London Revisited: The Protestant Capital
About this episode
The episode explores the transformation of London into a Protestant capital during the Tudor period, focusing on the Reformation's impact on the city.
At the start of the 16th century London was still recognisably medieval, crowded within its walls, dominated by churches and monasteries and deeply tied to Catholic Europe. By the end of Henry VIII’s reign, much of that world had vanished. The Reformation not only changed the religious practices of its inhabitants, it brought a widespread transfer of property that reshaped the character and activity of the city and turned it into a theatre of power, punishment and debate. Rosemary is joined by Vanessa Harding, emerita professor of London history at Birkbeck, University of London, to look at the events that transformed London into a commercially expanding and ideologically contested Protestant capital under the Tudors, from the arrival of Caxton’s printing press in Westminster and the beginnings of an aristocratic West End to Mary I’s brutal attempt to restore Catholic England. Reading by Duncan Wilkins Non-subscribers will only hear an extract from this episode. To listen in full, and to all our other Close Readings series, sign up: Apple Podcasts: https://lrb.me/applesignuplr Other podcast apps: https://lrb.me/scsignuplr Read more in the LRB: Hilary Mantel on England under Mary…
People in this episode
Host: Rosemary
Guest: Vanessa Harding
Topics covered
- Reformation
- London history
- Protestantism
- Tudor period
- Religious transformation
- Urban development
Keywords
- London
- Reformation
- Protestant capital
- Tudors
- Henry VIII
- Mary I
- urban history
- religious practices
- property transfer
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Birkbeck, University of London, Apple Podcasts, London Review of Books
Books & works: Hilary Mantel on England under Mary I, Lucy Wooding on Henry VIII and the merchants, Patrick Collinson on Henry VIII's Reformation
More episodes of Close Readings
- Narrative Poems: ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’ by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
- Nature in Crisis: ‘Is a River Alive?’ by Robert Macfarlane
- Who’s afraid of realism? ‘Mrs Dalloway’ by Virginia Woolf
- What do you think of Close Readings?
- Narrative Poems: ‘Tam o’ Shanter’ by Robert Burns and ‘Peter Grimes’ by George Crabbe
- Who’s afraid of realism? ‘The Death of Ivan Ilyich’ by Leo Tolstoy
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Close Readings podcast page.