BattlefieldsPilgrimage of Grace — Lincolnshire Rising Origin 1536
Tudor

Pilgrimage of Grace — Lincolnshire Rising Origin 1536

1536
Lincolnshire, England
Also known as: Lincolnshire Rising 1536 · Louth rebellion October 1536
Era
Tudor
Battle Type
Skirmish
Location
Lincolnshire, England
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
Lincolnshire rebels
Forces
Crown: insufficient force to suppress immediately
VS
Victor
Crown (suppressed)
Forces
Lincolnshire rebels: c.20,000
Outcome
Rising at Louth triggered by rumours of church spoliations; spread rapidly but collapsed when Crown troops approached
The Battle

History & Significance

The Pilgrimage of Grace began not in Yorkshire but in Lincolnshire. The town of Louth rose first in October 1536 when its parishioners prevented royal commissioners from visiting the church. The rising spread rapidly through Lincolnshire, mobilising perhaps 20,000 men. The Lincolnshire rebels dispersed when threatened by royal forces — but their example had already ignited the much larger Yorkshire rising under Robert Aske. The Lincolnshire rising is thus the true starting point of the greatest Tudor rebellion.

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