Hello everyone and welcome to the History of England episode 275, The Time of Trial.

Let me briefly remind you to come and chat on a thick chat by the way as a link and instructions

on the history of England.co.uk. We could talk about today's episode, which is a slightly

bloodthirsty one I had to tell you.

Let us start with a picture of Smithfield in London on the 4th of February 1555. Smithfield

was rammed with people and we might imagine a February atmosphere of both apprehension

and excitement, a right-old mix of roundiness and piety, contempt and concern. There was

a right-old mix of people from the great and the good, so that more than a little rough

around the edges. Alongside traders and clerics, Protestants and Catholics, there were

anxious eyes, watchers, waiting to see what would happen next, how the event that had

drawn people there would unfold and how they would react to it. Eyes on behalf of Reginald

Paul and the Queen were there. The Lord Chancellor Stephen Gardner was probably there in person.

The Imperial Ambassador Aronar was there, hopeful and fearful and the opposition to, on

Twand and Nui, the ambassador of France. In the square was a stake and a raised platform

was around the stake and then faggots of wood were closed by already for the event to follow.

Near to the stake were the two adjudicating magistrates carefully chosen, trusted by the

Queen. Robert Rochester was the controller of the Queen's household part of the Queen's

inner-circuit, Kenning Hall, during her coup. The other was Richard Southwell. Richard

Southwell was a member of the Royal Council and Richard Southwell was a cynical man. Here

is one kind of person produced by the vicious nature of Tudor Court politics. A reasonably

able administrator, but nothing more than that, who managed to keep his place through the

reigns of Henry and Edward and now Mary. He kept his place, largely through his abilities

...