Edward VI 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).
The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separated from the eastern edge of the square mile of the City of London by the open space known as Tower Hill. It was founded toward the end of 1066 as part of the Norman Conquest. The White Tower, which gives the entire castle its name, was built by William the Conqueror in 1078 and was initially a resented symbol of oppression, inflicted upon London by the new Norman ruling class. The castle was also used as a prison from 1100 until 1952, although that was not its primary purpose. A grand palace early in its history, it served as a royal residence. As a whole, the Tower is a complex of several buildings set within two concentric rings of defensive walls and a moat. There were several phases of expansion, mainly under kings Richard I, Henry III, and Edward I in the 12th and 13th centuries. The general layout established by the late 13th century remains despite later activity on the site.
Thomas Cromwell, briefly Earl of Essex, was an English statesman and lawyer who served as chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false charges for the execution.
John Foxe was an English clergyman, theologian, and historian, notable for his martyrology Actes and Monuments, telling of Christian martyrs throughout Western history, but particularly the sufferings of English Protestants and proto-Protestants from the 14th century and in the reign of Mary I. The book was widely owned and read by English Puritans and helped to mould British opinion on the Catholic Church for several centuries.
John Frith was an English Protestant priest, writer, and martyr.
Anne Askew, married name Anne Kyme, was an English writer, poet, and Protestant preacher who was condemned as a heretic during the reign of Henry VIII of England. She and Margaret Cheyne are the only women on record known to have been both tortured in the Tower of London and burnt at the stake.
Sir William Laxton was a Lord Mayor of London during the reign of Henry VIII, and eight times Master of the Worshipful Company of Grocers. He is the founder of Oundle School.
Wyatt's Rebellion was a limited and unsuccessful uprising in England in early 1554 led by four men, one of whom was Sir Thomas Wyatt. It was given its name by the lawyer at Wyatt's arraignment, who stated for the record that "this shall be ever called Wyat's Rebellion". The rebellion arose out of concern over Queen Mary I's determination to marry a foreigner, Philip II of Spain, and to return England to the Catholic Church and papal authority. The uprising failed, with consequences for the rebels that ranged from death to forgiveness.
Lady Jane Grey, also known as Lady Jane Dudley after her marriage and as the "Nine Days' Queen", was an English noblewoman who claimed the throne of England and Ireland from 10 to 19 July 1553.
Berwick Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary was an English office of arms created around 1460 for service on the Scottish Marches based at Berwick-upon-Tweed. In the 16th century there was also a Herald or Pursuivant based at Carlisle on the west border.
Sir William Holles rose from apprenticeship to a mercer to become master warden of his company and Lord Mayor of London in 1539.
William Honnyng (1520–1569) was an English Member of Parliament and Tudor Court official who served as Clerk of the Signet and Clerk of the Privy Council under Henry VIII and Edward VI.
John Bettes the Elder was an English artist whose few known paintings date from between about 1543 and 1550. His most famous work is his Portrait of a Man in a Black Cap. His son, John Bettes the Younger, was a pupil of Nicholas Hilliard who painted portraits during the reign of Elizabeth I and James I.
The city of London has long been a subject for panoramas by artists, mapmakers, and topographers. Many of their works have this as their title.
Sir George Blagge was an English courtier, politician, soldier and a minor poet. He was the Member of Parliament for Bedford from 1545 to 1547, and Westminster from 1547 to 1551, during the reign of Edward VI. His trial and condemnation for heresy in 1546 earned him a place in Protestant martyrology. His family surname was frequently rendered Blage by contemporaries, while another variant was Blake.
The Actes and Monuments, popularly known as Foxe's Book of Martyrs, is a work of Protestant history and martyrology by Protestant English historian John Foxe, first published in 1563 by John Day.
The Guernsey Martyrs were three women who were burned at the stake for their Protestant beliefs, in Guernsey, Channel Islands, in 1556 during the Marian persecutions.
St Mary the Virgin, Mortlake, is a parish church in Mortlake, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is part of the Church of England and the Anglican Communion. The rector is The Revd Canon Dr Ann Nickson.
The "Copperplate" map of London is an early large-scale printed map of the City of London and its immediate environs, surveyed between 1553 and 1559, which survives only in part. It is the earliest true map of London. The original map was probably designed for hanging on a wall, and is believed to have measured approximately 3 feet 8 inches (112 cm) high by 7 feet 5 inches (226 cm) wide. No copies of the printed map itself are known to have survived; but between 1962 and 1997 three of the original engraved copper printing-plates – from a probable total of 15 – were identified. Although only a fragmentary portion of the map is known, the three plates cover the greater part of the built-up heart of the City of London.
Sir George Barne was an English businessman in the City of London who was active in developing new trading links with Russia, West Africa and North America, far outside what had been traditional English trading patterns. Created a knight in 1553, he served as Sheriff of London and Lord Mayor of London. He was the father of Sir George Barne and grandfather of Sir William Barne. Nicholas Culverwell was probably a nephew.
