr at the time. But she never gave that name or anything like that.
Anne wasn’t alone in her feet, dozens more women were executed as Protestant martyrs during Mary’s reign. Of course, none during Edward’s reign because he was a Protestant. But during Mary’s reign, they were executed for their Protestant beliefs.
Joan Waste, a blind woman from Derbyshire was another tragic example. She was arrested for refusing to attend mass and was burned at the stake in 1556. These women and many others like them became symbols of Protestant resistance. Their deaths serve to inspire and galvanize those who continue to fight against Catholicism.
But then the pendulum swings the other direction. So Elizabeth ascends to the throne and now being a Catholic is illegal. The religious pendulum just goes back and forth and now Catholic women are finding themselves persecuted. Elizabeth’s government saw Catholicism as a threat to the state. Of course, equating loyalty to the Pope with treason.
Women who harbored priests attended secret masses or refused to conform to the new religious orders were often subjected to the very harshest penalties. Margaret Ward is one of the most notable Catholic martyrs of this period. A maidservant in London, Margaret was deeply committed to her Catholic faith. In 1588, she helped a Catholic priest escape from prison, smuggling a rope into his cell. When she refused to disclose his hiding place, she was arrested, tortured, and eventually hanged.
Margaret’s courage and defiance made her a hero among Catholics and a stark reminder of the dangers that came with holding onto the old faith. The martyrdom of these women began to shift the way society viewed them. Before the Reformation, women were often seen as temptresses. They were sources of sin and temptation in a male-dominated world. The church had long perpetuated the image of women as descendants of Eve, easily swayed by the devil and in need of male guidance and control.
However, the narratives around women like Anne Askew and Margaret Ward began to challenge this perception. These women were no longer seen as weak or morally suspect. Instead, they were celebrated for their spiritual strength, their courage, and their unwavering commitment to their faith. The image of women as martyrs and spiritual leaders began to take hold, portraying them as morally superior even as they remained without formal power or agency.
This transformation wasn’t without its complexities, while women were increasingly seen as paragons of virtue and spiritual resilience, this newfound respect didn’t translate into real power or influence. Women were still expected to be submissive, to accept their roles within the private sphere and to defer to bail authority. The martyrdom of women, like Anne Askew and Margaret Ward didn’t lead to a broader re-evaluation of women’s roles in society, but rather reinforced the idea of women as virtuous sufferers. Strong in faith, but still subservient.
The narrative also shifts based on what the prevailing religious attitude of the time is. So there are women like Anne Askew who is celebrated as a martyr and a hero. While, traditionally Elizabeth Barton, Maid of Kent, who was a Catholic visionary, and opposed Henry VIII’s marriage to Anne Boleyn, was executed as a heretic and a fraud. Both were deeply religious women, but their legacies were shaped by the political and religious biases of their time.
The shift in the image of women during this period was significant, marking the beginning of a new narrative around women’s spirituality and strength. Yet it also highlighted the limitations of this new image as women continue to be revered for their piety but denied the power and authority that came with it.
As the religious landscape in England became increasingly hostile for those who refused to conform, many women chose exile over submission. These women not only sought refuge in foreign lands but also became key figures in preserving and spreading their faith. For many devout Catholic women, the choice was stark. Conform to the new Protestant state or leave everything behind. Exile was not just a physical departure from England, but a profound act of faith in defiance.
Among the most notable of these exiles was Mary Ward, a woman whose dedication to her faith led her to establish a network of religious houses across Europe. Mary was born into a Catholic family in Yorkshire at a time when practicing Catholicism in England was increasingly dangerous. Faced with the choice between staying in a hostile environment or preserving her religious vocation, Ward chose to leave England.
She traveled to Flanders where she founded the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a religious order dedicated to education and spiritual service. Unlike traditional convents, Ward’s order was active, and focused on teaching and missionary work rather than cloistered contemplation. Her efforts were groundbreaking, creating a model that would influence religious orders for women across Europe.
Wards’ work was not without its challenges. She faced opposition from both secular and religious authorities who were suspicious of her unconventional approach. Yet she persisted, establishing houses in France, Italy, and beyond. All while remaining committed to her vision of a more active role for women in the church.
While some women left England to continue their religious practices abroad, others stayed and became deeply involved in religious scholarship. These women played crucial roles in translating, interpreting, and spreading reformist ideas. Often working in close collaboration with leading male reformers.
Anne Lock is a prime example of such a scholar. She was born into a Protestant family, well-educated, and deeply committed to the Reformist cause. She moved in influential circles, corresponding with and assisting prominent figures like John Knox, the fiery Scottish Reformer. Lock’s most significant contribution was her translation and publication of Calvinist sermons, and religious texts, which helped spread the Protestant ideas in England and beyond.
In 1560, Locke published her A Meditation of a Penitent Sinner, a 26-sonnet series based on Psalm 51, which is considered one of the earliest examples of English, Protestant devotional literature. Lock’s work was not only an expression of personal piety but also a tool for educating others, particularly women, about the new religious ideas that were reshaping England.
Despite their significant contributions, many of the women who played critical roles in preserving and promoting their faith during this period have been largely forgotten by history. These women risked everything, their families, their homes, and their lives to stay true to their beliefs. But their stories are often missing from the grander narratives of the Reformation.
Rose Hickman is one of these heroines. She was a Protestant who lived through the tumultuous reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary I, and Elizabeth I. She was a staunch defender of the Reformation. She hid reformist preachers in her home, distributed Protestant literature, and maintained a network of like-minded individuals who resisted the return to Catholicism under Mary I.
Hickman’s actions were incredibly risky at any moment. She could have been arrested, tortured, or even executed for all of this. Despite her bravery and commitment, her story has faded into obscurity. She was never rewarded or officially recognized for her efforts of fate shared by many women who played similar roles. These women were essential to the survival and spread of their faith. Yet their contributions were often dismissed or ignored in a society that still struggled to see women as equal participants in religious and intellectual life.
Conclusion
The stories of these exiled scholarly and courageous women remind us that the Reformation was not just a story of kings and clergy, but also of countless women who fought to preserve their beliefs. The religious upheavals of the 16th century had profound and lasting effects on the lives and roles of women in English society. As the Reformation, reshaped religious institutions, it also reshaped the way women were perceived and treated both within the church and in broader society.
One of the most significant long-term impacts of the Reformation was the secularization of women’s roles. With the dissolution of the monasteries and the decline of female religious orders, the option of celibacy as a respected and independent lifestyle for women largely disappeared.
In its place, a new societal perception of women began to emerge. One that was increasingly sexualized. Women were no longer seen primarily as spiritual beings, dedicated to God, but rather as potential wives and mothers subject to the desires and control of men. The absence of respected celibate women and religious roles contributed to the notion that a woman’s value was tied to her sexuality and her ability to fulfill domestic duties.
This shift marked a significant departure from an earlier image of women who could be holy figures. Leading to a society that often viewed women as seducers, rather than spiritual leaders. But despite the diminishing opportunities for women within formal religious institutions, the changes in the 16th century also set the stage for future movements that would challenge the status quo.
Women like Mary Ward who founded a religious order that emphasized education and active service planted the seeds for early feminist thought within a religious context. Ward’s belief in the equality of women in the eyes of God was radical for her time and her efforts to establish a more active role for women in the church were a direct challenge to the traditional passive roles that women were expected to play.
Ward’s legacy along with that of other religious women who defied the norms of their time, provided a foundation for future generations to continue pushing for greater equality and recognition within religious and secular life. These early movements were crucial in shaping the discourse around women’s rights and their roles in society even if their impact wasn’t fully realized until centuries later.
So the religious changes of the 16th century were a watershed moment in English history and women were deeply affected by and instrumental to these transformations. From the dissolution of the monasteries and the persecution of martyrs to the quiet defiance of religious exiles and scholars, women navigated this tumultuous period just as much as men with courage, resilience, and creativity.
The rules were complex and multifaceted and often overlooked in the way we talk about the Reformation. Yeah, they were crucial to the survival and evolution of their faiths. It’s important to remember that the history of religion is not just a story of men and institutions but also the countless women who fought to preserve their own beliefs and carve out spaces of power and agency in their rapidly changing world.
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Heather Teysko is the creator, writer, and producer of The Renaissance English History Podcast, one of the longest running indie history podcasts, going since 2009. She's been writing about history online for over 25 years, since her first site on Colonial American history became number one in history on Yahoo in 1998. She writes books, created the original Tudor Planner (a yearly diary filled with Tudor history) and in 2019 created the world's first Tudorcon (you can "attend" online this year!). She has been passionate about Tudor England since she first read Alison Weir's The Six Wives of Henry VIII 20 years ago, and subsequently moved to London after college to spend her time immersed in Tudor history.