The Reformation

In the sixteenth century, the Protestant Reformation shook Europe and its churches to their core. Cambridge proved a volatile place, as successive monarchs and their advisors drove reform in the Church of England: from King Henry VIII, Thomas Cromwell, and Archbishop Thomas Cranmer to King Edward VI and Edward Seymour to Queen Elizabeth I and Bishop John Jewel.

The appearance, ministry, and daily worship of churches like St Bene’t’s were transformed. Services began to be conducted in English according to the Book of Common Prayer in 1549. Many ancient altars were destroyed, along with rood screens and other kinds of decoration. Anything deemed ‘superstitious’ or distracting was removed to make the parish a place where ‘the pure Word of God’ could be preached and ‘the sacraments duly ministered’, according to Protestant standards. Grassroots opposition was widespread and often covert: for example, a medieval stone altar was buried beneath the chancel of St Bene’t’s, only to be rediscovered during building works in the nineteenth century.

King Henry VII

King Edward VI

Queen Elizabeth I

Provision for preaching was a constant concern. As a young man, Robert Browne, ‘the father of English Congregationalism’ and an alumnus of Corpus Christi College, was invited to preach in Cambridge. Eventually, the congregation of St Bene’t’s asked him to become its vicar. He declined, claiming the parishes of England were ‘in such spiritual bondage, that whosoever would take charge of them must also come into that bondage with them.’ (Browne was later forbidden to preach in the Diocese of Ely.)

John Mere (d. 1558), esquire bedell and registrary of the University, endowed a set of almshouses in the parish of St Bene’t’s. His funds were redirected partly to fund an annual sermon in the church to be preached by the Vice Chancellor of the University or another nominee. Only three potential topics were named: death, Holy Scripture, or the obedience of servants to their masters. The Mere Sermon is still held here each year.

Celebratory burning of Protestant books and remains from Foxe’s Book of Martyrs. Image courtesy of Trinity College

Book of Common Prayer, parish copy