Northern Rebellion
The beginning of the North Rebellion in England arose because of the country's long standing and unrelenting attachment to old values. Among the nobles, gentry, and common people, there was quite a followingl for the old faith that had been practiced for so long, that when new ideas came along, the people did not want to budge from their old ways.
The North Rebellion occurred around the time that Mary Queen of Scots made her way into England to seek the protection of her cousin, Elizabeth. Though they were family, Mary and Elizabeth were not friends. They were, instead, rivals and bitter enemies. Mary Queen of Scots was a known devoted Catholic, which fuelled her belief that she deserved a substantial piece of the English crown.
Elizabeth had previously fallen out of favour because of her strained relationship with the Catholic Church and with the English Parliament. Though Mary came to England to flee the tyranny of her country, she was still not free. Her confinement started in Bolton Castle, which was in Wensleydale.
There, she was kept under the watchful eye of Lord Scope and newly knighted Christopher Norton. There are many stories about the treatment of Mary during her time at the castle. It is generally accepted that she had quite an effect on the men who were assigned to watch her.
Because it was thought that she could not be truly watched over while in Bolton Castle, Mary was moved to the Sheffield Castle, which was thought to be a better holding place. Later, she was sent to Tutbury and then to Fotheringay.
During late 1569, which was Queen Elizabeth's eleventh year on the throne, the North Rebellion began. This rebellion is often referred to as the "Rising of the North" and the events had quite an impact on the scope of English history. The renowned leaders of this rebellion included Thomas Percy, who was the 7th Earl of Northumberland, and Charles Neville, who served as the sixth Earl of Westmorland. These men sought to restore what they believed to be good order to the English throne.
They wanted to bring back the religion of their forefathers, get rid of the evil ones who ran the country, and set Mary Queen of Scots free from her imprisonment. In addition, they sought to re-establish the Duke of Norfolk in a position of good favour with the throne. Both Percy and Charles Neville were known as staunch Catholics and unrelenting supporters of Mary. They brought their idea to George and Christopher Neville, who were both uncles of Thomas Percy. They also involved Leonard Dacre and Egremont Ratcliffe, who was the brother of the Earl of Sussex.
The only conspirators to this incident were the Nortons, Tempests, Swinburnes, and the Markenfields. In general, all of these men were of lofty stature and good wealth. Each man had his own motivations for joining in the effort, but contributions were accepted from all. Most all of the folks involved were Catholic and they hoped to gain safety from oppression with a new regime in power. There was also quite a bit of support for Mary herself, as people were willing to risk their lives to free her from jail.
The conspirators first met at the seat of the Earl of Northumberland. The mission, as laid out by the two Earls, was to restore Catholicism while saving the Queen. Simply put, they hoped to rally the support of many different groups of people.
Early plans included the desire to free Mary Queen of Scots from her current holding place at Tutbury. Eventually, Mary was taken from that spot and moved to Coventry, which was further south of the previous location.
History reveals that Queen Elizabeth had at least some knowledge of what the Earls were planning. Though she did not have any specific details, it is thought that the Queen was aware that the Earls had quite a bit of disdain for her position. She brought them before the Court in order to give an explanation for their conduct.
Because they knew that a trip to the Courts would undoubtedly end in their demise, the men decided to hurry along their plans, sacrificing some of the timing and planning that would have otherwise benefited the cause. This rushed effort contributes to why the insurrection met great difficulty.
Leonard Dacre was one of the men who pushed the Earls to hurry their plans along. Dacre was linked to the great Dacre Estate, which had fallen to his three nieces. He was not too happy about this development, either. It is thought that this disdain led him to desire the insurrection.
Dacre was instrumental in instigating the rise of the Earls at a time that might have been a little bit premature. Dacre was a snake though, and he quickly betrayed his partners to Elizabeth. Ultimately, Dacre was motivated by the desire to claim a piece of his nephew's large estate. Elizabeth promised him a share in that estate for his part in breaking up the rebellion.
His first move was to seize the Dacre Estate. He then moved to Naworth Castle, where he collected 3,000 men who were instructed to fight. Dacre worked alongside Lord Scrope, who planned to intercept the Earls should they make a move to Scotland. When Lord Scrope left the Castle of Carlisle, he left it to Bishop Best. It was not until later that Scrope returned upon hearing a rumour that there was a plot to seize that castle.
Richard Norton was one of those that were disaffected by the events. Norton was at the peak of the action at Topcliffe, where he joined with the Earl of Northumberland prior to the Earl heading off. There, Northumberland feared that he would be arrested, so he fled to meet up with the Earl of Westmoreland at a place called Brancepeth.
Though the Earls felt that the timing might not be right to complete the rebellion, Norton and his sons were so eager to get the fighting started that they encouraged the Earls to take action. From there, the Earls put their plan into action, marshalling the army with the hope of restoring Catholicism to the country.
There was a small group of armed cavalry that led the march to Durham. At the front of that group were the Earls of Northumberland and Westmoreland, who came ready for action and armed for fighting. Richard Norton was also involved, as he bore a large gold Crucifix around his neck.
Another major player was Bishop Whittingham, who was in the South and not there in time for the initial fighting. The rebels made their way into the Cathedral, throwing down the Communion Table and destroying the prayer book. These actions clearly indicated their motivations, which had been clearly identified as being religious.
The men went about establishing Catholic Altars and held services. They held onto the Cathedral for almost two weeks. From there, they left the Cathedral and headed south to Staindrop, Richmond, Darlington, and Ripon. In all, they were 4,000 strong on foot with around 1,700 men on horseback.
One of those folks who were throwing support towards the Queen was the Earl of Sussex, who worked hard to provide support for the Queen forces in combat. He conveyed his concerns to Sir William Cecil, who was the Secretary of State for Elizabeth. In his letter to Cecil, he conveyed concerns that he would be unable to deflect the forces given his shortage of men.
The Queen, at this point, realised that preparing an army was quite a process that would take a great deal of time. She entrusted the duty of heading to York to find information to her most trusted advisor, Sir Ralph Sadler. Sadler insured that Sussex was completely loyal to the Queen and to let her know that any confrontation with the rebels would be unwise at this point. At Sussex, the Queen's forces were only around half that of the rebels.
Meanwhile, the rebels prepared to head to York, where they had high hopes of taking over the city. Before that could happen, they received word that Walter Devereux, who was the Earl of Essex, had prepared a large force to fight against them. Instead, they went to Raby Castle, where the Earl of Westmorland had support. After that, they went to Barnard Castle where they had won a victory a week earlier.
From there, the rebels made their advance to Clifford Moor, where they met up with nearly 4,600 troops. That number of supporters was far less than Westmorland had originally anticipated. Because of that, Westmorland was visibly upset and this caused quite a bit of dissention within his ranks. Still, he regained the resolute nature that originally characterised the campaign and charged forward with hopes of taking down the city.
Westmorland led his forces to York, where he was met by the Duke of Essex, who led close to 20,000 men. From there, it was apparent that the rebel forces were in trouble. The rebels, knowing that their fate was sealed were there any confrontation, retreated northward to the castle of Raby. They later retreated to a couple of different castles and were even given shelter by the aforementioned Dacre.
They quickly disbanded as a fighting force, though many tried to flee to Scotland, most were captured during their escape. Four of the most famous men who were captured and killed were Simon Digby of Aiskew, Thomas Bishop of Pocklington, John Fulthorpe of Iselbeck, and Robert Pennyman of Stokesley. These men were put to death harshly and their heads attached to the gates of the city.
Later, the queen found out about Dacre and his two-faced nature. She dispatched Lord Hunsdon to go and bring him back. She even went so far as to call him a "cankred subtill traitor". Dacre, not one to go down easily, gathered around 3,000 of his own men and attempted to fight off a small part of the royal force.
Though the fighting was fierce, Dacre's forces were put down easily. Dacre himself was not captured, as he escaped and headed to Scotland. He died there in 1575. Though many men and women were captured in that insurgency, Lord Hunsdon encouraged the Queen to pardon those folks. She did so.
The Earl of Northumberland, who had led most of the insurgency, was later captured by Regent Murray. He was given up, in 1572, to Queen Elizabeth, who put him through a set of trials and tribulations. He was taken from Durham to Raby and later to Topcliffe. Eventually, he was brought to York, where his crime earned him a swift beheading. His head was placed on a pole for all to see, where it remained for two years before being stolen by an unknown man.
Westmorland headed to Flanders, where he was maintained by the King of Spain. He led a life of extravagance, though, In November of 1601, he died in the streets of Spain, penniless.
In all, this attempt to re-establish the Catholic Church in England led to more than 60 people being put to death. Though it was dispelled rather easily after knowledge came to bear, there was still a great deal of dissent over the movement. The Queen saw to it that others would not want to bring about such a movement ever again.
Original Authors: Coby DuBose
Edit Update Authors: M.A.Harris
Updated On: 15/05/2008
