As to the various religious changes in the reigns of Henry VIII., Edward VI., Mary, and Elizabeth, which affected Derbyshire as much as any other part of the kingdom, it is not proposed here to enter. Suffice it to say that their distinguishing feature under Elizabeth, which was also continued throughout the greater part of the seventeenth century, was the fierce persecution and ruinous fining directed against the recusants of the Roman obedience. The reason for the pre-eminence of Derbyshire in this respect arose from two facts: firstly, that some of the most influential of the old Derbyshire families, such as the Fitzherberts and the Eyres, remained steadfast to the unreformed faith; and, secondly, that the wild districts of the Peak afforded so many places of shelter to those recusants of this and the neighbouring counties who desired to escape the rigorous search of Elizabeth’s pursuivants. Throughout the long reign of Elizabeth, the county musters were under frequent survey. A few months before the reign began, the old local militia, with its scale of arms (including bows and arrows) as revised in 1285, which had continued for more than four centuries in accordance with the scheme laid down by Henry II., came to an end. The old Assize of Arms had long been found unsuitable to the advance in the art of war. Eventually an Act of Parliament of Philip and Mary “for the having of horse armour and weapon,” which provided that after May 1st, 1558, everyone who had an estate of inheritance of the value of £1,000 or above was to keep at his own cost six horses meet for demi-lances (heavy cavalry), and ten horses meet for light horsemen, with the requisite harness and weapons; also 40 corselets for pikemen, 40 Almayne rivettes (flexible German armour), 40 pikes, 30 longbows, 30 sheaves of arrows, 30 steel caps, 20 black bills or halberds, 20 hand-guns, and 20 morions or light open helms. A sliding scale followed, making due provision for what was required from those having lands of various values down to £10, and these last had to find a longbow, a sheaf of arrows, a steel cap, and a black bill. Another section of the Act provided that the inhabitants of every town, parish, or hamlet, other than those who were already charged in proportion to their landed property, were to find and maintain at their own charges such harness and weapons as might be appointed by the commissioners of the musters.