University of Warwick

Graduate Student, History

Thesis Title: Faith and Fraternity: The London Livery Companies and the Reformation c.1510-1603

About

My research explores the construction and expression of religious identities in Reformation England.  I focus on the reaction of the London livery companies to religious change – specifically the Grocers and Drapers.  Although livery companies had strong religious elements to their corporate identity, their reaction to the Reformation has to date been only lightly explored, appearing either in the context of broad institutional histories, or general surveys of religious change.  This study, operating at the level of both institution and individual, will not only illuminate how merchants reconciled competing loyalties to Church, Crown and Company, but will also shed important light on how the transition from a Catholic to a Protestant society was mediated and negotiated by elite groups in England’s only major city. 

Contact Information