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Key Stage 3 history · British history

KS3 Britain 1509 to 1745: Tudors and Stuarts for parents

This Key Stage 3 period runs from the accession of Henry VIII in 1509 to the Jacobite rebellion of 1745, a time of religious upheaval, civil war, a king’s execution and a long struggle over who should rule. Pupils study how Church, state and society developed, and they practise explaining causes and consequences. It is a period in which the same questions keep returning: who holds power, and who decides what people believe?

Tudors and Stuarts: Britain 1509 to 1745, explained

The curriculum asks schools to teach “the development of Church, state and society in Britain 1509 to 1745”. The examples listed with it are non-statutory, which means each school picks which to teach in depth. They include the Renaissance and Reformation in Europe, the English Reformation and Counter-Reformation from Henry VIII to Mary I, the Elizabethan religious settlement and conflict with Catholics, the first colony in America and first contact with India, the civil wars throughout Britain, the Interregnum, the Restoration, the Glorious Revolution, the Act of Union of 1707 and the Jacobite rebellions of 1715 and 1745. Expect your child to meet some of these in detail and others only briefly.

Religion drives much of the story. In the 1500s reformers across Europe challenged the authority of the Pope. Henry VIII broke with Rome in the 1530s, partly because the Pope would not annul his marriage, and made himself head of the Church of England. His son Edward VI pushed the country in a more Protestant direction, his daughter Mary I restored Catholicism and nearly 300 Protestants were burned for heresy in her reign, and Elizabeth I settled on a compromise Church in 1559. Her conflicts with Catholics at home and abroad, with Scotland, Spain and Ireland, include the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots in 1587 and the failed Armada of 1588.

The 1600s are about power. Charles I clashed with Parliament over taxes, religion and who should govern, and civil war broke out in 1642. It was fought across England, Scotland and Ireland, not only in England. Charles was executed in 1649, and the Interregnum that followed was a gap in royal rule, dominated by Oliver Cromwell, who became Lord Protector in 1653. His army also campaigned in Ireland in 1649 and 1650 with great brutality. The monarchy returned in 1660. After James II was forced out in 1688, William and Mary accepted limits on royal power in the Bill of Rights of 1689. The Act of Union of 1707 joined England and Scotland, and the Hanoverian succession of 1714 brought George I to the throne, followed by the Jacobite attempts to restore the Stuarts.

Alongside politics, pupils look at ordinary life: work and leisure in town and country, belief and superstition, and culture such as theatre, art, music and literature. This is also when English people began planting colonies in America and trading in India, which links to the later empire pupils study further on in Key Stage 3. Throughout, the curriculum wants pupils to spot connections, contrasts and trends across the whole period, and to judge sources and different interpretations rather than to memorise a list of kings and queens.

Words your child will hear

Reformation
The movement in the 1500s that challenged the Pope and the Catholic Church and led to new Protestant churches.
Protestant
A Christian who rejected the Pope’s authority and followed the reformers’ teachings. Catholics stayed loyal to Rome.
Absolute monarchy
Rule by a king or queen who claims the final say, without having to answer to Parliament.
Interregnum
A gap between reigns. In British history it means the years from 1649 to 1660 when there was no king.
Restoration
The return of the monarchy in 1660 under Charles II, after the Interregnum.
Jacobite
A supporter of the exiled Stuart family’s claim to the throne after 1688.
Act of Union
The law of 1707 that joined the kingdoms of England and Scotland into Great Britain.

What the National Curriculum says

The programme of study for Key Stage 3 says:

  • Pupils should be taught about the development of Church, state and society in Britain 1509-1745
  • Pupils should extend and deepen their chronologically secure knowledge and understanding of British, local and world history, so that it provides a well-informed context for wider learning.
  • Pupils should identify significant events, make connections, draw contrasts, and analyse trends within periods and over long arcs of time.
  • Pupils should understand how different types of historical sources are used rigorously to make historical claims and discern how and why contrasting arguments and interpretations of the past have been constructed.

Objectives from the National Curriculum in England, © Crown copyright, used under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Try it: explaining the causes of the civil war

Why did the English Civil War break out in 1642?

  1. Sort causes into groups. Good history answers do not list everything. They group causes under headings such as money, religion and power.
  2. Money: Charles I wanted to raise taxes, but Parliament would not agree. From 1629 to 1640 he ruled without calling Parliament at all, and used methods such as Ship Money, a tax on coastal towns that was later charged inland too, which many saw as unfair.
  3. Religion: Many Protestants distrusted the king’s religious advisers and thought his Church looked too much like the Catholic Church. When he tried to impose a new prayer book on Scotland in 1637, the Scots rebelled, and he needed Parliament’s money to fight them.
  4. Power: Behind both lay a question nobody had settled. Did the king rule by his own authority, or did Parliament share in governing? In January 1642 Charles tried to arrest five MPs in the House of Commons, and both sides began to raise armies.
  5. Link and rank. Money and religion were long-term causes, and the clash over power turned them into a crisis. The attempt to arrest the MPs was the trigger. Say which cause you think mattered most and defend it.

A strong answer might say: “Charles I’s disputes with Parliament over taxes and religion built up over many years, but the most important cause was the unresolved question of who held power. Without a way to settle that, a disagreement over money and a rebellion in Scotland turned into a crisis, and his attempt to arrest five MPs in 1642 made war almost certain.”

Common mistakes and how to help

Thinking Henry VIII broke with Rome only to get a divorce

The divorce is the best-known part of the story, so it often becomes the whole story. Historians also point to Henry’s need for a male heir, his wish to control the Church and its great wealth (he went on to close the monasteries and take their land), the influence of advisers such as Thomas Cromwell and Thomas Cranmer, and real religious change happening across Europe.

What helps: Ask your child to separate the immediate cause from the deeper ones, and to explain the difference. It is practice for questions on causes at Key Stage 3 and GCSE.

Believing everyone changed religion when the monarch did

Textbooks speak of “England becoming Protestant” as though it happened in a moment. In fact belief changed gradually and unevenly, and the official religion switched back and forth under Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I.

What helps: Look at how a parish might have felt when its church was altered, repainted and altered again. It makes a good question: “What would you do if the law changed your faith three times in your lifetime?”

Picturing the civil war as simply rich Cavaliers against poor Roundheads

The nicknames and costumes are memorable. The real divide cut across class, family and region, and many people tried to stay out of it.

What helps: Ask who might have supported each side, and why. Some families had brothers on opposite sides, and the wars also involved Scotland and Ireland.

Thinking Oliver Cromwell became king

Cromwell ruled the country and had huge power, so it is natural to assume he was king. He was Lord Protector, and in 1657 he was offered the crown and refused it.

What helps: Talk about why the title mattered. It is a good way into the question that runs through the whole period: how should a country be governed?

How to help at home

  • Role-play a monarch’s dilemma. Give your child a situation, such as “You are Elizabeth I and half your country is Catholic: what do you do?” Ask them to list what each choice would risk. It builds the habit of weighing causes and consequences.
  • Look at the Reformation nearby. Many local churches still show the marks of the 1500s and 1600s, such as whitewashed walls, removed statues or royal coats of arms. Ask your child why a church might look plainer than it once did.
  • Compare two sources. Find two accounts of the same event, such as a portrait painted at the time and a modern film scene about the same person, and ask which is closer to the truth and why. There are no wrong questions here, only better and worse reasoning.
  • Draw a power map. On one page, mark the king, Parliament, the Church and the people, with arrows showing who could tell whom what to do in 1509, 1649 and 1714. The changing picture shows the trend the curriculum asks pupils to analyse.
  • Watch or read a play. Theatre was a major part of the culture of the period. Reading a short scene aloud from a play of the time, or watching a recorded performance, helps pupils see how people talked and what worried them.

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