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Live and breathe the story of England at royal castles, historic gardens, forts & defences, world-famous prehistoric sites and many others.
Tudor England
The Tudor era began with Henry VII’s victory over Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, ending the Wars of the Roses. Religious conflict followed the Reformation, which began in 1533, but art and commerce flourished. A recognisably English culture developed, featuring Shakespeare’s plays and country-house architecture.
Use the links below to learn more about life, people and culture in the Tudor era and to explore some of the Tudor sites that English Heritage cares for.
Stories from Tudor England
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Dissolution
Discover what happened to thousands of monks and nuns when, on the orders of Henry VIII, every abbey and priory in England was closed.
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Lydford Law and Parliamentary Privilege
Discover the ghastly Devon prison notorious for hanging people before their trials, and the Tudor MP whose time there led to the Privilege of Parliament Act.
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Pirates of England
Explore the history of piracy, including tales of Tudor ‘sea dogs’, the Killigrews of Arwennack and Henry Strangways, who raided Spanish treasure ships.
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The Suppression of Roche Abbey
Read a vivid eyewitness account of the shocking speed and scale of destruction of Roche Abbey after the Suppression of the Monasteries.
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The Rise and Fall of a Tudor Wool Factory
Find out how the Heydon family of Baconsthorpe Castle in Norfolk made a fortune from the East Anglian wool trade – and then lost it all.
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Secrets and Suppression at Rushton Lodge
Decipher the secret codes of Rushton Triangular Lodge and encounter the bonds of a family dealing with the power and dangers of religion in Tudor England.
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Obscure Tudor Laws
Learn about the surprising laws that give a glimpse into a society wrestling with changing attitudes towards religion and traditional social hierarchies.
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Elizabeth I and the Armada
Read about the fortifications built to protect against an invading Armada, where Elizabeth I gave her famous speech on having the heart and stomach of a king.
Tudor People
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Lambert Simnel and Piel Island
Find out how a ten-year-old boy put forward as the Yorkist claimant to the English throne failed to usurp Henry VII in the final chapter of the Wars of the Roses.
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Sir Peter Carew and Dartmouth Castle
Read about Tudor soldier and adventurer Sir Peter Carew, who stole a castle from the borough of Dartmouth as part of a centuries-old stand-off.
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Walter Hungerford and the ‘Buggery Act’
Learn about Walter Hungerford, whose fate was intertwined with Thomas Cromwell and who became the first man executed under the terms of Henry VIII’s 1533 ‘Buggery Act’.
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Mary I, the first queen
Find out how Mary I was proclaimed queen at Framlingham Castle after a succession struggle against powerful foes.
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Elizabeth I and Robert Dudley
The love between Elizabeth I and Dudley was legendary but complicated. Learn the true story of their relationship.
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Bess of Hardwick
Rising to become one of the richest women of her time, Bess was a friend of Elizabeth I and an ambitious builder, whose houses symbolised her wealth and power.
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Mary Queen of Scots at Carlisle Castle
Find out why, after Mary Queen of Scots fled to England in 1568, her two-month stay at Carlisle Castle began 19 years of captivity.
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Elizabeth Russell
Read about Lady Elizabeth Russell who had the powers of a sheriff, changed Shakespeare’s life and became England’s first known female ‘keeper’ of a castle.
Listen to a Podcast
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Everything Tudor
Your questions answered on royal relationships, tasty Tudor treats, sports and games, and which Tudor monarch might be the greatest of them all.
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Horrifying history of Farleigh Hungerford
Uncover the violent murder committed by Agnes Cotell at Farleigh Hungerford Castle, and learn what happened when her powerful second husband could no longer protect her.
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Succession Crisis
How Framlingham Castle came to be at the centre of a succession crisis in 1553, which saw the crowning of England’s first official queen.
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Henry VIII’s ‘device forts’
Henry VIII built ‘device forts’ from 1539. Learn about Deal Castle and the forts built along the southern English and Welsh coasts to protect a kingdom.
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Mary Queen of Scots in Prison
Discover the story of Mary Queen of Scots’ two-month stay at Carlisle, and how the rest of her life was spent as Elizabeth I’s prisoner.
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‘Princely Shows’ and Power
Hear how Robert Dudley went all out to woo Elizabeth I, and why she never chose to share her power with a husband.
Tudor Places to Visit
Explore some of our sites with Tudor history.
Search all our Tudor sites-
Kenilworth Castle
Discover the castle Elizabeth I gave to Robert Dudley and its exquisite Elizabethan garden, created to win a queen’s heart.
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Hardwick Hall
Two great mansions created by Bess of Hardwick, one of the richest and most formidable women of Elizabethan England.
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Kirby Hall
Visit Kirby Hall, one of England’s great Elizabethan houses, once home to Sir Christopher Hatton, Elizabeth I’s Lord Chancellor.
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Pendennis Castle
Explore the Tudor keep, enjoy the views out to sea and check out the Tudor guns.
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Rushton Triangular Lodge
Visit this intriguing folly, built in the 1590s by Sir Thomas Tresham as a testament to his defiant Catholic faith.
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Portland Castle
Visit the Tudor kitchen, armoury and gun decks at one of Henry VIII’s coastal artillery forts, designed to deflect cannon shot.
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St Mawes Castle
Look out for the many carved inscriptions praising Henry VIII, and his son Edward VI, at this distinctive clover leaf-shaped castle.
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Deal Castle
Discover the most elaborate of the coastal artillery castles built by Henry VIII to defend against a threatened invasion.
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Glastonbury Tribunal
Look at the early Tudor façade, panelled interiors and Elizabethan kitchen of this stone town house.
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Hill Hall
Book a guided tour of Hill Hall, a splendid Elizabethan mansion with very rare wall paintings.
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Berwick-upon-Tweed Castle
Walk around the most complete and breathtakingly impressive bastioned town defences in England.
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Tilbury Fort
Explore the location where Elizabeth I famously rallied her makeshift army as they awaited the Armada in 1588.
More about Tudor England
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Tudors: Parks and Gardens
Tudor parks and gardens provided an opportunity for dramatic displays of newly found wealth, success and power.
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Tudors: Architecture
The architecture of early Tudor England displayed continuity rather than change. Later, however, the great country house came into its own.
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TUDORS: RELIGION
The Tudor era witnessed the most sweeping religious changes in England since the arrival of Christianity, which affected every aspect of national life.
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Tudors: War
The Tudor period saw England's medieval army evolve into a larger, firearm-wielding force supported by powerful ships and formidable gun forts.