Why Was Richard Whiting Killed
On 15 November 1539 Richard Whiting was dragged through the streets of Glastonbury on a hurdle by Henrys soldiers. He was brought to the top the Glastonbury Torr. He was hung there until the executer thought he was almost dead but not fully. Then he was let off the rope and while he was still alive the executer cut his guts out in front of him. Followed by his heart and just to make sure he was dead they cut his head off and put it on a spike on Glastonbury Abbey. His body was quartered then each part was sent to 4 different towns Bath, Wells, Ilchester and Bridgewater.
To explain why Richard Whiting was killed we can start with the problems of Henry VIII. Henry needed money; he was bankrupt fighting expensive wars. He needed money to be powerful in Europe and to continue his campaigns.
Another problem Henry had was he wanted a son but his wife Catherine of Aragon had given him a daughter. Catherine couldn’t give birth to another baby, so Henry had to get a divorce which the Pope had to approve of. Then he needed a new wife.
His final problem was he wanted power. Henry wanted to control the Church in his own country so everyone will have to obey him.
Henry VII gave the job of closing down the monasteries to Thomas Cromwell. Cromwell got the monasteries closed down by sending out hand-picked inspectors to inspect the monasteries and to find something wrong with every monastery. If the inspector brings back a good review then
Thomas would send it back demanding the inspectors to find something bad about the monastery. The inspectors didn’t visit every monastery they sometimes just asked other people nearby what it was like.
These reports gave Henry what he needed to get rid off all the monasteries.
By the summer of 1539 Glastonbury was one of the few remaining monasteries in England. The monasteries were starting to resist such as Hexham in Northumberland where the monks barred the gate and prepared to resist the commissioning by force.
When the
To explain why Richard Whiting was killed we can start with the problems of Henry VIII. Henry needed money; he was bankrupt fighting expensive wars. He needed money to be powerful in Europe and to continue his campaigns.
Another problem Henry had was he wanted a son but his wife Catherine of Aragon had given him a daughter. Catherine couldn’t give birth to another baby, so Henry had to get a divorce which the Pope had to approve of. Then he needed a new wife.
His final problem was he wanted power. Henry wanted to control the Church in his own country so everyone will have to obey him.
Henry VII gave the job of closing down the monasteries to Thomas Cromwell. Cromwell got the monasteries closed down by sending out hand-picked inspectors to inspect the monasteries and to find something wrong with every monastery. If the inspector brings back a good review then
Thomas would send it back demanding the inspectors to find something bad about the monastery. The inspectors didn’t visit every monastery they sometimes just asked other people nearby what it was like.
These reports gave Henry what he needed to get rid off all the monasteries.
By the summer of 1539 Glastonbury was one of the few remaining monasteries in England. The monasteries were starting to resist such as Hexham in Northumberland where the monks barred the gate and prepared to resist the commissioning by force.
When the