Mid-Tudor Crisis
Teacher notes
Duration: 90 minutes
Meeting Point: Entrance to Learning Centre
Succession for the taking? The Mid-Tudor period saw the stability of the monarchy
and its future legacies thrown into question. In this session, students will analyse the
Tower of London’s buildings, together with documentary evidence, to explore the
Tower’s use by Tudor kings and queens as a symbol of fear and power during this
turbulent period.
Through the prisoners who have left their marks on the walls of the Tower itself,
students will consider how the Tower of London can be used to evaluate the Mid-
Tudor period and its fluctuating political landscape.
Exam board links
This session has been designed to complement the study of the Mid-Tudor period,
and particularly the following exam boards:
• AQA, Unit 1C: The Tudors: England, 1485-1603, Part Two.
• Edexcel, Unit 1B: England, 1509–1603: authority, nation and religion.
• Edexcel, Paper 3, Option 31: Rebellion and disorder under the Tudors,
1485-1603.
• OCR, Unit 1 Y106: England, 1485–1558: the Early Tudors (Enquiry topic:
Mid Tudor Crises 1547–1558).
• OCR, Unit 1 Y107: England, 1547–1603: The Later Tudors (Enquiry topic:
Mid Tudor Crises 1547–1558).
• WJEC:
o Unit 1, period study (AS): Government, rebellion and society in
Wales and England, c.1485-1603.
o Unit 2, depth study (AS): The Mid Tudor Crisis in Wales and
England c.1529-1570, Part 1: Problems, threats and challenges c.1529-
1553.
o Unit 3, breadth study (A2): Poverty, protest and rebellion in Wales
and England, c.1485-1603.
o Unit 4, depth study (A2): The Mid Tudor crisis in Wales and
England c.1529-1570, Part 2: Challenges facing Mary and Elizabeth
c.1553-1570.
