Lucy Wagstaff, our recent learning placement, shares this incredible story of a fight in the Bishop’s study at Fulham Palace!
The Bishop of London would not typically be someone that you would expect to engage in a physical fight! However, in 1581, a fight broke out in the Bishop’s study, right here in the Palace. This was during the reign of Elizabeth I, a period of turbulent religious change in England, and so the stakes were high for control of religious policy.
Under Elizabeth’s father Henry VIII, England had broken free from the Papacy in Rome, establishing a new Church of England, over which the English monarch had complete control. After the turbulent reigns of her siblings Edward VI and Mary I, Elizabeth had hoped to establish peace and uniformity in the English church by enforcing Protestantism, and appointed trusted figures from the Protestant movement to the position of Bishop of London. Her first Bishop was Bishop Grindal, who was suitably firm but fair in his enactment of Elizabethan religious policies.
Bishop Aylmer was her third Bishop, appointed in 1577 having previously served as chaplain to Duke Henry Grey and tutor to Lady Jane Grey (the ill-fated nine-day queen who was subsequently executed by Elizabeth’s sister Mary I). Aylmer was much harsher than Grindal in his treatment of those who disagreed with him on religious grounds and was not a particularly popular bishop. This created enemies for himself, and various efforts were made to remove him from his role as Bishop of London.
The fight in question occurred in 1581, between Aylmer and two members of the Rich family, Richard Rich and Lord Robert Rich. The uncle and nephew visited Aylmer in his study to request a preaching licence for Robert Wright, who had just been appointed as a Presbyterian minister in Antwerp. Presbyterianism was a more radical form of Protestantism, a sect that both Elizabeth and Aylmer greatly disapproved of. Aylmer refused to grant a licence unless Wright conformed to the 39 Articles, the main doctrines of Elizabethan religion finalised by Elizabeth and her advisors in 1571. These Articles had a great lasting impact on religion in England and, later on, the United Kingdom more widely.
When Aylmer refused to grant the licence, Richard began to beat the Bishop in his study! It’s unknown how badly the Bishop was injured, but the damage was certainly enough to have Richard imprisoned and placed on trial with Robert Wright himself. Richard was later released in line with the law, but against Elizabeth’s personal wishes.
This tale tells us about the importance of religious doctrine to influential figures in Elizabethan England. Religion dictated almost all aspects of Elizabethan social and political life, and the granting of official permission to preach was extremely important – such preachers could be put to death if they did not follow the line of Church leaders. Whilst it seems ridiculous that men would attempt to attack the Bishop of London in his own study, they were clearly enraged enough by his refusal of a licence to try and beat him up. It seems that Richard’s subsequent imprisonment acted as a deterrent to other religious opponents – luckily no one else attempted to physically fight Aylmer for the rest of his time as Bishop!
Bishop John Aylmer was much harsher than his predecessor Bishop Grindal in his treatment of those who disagreed with him on religious grounds