The Reformation and its Effects on Farnham

Description

The story of the Reformation and the Dissolution of the Monasteries is well-known to historians. King Henry VIII, seeking annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon and pursuit of a legitimate male heir, set in train a sequence of events which shaped the subsequent history of Britain.

Whilst the lineaments of the story are well enough known, the particular effects the Reformation had on Farnham are not. The account given by Father Robo in his classic Mediaeval Farnham is both scholarly and passionate but not, perhaps, even-handed.

In this account of The Reformation and its Effects on Farnham, the Rt. Rev. Dr. Christopher Herbert brings a lifetime’s scholarship to bear on the topic. His approach is balanced and fair.

Not the least of the author’s achievements is a more nuanced portrait of Stephen Gardiner, twice Bishop of Winchester, than is common these days. His equitable treatment of the big issues which wracked Farnham at the time belies the passion which Rt. Rev. Dr. Herbert holds for the topic and any reader will gain, not only a rich picture of Farnham at that time, but of the wider world of the Reformation in England.