Author: Burnet, Gilbert (1643–1715), Bishop of Salisbury.
 
The First Part (Henry VIII - 1679 True First Edition)
The History of the Reformation of the Church of England. The First Part. Of the Progress made in it during the Reign of K. Henry the VIII. By Gilbert Burnet. London: Printed by T.H. for Richard Chiswell, at the Rose and Crown in St. Paul’s Church-yard, MDCLXXIX.

The Second Part (Queen Elizabeth - 1683 Second Edition)
The History of the Reformation of the Church of England. The Second Part. Of the Progress made in it till the Settlement of it in the beginning of Q. Elizabeths Reign. The Second Edition, Corrected. By Gilbert Burnet, D.D. London: Printed by T.H. for Richard Chiswell, at the Rose and Crowne in S’ Pauls Church yard, MDCLXXXIII.
 
The Third Part (The Supplement - 1715 True First Edition)
The History of the Reformation of the Church of England. The Third Part. Being a Supplement to the Two Volumes formerly publish'd. By the Right Reverend Father in God, Gilbert Lord Bishop of Sarum. London: Printed for J. Churchill at the Black-Swan in Pater-Noster-Row. MDCCXV.
 

This unparalleled example boasts an airtight, three-century pedigree of ownership. Custom-bound in the 18th century for the private library of William Pochin, Esq. (1731–1798), British Member of Parliament and High Sheriff of Leicestershire, the volume features his personal armorial coat of arms (a chevron between three horseshoes) stamped in gold on the boards. In a brilliant historical nod to the author, Bishop Gilbert Burnet—who served as the Chancellor of the Order of the Garter—the binder enclosed the Pochin shield within the Garter's iconic 'Honi soit qui mal y pense' motto belt. The volumes later crossed the Atlantic, joining the private collection of U.S. Congressman Lynden Evans (1858–1926), making it a museum-grade crossover piece of Anglo-American political and heraldic history.
 
The set is bound in luxury, heavy full dark morocco or straight-grain goatskin leather with thick, pronounced raised spine bands and delicate gilt-tooled floral accents in the compartments.
 
The History of the Reformation of the Church of England (1679–1715) is a monumental, large-format folio set that represents one of the greatest achievements in the history of European historical research. Assembled across a generational timeline, this magnificent group features a true first edition of the initial 1679 volume on Henry VIII, a corrected 1683 second edition of the Elizabeth I chronicle, and the true 1715 first edition of the massive supplemental third part issued the year of Burnet’s death. Written during the chaotic throes of the Popish Plot and the Glorious Revolution, Burnet’s work revolutionized historical writing by becoming the first major text to back its narrative with vast transcriptions of original state papers, papal bulls, and royal letters.
 
At its absolute core, the narrative captures the volatile essence of the English Reformation, a high-stakes, generational tug-of-war where absolute power, political survival, and shifting religious conscience violently collided. Rather than treating the Reformation as a single, sudden event, Burnet tracks its slow evolution. It begins with Henry VIII’s ego-driven, dynastic break from Roman papal authority, moves through the radical Protestant shifts under young Edward VI, survives the brutal Catholic counter-restoration of "Bloody" Mary I, and finally culminates in the calculated political stability of Elizabeth I's lasting Protestant settlement. The deep essence of this era wasn't just a change in church liturgy or the rewriting of the Book of Common Prayer; it was a total structural re-engineering of the English identity, which permanently transformed the reigning monarch into the Supreme Head of both the state and a newly independent national church.
 
Through Burnet's pages, the Book Archaeologist encounters the true spirit of this historical turning point—documenting the dissolution of wealthy ancient monasteries, the state-sanctioned destruction of holy shrines, the martyrdom of bishops, and the monumental distribution of the first authorized English Bibles, mapping the fierce birth pains of the modern Anglo-Saxon world.
 
Illustrations & Plates: Embellished with beautiful engraved architectural frontispieces and a suite of magnificent, full-page copperplate portraits of Tudor monarchs and bishops (including Henry VIII, Cranmer, and Elizabeth I).

We provide detailed photographs to allow you to assess the book's condition and aesthetic appeal.