KS3 > The Reformation > Constituencies > Oxford
Tudor Oxford was home to one of the only two universities in the country. The University was dominated by the church, and so the town was to play an important part in the Reformation. Local politics was influenced by the bad relations between ‘town’ and ‘gown’ (the townspeople and the university) at this time, as university members had many privileges. MPs for Oxford were mostly leading townspeople.
The religious nature of the University meant that the controversies of the Reformation were often played out in Oxford. There were fewer early Protestants in Oxford than in Cambridge, and in 1530 Henry VIII had to force the University to accept his divorce. However, a Protestant community had grown by the reign of Edward VI.
The most famous Reformation event in the town was the notorious burning of the ‘Oxford martyrs’. In 1555 and 1556, three of the major Protestant bishops under Henry VIII and Edward VI – Hugh Latimer, Nicholas Ridley and the former Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer – were found guilty of heresy (the MP John Story presided over Cranmer’s trial) Although they are known as the ‘Oxford martyrs’, all three were actually educated at Cambridge.
The martyrdom of Latimer and Ridley, from Foxe's Book of Martyrs |
Latimer and Ridley were burnt together. Latimer was later reported (in some pro-Protestant texts) to have said to Ridley:
Play the man, Master Ridley; we shall this day light such a candle, by God's grace, in England, as I trust shall never be put out
Thomas Cranmer was forced to watch. After this, he gave up his Protestant beliefs. However, when he realised that he would be executed no matter what he said, he publicly declared his commitment to Protestantism.
These three Bishops have become the most famous of the Protestants who were martyred under Mary. Later Protestant writings, published during Elizabeth’s reign, celebrated them as great heroes. Historians are divided about what effect the persecution of Protestants had. Many historians stress that there were actually relatively few burnings. Those that happened were concentrated in the South-East, and would not have made an impact on the many Catholics who lived elsewhere. However, these men certainly died for their faith and have been remembered for doing so as great heroes. Many historians argue that by creating these martyrs the persecutions did the Catholic Church more harm than good.
Oxforde Q,6.116
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Oxford
Borough in Oxfordshire
Parliamentary constituency since 1386
When Thomas Cranmer was burnt at the stake it is said that the thrust his right hand into the fire first, to punish it for writing a denial of his Protestant faith.