[3] Neither was published under his name: A litel treatise ageynste the mutterynge of some papistis in corners was anonymous and A mustre of scismatyke bysshoppes of Rome was released under his alias Thomas Roberts.
[1] He defends the Act of Supremacy by crediting King Henry VIII and his counsellors for having discovered Papal corruption and broken with Rome out of concern for the spiritual welfare of the people.
[5] In labelling Papal discourse as the "mutterings of some papists in corners", Swinnerton discredits all speech or writing that lacks royal approval and takes place, so to speak, "in blind alleys".
[6] His Mustre, a "far superior" work to the Litel treatise, is a preface to his translation of the Gesta Romanae ecclesiae contra Hildebrandum of Cardinal Beno of Santi Martino e Silvestro.
Conservatives within the church of England, who opposed the doctrines of evangelicalism, raised opposition to his mission in Bedfordshire and Rye, and Bishop Longland complained to Thomas Cromwell, the king's principal secretary, but to no avail.
If indeed he was married to Eleanor Wakefield, whose father was the archbishop's chaplain, it would appear that Swinnerton enjoyed the protection of two of the most powerful men in England: Cranmer and Cromwell.