English Reformation was not, by itself, a Reformation. However, the political break with Rome was inseparable from the success of Protestantism. English Catholicism was strong and popular in the early 1500s, and while there were those who held Protestant sympathies, they would have remained a religious minority if political events had not intervened. An earlier reform movement that anticipated some Protestant teachings but remained outside the religious mainstream was Lollardy. Derived from the writings of John Wycliffe, a 14th-century theologian and Bible translator, Lollardy stressed the primacy of Scripture and emphasised the preaching of the word over the sacrament of the altar,
John Wycliffe Linnell John Wycliffe Linnell John Wycliffe Linnell FRCP MC (31 October 1878 – 1 December 1967) was Consulting Physician at the Metropolitan Hospital, Mildmay Mission Hospital and New End Hospital Hampstead. Linnell was born in Pavenham on 31 October 1878, the son of the Rev. John Edward Linnell. He was educated at Bedford Modern School, the University of London and St John’s College, Cambridge. During World War I he served in France, Gallipoli and Egypt, attaining the rank of Major. He was mentioned in despatches and won a Military Cross. After the war, Linnell became Medical Registrar at the London Hospital.