Edward VI of England church property that had begun under Henry VIII resumed under Edward—notably with the dissolution of the chantries—to the great monetary advantage of the crown and the new owners of the seized property. Church reform was therefore as much a political as a religious policy under Edward VI. By the end of his reign, the church had been financially ruined, with much of the property of the bishops transferred into lay hands. The religious convictions of both Somerset and Northumberland have proved elusive for historians, who are divided on the sincerity of their Protestantism. There is less doubt, however, about the
King Edward VI High School, Stafford grammar school for girls and was based at The Oval, just off the Lichfield Road, with some accommodation for students at The Hough Cottage (now an Italian restaurant). The school later moved to a new site off West Way, close to Stafford Castle; the modern home of King Edward VI High School. In 1977 King Edward VI Grammar School and Stafford Girls' High School were amalgamated to create a comprehensive off West Way. The two schools merged in September 1976, with King Edwards VI Boys Grammar vacating their site to move to the Stafford Girls' High School site off Newport