Northern Rising (1569)

Timeline

1. 1568–1569Northern England · EnglandAfter Mary Stuart fled into England in 1568, northern Catholic earls joined forces with nobles backing the Norfolk marriage scheme. Dissatisfied with Elizabeth's religious uniformity policy and Cecil's weakening of northern traditional power, they resolved to restore the mass by force and seek Mary's rescue.
2. 1569Durham Cathedral · DurhamAfter mustering at Brancepeth and elsewhere, the rebels entered Durham, destroyed English Bibles and prayer books, restored the mass in the cathedral, and advanced south toward Bramham Moor. Elizabeth ordered the Earl of Sussex, president of the Council of the North, to raise troops at York, and the royal main force gradually overwhelmed the rebels, who lacked supplies and popular support.
3. 1569–1572York · YorkFacing royal forces several times their size, the two earls dismissed their followers and fled into Scotland. Westmorland later lived in exile in the Low Countries, while Northumberland was handed over to England and executed. The authorities carried out mass executions and confiscations of estates in the north, essentially dismantling the power of the traditional border earls and markedly strengthening central control.