ABSTRACT
This chapter will concentrate on the reality of taking up high clerical office in the early Elizabethan era, focusing on the challenges faced by men such as Sandys. The new ecclesiastical hierarchy were often treading a fine line. They tried to push for further change whilst remaining acutely aware that the local population was largely reactionary and at best unenthusiastic, if not openly hostile to further reform. For many of the new clerics there were fresh considerations to take into account, namely a wife and family. At Worcester Sandys found himself facing a particularly determined Catholic gentleman, Sir John Bourne, who did not want to be converted. The disputes that ensued cast light on many of the issues facing the new Protestant regime. Some of Sandys’ more unsympathetic characteristics appeared to have shown themselves during his time in Worcester. He became embroiled in disputes over land and property and displayed a tendency for personal enmities that was to become a constant theme through his career.
