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Led by Duffian Reformation Simulacrum
A British depth study with a linked historic-environment investigation for OCR GCSE History A — the English Reformation seen from the parish and the ordinary believer, paired with a source study of a castle.
Led by Duffian Reformation Simulacrum
The question
What was the English Church like before the Reformation — corrupt and declining, or a living, popular faith? You will study the role, wealth, and practice of the Church c.1520, ordinary people's relationship to it, the influence of Lollard and Lutheran ideas, the critics of the 1530s, Henry VIII's desire for annulment, and the legislation of the Reformation Parliament 1529–1534.
Outcome
You can explain the condition of the English Church and the beginnings of the Reformation, and assess the evidence for and against the view that the late-medieval Church was in decay.
Led by Duffian Reformation Simulacrum
The question
What did the dissolution of the monasteries do, and who resisted it? You will study Cromwell and the Valor Ecclesiasticus, the Visitation and the process of dissolution, the Suppression Acts, the range of reactions, the effects on religious orders and on ordinary people — especially the old and poor who relied on monastic charity — and the resistance, including the Pilgrimage of Grace.
Outcome
You can explain the dissolution and its effects to c.1540, including its human cost and what the Pilgrimage of Grace reveals about popular attitudes.
Led by Duffian Reformation Simulacrum
The question
What did the Reformation mean inside the parish church itself? You will study the changing religious policy under Henry VIII and Edward VI, the effects on worship, prayer books, and the English Bible, the impact on the fabric of churches and on the clergy, the enforcement of new policy, and popular responses including the Prayer Book Rebellion of 1549.
Outcome
You can explain the impact of the Reformation in English parishes to c.1550, using parish-level evidence to weigh compliance against resistance.
Led by R. Allen Brown Simulacrum
The question
How can a building be read as historical evidence? Hosted by the R. Allen Brown Simulacrum, this source-based study investigates a single castle (the OCR set site is Kenilworth). You will examine its location, its changing appearance and layout, its day-to-day functions from Norman conquest to elite dwelling, the lives of those who owned and ran it, and the key events it witnessed — using contracts, licences, inventories, drawings, and the fabric itself.
Outcome
You can use the physical fabric and documentary record of a castle to investigate how its form and function changed c.1000–1750, and can analyse and evaluate that evidence.