By the reign of Elizabeth I, England had become one nation with the Monarch as the Head of the Church.

In small villages and large towns, the most important building – the church – was the center of life. Physical symbols of belief filled the churches, stained glass, painted walls, rich sculpture and collections of wood, textile and furnishing.

A Gloucestershire martyr to the Protestant cause was John Hooper, Bishop of Gloucester who, on the accession of the Catholic Queen Mary, was tried for treason and burnt at the stake outside his own Cathedral, in 1555.

Martyr to the Catholic cause was William Laud, made Dean of Gloucester in 1616 and by 1633 becoming Archbishop of Canterbury. On the overthrow of the monarchy after the English Civil Was, Laud was imprisoned in the Tower of London and executed in 1645.

The church became concerned with the welfare of the less well off in society. ‘Chantries’ were created as centers for the provision of education, welfare and regular distribution of money, food and clothing. Almshouses provided accommodation for the aged poor. Fine examples of almshouses can still be seen around Gloucestershire including those at Chipping Campden, Winchcombe and Wotton-under-Edge.

Sadly, Henry VIII’s earlier disagreement with Rome had an aftershock that rumbled for a hundred years and more of bitter argument. Protestant and Catholic fought it out, churches were vandalized, their treasures destroyed and Priests and Bishops were martyred.