The Reformation in English Towns, 1500-1640

'Was religious change forced on people from above or did it well up from changed attitudes and beliefs of ordinary people? Did the Reformation occur suddenly, as new statutes were passed and new Prayer Books printed, or did it take decades for reforms to be assimilated? Perhaps most important, what was the relationship between civic and religious leaders - mayors and aldermen, and rectors, vicars, or deans? These questions can only be answered by local studies such as those presented in this volume.' - Stanford Lehmberg, Church History '...a colourful map of 16th- and early 17th-century urban England.' - Jane Facey, Church Times

This volume seeks to address a relatively neglected subject in the field of English reformation studies: the reformation in its urban context.This volume seeks to address a relatively neglected subject in the field of English reformation studies: the reformation in its urban context. Drawing on the work of a number of historians, this collection of essays will seek to explore some of the dimensions of that urban stage and to trace, using a mixture of detailed case studies and thematic reflections, some of the ways in which religious change was both effected and affected by the activities of townsmen and women.