82-513: John Lok was the son of Sir William Lok , the great-great-great-grandfather of the philosopher John Locke (1632–1704). In 1554 he was captain of a trading voyage to Guinea . An account of his voyage was published in 1572 by Richard Eden . John Lok's date of birth is unknown. He was one of the nineteen children of the London mercer Sir William Lok by his second wife, Katherine Cooke (d. 14 Oct 1537), daughter of Sir Thomas Cooke of Wiltshire . He
164-584: A vicegerential synod of bishops and academics. The synod was co-ordinated by Cranmer and Foxe, and they prepared a draft document by July: The Institution of a Christian Man , more commonly known as the Bishops' Book . By October, it was in circulation, although the King had not yet given it his full assent. However, Cromwell's success in Church politics was offset by the fact that his political influence had been weakened by
246-506: A census in 1535 to enable the government to evaluate and tax church property more effectively. A lasting achievement of Cromwell's vicegerency was his direction of Autumn 1538 that every parish in the country should securely maintain a record of all christenings, marriages and burials. Although intended as a means to identify Anabaptists (dissenting religious refugees from the Low Countries and elsewhere who did not practise infant baptism)
328-413: A local attorney , John Welbeck. Cromwell is assumed to have been the youngest of three children. He had two sisters: the elder, Katherine, married Morgan Williams, a Welsh lawyer's son who came to Putney as a follower of King Henry VII when he established himself in the nearby Richmond Palace ; the younger, Elizabeth, married William Wellyfed, a sheep farmer. Katherine and Morgan's son, Richard ,
410-417: A mansion further upstream at Mortlake and was lord of the local manor of Wimbledon . His father, Walter ( c. 1450 – c. 1514 ), was an ambitious yeoman landowner who plied various trades, operating as a sheep farmer and wool processor ('fuller' and ' shearman '), while also running a tavern and a brewery . A popular tradition that he was also a blacksmith is plausible, although
492-451: A member of his council, as one of his most senior and trusted advisers. By the end of October of that year, however, Wolsey had fallen from power. Cromwell had made enemies by aiding Wolsey to suppress the monasteries, but was determined not to fall with his master, as he told George Cavendish , then a Gentleman Usher and later Wolsey's biographer: I do entend (god wyllyng) this after none, whan my lord hathe dyned to ride to london and so to
574-473: A member of the household of Lord Chancellor Cardinal Thomas Wolsey although, initially, he maintained his private legal practice; in that year he was elected a member of Gray's Inn , a lawyers' guild. Cromwell assisted in the dissolution of nearly thirty monasteries to raise funds for Wolsey to found The King's School, Ipswich (1528), and Cardinal College , in Oxford (1529). In 1529 Wolsey appointed Cromwell
656-455: A mercer, Lok was involved in other business ventures, including the export of beer. In 1528 he supplied the royal ordnance with six hundred leather harnesses. In 1531 a ship travelling from Chios to London which had been hired by Lok and John Gresham was detained at Lisbon . According to a letter dating from 1533, Lok had at some time visited Crete , and may thus have been involved in the wine or currant trade. The wealth he had accumulated as
738-541: A merchant by 1535 is indicated by the fact that he was rated in that year, perhaps in connection with a subsidy, at £1000. Lok and his wife were Protestants, and supported Henry VIII's divorce from Catherine of Aragon . His daughter, Rose Lok , later recounted how he pulled down a copy of the bull by which Pope Clement VII had excommunicated Henry VIII for his marriage to his second wife, Anne Boleyn : Of my father in Holinshed's Chronicle I find this story. In
820-558: A parlyament which contenwid by the space of xvii hole wekes wher we communyd of warre pease Stryffe contencyon debatte murmure grudge Riches poverte penurye trowth falshode Justyce equyte dicayte [deceit] opprescyon Magnanymyte actyvyte foce [force] attempraunce [moderation] Treason murder Felonye consyli... [conciliation] and also how a commune welth myght be ediffyed and a[lso] contenewid within our Realme. Howbeyt in conclusyon we have d[one] as our predecessors have been wont to doo that ys to say, as well we myght and lefte wher we begann. For
902-464: A position which he had held for some time in all but name. Cromwell immediately took steps to enforce the legislation just passed by Parliament. Before the members of both houses returned home on 30 March, they were required to swear an oath accepting the Act of Succession: all the King's subjects were now required to swear to the legitimacy of the marriage and, by implication, to accept the King's new powers and
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#1732841431019984-502: A prominent role in her downfall. He fell from power in 1540, despite being created Earl of Essex that year, after arranging the King's marriage to the German princess Anne of Cleves . The marriage was a disaster for Cromwell, ending in an annulment six months later. Cromwell was arraigned under an act of attainder ( 32 Hen. 8 . c. 62 ) and executed for treason and heresy on Tower Hill on 28 July 1540. The King later expressed regret at
1066-502: A seat in the House of Commons as a burgess , though the constituency he represented has not been identified with certainty. He prepared a daring speech against King Henry's declared intention of leading an invasion of France, although it was expressed tactfully in terms of concern for the King's safety while on campaign and fear of the costs such an overbold policy would entail; it was the latter point that embodied Cromwell's true concern. There
1148-545: A short while early in 1523 Cromwell became an adviser to Thomas Grey, 2nd Marquess of Dorset , drafting a parliamentary bill to relieve his sponsor of taxation on some property in Cumberland . Although the bill was not introduced in the 1523 session of Parliament, this may indicate that the unidentified seat for which Cromwell was returned in that year was Carlisle , Cumberland, to present the Marquess's bill. Early in 1524 he became
1230-413: Is a complete mystery. According to novelist Hilary Mantel , "Cromwell had an illegitimate daughter, and beyond the fact that she existed, we know very little about her. She comes briefly into the records, in an incredibly obscure way—she's in the archives of the county of Chester." Jane was born to an unknown mother during the time Cromwell was mourning the loss of his wife and daughters. Jane presumably
1312-537: Is likely that all his daughters were silkwomen . A pedigree of the Lok family assigns Lok's children to his first two wives as follows: By his first wife, Alice Spence or Spencer: By his second wife, Katherine Cooke: Thomas Cromwell Thomas Cromwell ( / ˈ k r ɒ m w əl , - w ɛ l / ; c. 1485 – 28 July 1540), briefly Earl of Essex , was an English statesman and lawyer who served as chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he
1394-463: Is no record of when Cromwell actually delivered the speech in the chamber and some modern historians, including Michael Everett and Robert Woods, have suggested that the whole episode was no more than a ploy, sanctioned by Henry himself, to allow him to withdraw graciously from his rash threat of war. After Parliament had been dissolved, Cromwell wrote a letter to a friend, jesting about the session's lack of productivity: I amongst other have indured
1476-527: Is now known as the Reformation Parliament had been scheduled for October 1531, but was postponed until 15 January 1532 because of Henry's indecision as to the best way to proceed towards his annulment. Cromwell favoured the assertion of royal supremacy over the recalcitrant Church, and he manipulated support in the House of Commons for the measure by resurrecting anti-clerical grievances expressed earlier, in
1558-588: The Canary Islands under the Peak of Tenerife . They touched the coast of Africa at Cape Barbas , and after reaching the mouth of the Sestos River , traded down the coast, 'touching every place of consequence without any memorable incident occurring' until 13 February, when they turned back toward England. Although the voyage out had taken seven weeks, the return voyage took twenty. In all, twenty-four seamen were lost in
1640-632: The Low Countries are problematic. The tradition that he quickly became a mercenary and marched with the French army to Italy, where in 1503 he fought in the Battle of Garigliano , stems from a novella by the contemporary Italian writer Matteo Bandello in which Cromwell is portrayed as a page to a foot-soldier, carrying his pike and helmet. This account was treated as fact by many later writers, including John Foxe in his Actes and Monuments of 1563. Despite
1722-471: The St Mary's Guild, Boston as part of a thriving trade. During this lengthy trip, Cromwell studied in detail Erasmus 's new edition of the gospels . His reading made him, for the first time, doubt the legitimacy of the practice he was advocating. Tracy Borman has suggested that it was at this point Cromwell developed his contempt for the papacy, because of the ease with which he had been able to manipulate
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#17328414310191804-725: The Succession to the Crown Act 1533 ( 25 Hen. 8 . c. 22), the Ecclesiastical Licences Act 1533 ( 25 Hen. 8 . c. 21) reiterated royal supremacy and the Submission of the Clergy Act 1533 ( 25 Hen. 8 . c. 19) incorporated into law the clergy's surrender in 1532. On 30 March 1534, Audley gave royal assent to the legislation in the presence of the King. In April 1534, Henry confirmed Cromwell as his principal secretary and chief minister,
1886-691: The Tower of London after his first fall from power. Lok died 24 August 1550 at his house in Bow Lane, Cheapside , and was buried on 27 August near his parents and his first wife, Alice Spenser, in the Mercers' Church at St Thomas of Acre in London, where his coat of arms was depicted in a window. His fourth wife, Elizabeth Meredith, was buried there after her death in 1551. In his will, he left houses and shops in various London parishes including Bow, Spitalfields , and Cheapside, as well as twelve farms near London, and
1968-505: The court roll regarding his manorial tenancy, a judgement that led to confiscation of all his accumulated lands. Little is known about Cromwell's mother, even though she came from a recognised gentry family, the Meverells of Staffordshire . Generally referred to as "Katherine Meverell", her first name is uncertain. She married Cromwell's father in 1474 while living in Putney in the house of
2050-611: The 25th year of the reign of King Henry 8, being the year of Our Lord 1534, at the suit of the Lady Catherine, Dowager , a curse was sent from the Pope, which cursed both the King and the realm. This curse was set up in the town of Dunkirk in Flanders, for the bringer thereof durst no nearer approach, where it was taken down by Mr Lok of London, mercer. Now I, his daughter, Rose Throckmorton, widow, late wife of Simon Throckmorton, esquire, and first
2132-539: The Act and save themselves. This failed and, within a month, both prisoners were executed. On 18 April, an order was issued that all citizens of London were to swear their acceptance of the Oath of Succession. Similar orders were issued throughout the country. When Parliament reconvened in November, Cromwell brought in the most significant revision of the treason laws since 1352, making it treasonous to speak rebellious words against
2214-540: The Act of Succession was in preparation: the appointment of three vicegerentes to supervise all ecclesiastical institutions. When the measure was put into effect on 21 January 1535, however, only one name remained: that of Cromwell. The King appointed him Royal Vicegerent and Vicar-General, and issued a warrant to authorise a visitation of all the country's churches, monasteries and clergy. Neville Williams explains that as Vicegerent in spiritual affairs, Cromwell held sway over church doctrine and religious policy, while from
2296-619: The Articles themselves, provoking opposition in September and October in Lincolnshire and then throughout the six northern counties. These widespread popular uprisings of the laity , collectively known as the Pilgrimage of Grace , found support among the gentry and even the nobility. The rebels' grievances were wide-ranging, but the most significant was the suppression of the monasteries, blamed on
2378-549: The Church. On 14 May 1532, Parliament was prorogued . Two days later, Sir Thomas More resigned as Lord Chancellor , realising that the battle to save the marriage was lost. More's resignation from the Council represented a triumph for Cromwell and the pro-Reformation faction at court. The King's gratitude to Cromwell was expressed in a grant of the lordship of the manor of Romney in the Welsh Marches (recently confiscated from
2460-636: The Court, where I wyll other make or marre, or ere [before] I come agayn, I wyll put my self in the prese [press] to se what any man is Able to lay to my charge of ontrouthe or mysdemeanor. Cavendish acknowledges that Cromwell's moves to mend the situation were by means of engaging himself in an energetic defence of Wolsey ("There could nothing be spoken against my lord ... but he [Cromwell] would answer it incontinent[ly]" ), rather than by distancing himself from his old master's actions, and this display of "authentic loyalty" only enhanced his reputation, not least in
2542-741: The Dog's Head inn in Cheapside. Lok married firstly Alice Spenser (d.1522), an early convert to Protestantism . He married secondly Katherine Cooke (d. 14 Oct 1537), daughter of Sir Thomas Cooke of Wiltshire . He married thirdly a wife named Eleanor (d.1546), who was the widow of Walter Marsh. He married fourthly Elizabeth Farthing (d.1551) who was the widow firstly of a husband surnamed Hutton and secondly of Robert Meredith. Lok had nineteen children, of whom five sons and seven daughters, all children of his first two marriages, survived to adulthood. According to Sutton, all Lok's sons were mercers, and it
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2624-493: The King instigated the process. Alexander Alesius , a theologian and associate of Cromwell, wrote that it had indeed been Cromwell who hinted to Henry of Anne's infidelity, but the King had in turn instructed Cromwell to turn the rumours into proceedings. The Queen and her brother stood trial on Monday 15 May, while the four others accused with them were condemned on the Friday beforehand. The men were executed on 17 May 1536 and, on
2706-520: The King's "evil counsellors", principally Cromwell and Cranmer. One of the leaders of the rebellion was Thomas Darcy, 1st Baron Darcy of Darcy , who gave Cromwell the prophetic warning during his interrogation in the Tower: "[…] men who have been in cases like with their prince as ye be now have come at the last to the same end that ye would now bring me unto.". The suppression of the risings spurred further Reformation measures. In February 1537, Cromwell convened
2788-536: The Queen's almoner, attending her when she was awaiting execution in the Tower . Anne, who had many enemies at court, had never been popular with the people and had so far failed to produce a male heir. The King was growing impatient, having become enamoured of the young Jane Seymour and being encouraged by Anne's enemies, particularly Sir Nicholas Carew and the Seymours. In circumstances that have divided historians, Anne
2870-521: The Royal Family, to deny their titles, or to call the King a heretic, tyrant, infidel, or usurper. The Act of Supremacy 1534 ( 26 Hen. 8 . c. 1) also clarified the King's position as head of the church and the First Fruits and Tenths Act 1534 ( 26 Hen. 8 . c. 3) substantially increased clerical taxes. Cromwell also strengthened his own control over the Church. During November 1534, another provision of
2952-478: The Vicar General title, he drew his authority over monasteries and other church institutions. By September 1535 Cromwell had appointed his own officials for church administration, with authority over the archbishops of Canterbury and York, to oversee all church affairs. He never declared that this visitation was ever complete, so he retained its extensive powers in his own hands. In this capacity, Cromwell conducted
3034-442: The advice they had been giving the King and to reject the temptation of personal gain. Skypp was called before the council and accused of malice, slander, presumption, lack of charity, sedition, treason, disobedience to the gospel, attacking "the great posts, pillars and columns sustaining and holding up the commonwealth" and inviting anarchy. Cromwell took no action against Skypp beyond the unsympathetic questioning, and he remained as
3116-653: The approval of Pope Clement VII for the annulment in 1533, so Parliament endorsed the king's claim to be Supreme Head of the Church of England , giving him the authority to annul his own marriage. Cromwell subsequently charted an evangelical and reformist course for the Church of England from the unique posts of Vicegerent in Spirituals and Vicar-general (the two titles refer to the same position). During his rise to power, Cromwell made many enemies, including Anne Boleyn, with his fresh ideas and lack of nobility. He duly played
3198-471: The association could have arisen from his use of the alternative surname of Smith (as in "Cromwell alias Smyth" ). As a successful tradesman, Cromwell's father was regularly called upon for jury service and was elected Constable of Putney in 1495. He had frequent brushes with the law himself in the local manorial court , often on relatively minor matters, but also for assault and, ultimately, in 1514, for "falsely and fraudulently" removing evidence from
3280-488: The break from Rome. On 13 April, the London clergy accepted the oath. On the same day, the commissioners offered it to Sir Thomas More and John Fisher , Bishop of Rochester, both of whom refused it. More was taken into custody on the same day and was moved to the Tower of London on 17 April. Fisher joined him there four days later. On 7 May Cromwell led a deputation from the commissioners to Fisher and More, to persuade them to accept
3362-440: The centre of the campaign to secure the annulment was the emerging doctrine of royal supremacy over the church. By the autumn of 1531, Cromwell had taken control of the supervision of the king's legal and parliamentary affairs, working closely with Thomas Audley , and had joined the inner circle of the council. By the following spring, he had begun to exert influence over elections to the House of Commons. The third session of what
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3444-411: The conservative faction was gaining strength at court. Cromwell took the initiative against his enemies. He imprisoned Henry Courtenay, 1st Marquess of Exeter , Sir Edward Neville , and Sir Nicholas Carew on charges of treason in November 1538 (the " Exeter Conspiracy "), using evidence acquired from Sir Geoffrey Pole under interrogation in the Tower. Sir Geoffrey, "broken in spirit", was pardoned but
3526-405: The course of the voyage. The cargo brought back included more than 400 pounds' weight of gold, 36 butts of Guinea pepper , and 250 elephants’ tusks, as well as an elephant's skull of such size and weight that a man could scarcely lift it. Lok's ships also brought home five Africans from present-day Ghana to learn English and act as interpreters on future trading voyages to Guinea . An account of
3608-584: The emergence of a Privy Council , a body of nobles and office-holders that first came together to suppress the Pilgrimage of Grace. The King confirmed his support of Cromwell by appointing him to the Order of the Garter on 5 August 1537, but Cromwell was nonetheless forced to accept the existence of an executive body dominated by his conservative opponents. In January 1538, Cromwell pursued an extensive campaign against what
3690-574: The family of the executed Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham ) and appointment to three relatively minor offices: Master of the Jewels on 14 April 1532, Clerk of the Hanaper on 16 July, and Chancellor of the Exchequer on 12 April 1533. None of these offices afforded much income, but the appointments were an indication of royal favour, and gave Cromwell a position in three major institutions of government:
3772-513: The first authoritative version in English. The King, however, continued to resist further Reformation measures. A Parliamentary committee was established to examine doctrine, and the Duke of Norfolk presented six questions on 16 May 1539 for the House to consider, which were duly passed as the Act of Six Articles shortly before the session ended on 28 June. The Six Articles reaffirmed a traditional view of
3854-683: The greatest single disaster in English literary history". Oxford University was left without a library collection until Sir Thomas Bodley 's donation in 1602. In July 1536, the first attempt was made to clarify religious doctrine after the break with Rome. Bishop Edward Foxe tabled proposals in Convocation, with strong backing from Cromwell and Cranmer, which the King later endorsed as the Ten Articles and which were printed in August 1536. Cromwell circulated injunctions for their enforcement that went beyond
3936-623: The king to prosecute and bring to an end the mistress's trial, to do which he had taken considerable trouble... He set himself to devise and conspire the said affair. Regardless of the role Cromwell played in Anne Boleyn's fall, and his confessed animosity to her, Chapuys's letter states that Cromwell claimed that he was acting with the King's authority. Some historians, such as Alison Weir and Susan Bordo , are convinced that her fall and execution were engineered by Cromwell, while others, such as Diarmaid MacCulloch and John Schofield, accept that
4018-573: The loss of his chief minister and his reign never recovered from the incident. Thomas Cromwell is thought to have been born by or around 1485 in Putney , then a village in Surrey providing a ferry service across the Thames upstream from London . His grandfather, John, had moved to the area from Nottinghamshire to run a fulling mill (for wool processing) leased to him by the archbishop of Canterbury, who had
4100-647: The measure proved to be of great benefit to the posterity of English historians. The final session of the Reformation Parliament began on 4 February 1536. By 18 March, the Suppression of Religious Houses Act 1535 ( 27 Hen. 8 . c. 28), an act for the suppression of the Lesser Monasteries, those with a gross income of less than £200 per annum, had passed both houses. This caused a clash with Anne Boleyn, formerly one of Cromwell's strongest allies, who wanted
4182-517: The mind of the King. Cromwell successfully overcame the shadow cast over his career by Wolsey's downfall. By November 1529, he had secured a seat in Parliament as a member for Taunton and was reported to be in favour with the King. Early in this short session of Parliament (November to December 1529) Cromwell involved himself with legislation to restrict absentee clergy from collecting stipends from multiple parishes ("clerical farming") and to abolish
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#17328414310194264-597: The obvious exaggerations contained in Bandello's novella, MacCulloch points out that the " picaresque " narrative provides the best available clues to shine some light on the obscurity of Cromwell's first Italian trip. While in Italy, Cromwell seems to have entered service in the household of the Frescobaldi family of Florentine bankers (Bandello has an implausibly young Francesco Frescobaldi graciously saving him from starvation on
4346-603: The office of Master of the Rolls , which he had held since 8 October 1534. On 8 July 1536, he was raised to the peerage as Baron Cromwell of Wimbledon. Cromwell orchestrated the Dissolution of the Monasteries and visitations to the universities and colleges in 1535, which had strong links to the church. This resulted in the dispersal and destruction of many books deemed "popish" and "superstitious". This has been described as "easily
4428-406: The opponents of the old religion termed "idolatry"; statues, rood screens , and images were attacked, culminating in September with the dismantling of the shrine of St. Thomas Becket at Canterbury. Early in September, Cromwell also completed a new set of vicegerential injunctions declaring open war on "pilgrimages, feigned relics or images, or any such superstitions" and commanding that "one book of
4510-617: The others were executed. On 17 December 1538, the Inquisitor-General of France forbade the printing of Miles Coverdale 's Great Bible . Then, Cromwell persuaded the King of France to release the unfinished books so that printing could continue in England. The first edition was finally available in April 1539. The publication of the Great Bible was one of Cromwell's principal achievements, being
4592-1042: The pope into granting the Boston petition without due consideration. At one point during these years, Cromwell returned to England, where around 1515 he married Elizabeth Wyckes (d. 1529 ). She was the widow of Thomas Williams, a Yeoman of the Guard , and the daughter of a Putney shearman , Henry Wyckes, who had later served as a gentleman usher to King Henry VII . The couple had three children: Cromwell's wife died in 1529 and his daughters, Anne and Grace, are believed to have died not long after their mother. Their death may have been due to sweating sickness . Provisions made for Anne and Grace in Cromwell's will, dated 12 July 1529, were crossed out at some later date. Gregory outlived his father by only 11 years, succumbing to sweating sickness in 1551. Cromwell also had an illegitimate daughter, Jane ( c. 1530 –1580 ), whose early life
4674-480: The power of Rome to award dispensations for the practice. At some point during the closing weeks of 1530, the King appointed him to the Privy Council . Cromwell held numerous offices during his career in the King's service, including: as well as numerous minor offices. From 1527, Henry VIII sought to have his marriage to Queen Catherine of Aragon annulled, so that he could lawfully marry Anne Boleyn . At
4756-526: The previous summer, assisted by Thomas Wriothesley , then Clerk of the Signet , he had prepared a list of suitably amenable "burgesses, knights and citizens" for the vacant parliamentary seats. The parliamentary session began on 4 February, and Cromwell introduced a new bill restricting the right to make appeals to Rome, reasserting the long-standing contention that England was an "empire" and thus not subject to external jurisdiction. On 30 March, Thomas Cranmer
4838-481: The proceeds of the dissolution used for educational and charitable purposes, not paid into the King's coffers. Anne instructed her chaplains to preach against the Vicegerent, and in a blistering sermon on Passion Sunday, 2 April 1536, her almoner , John Skypp , denounced Cromwell and his fellow Privy Councillors before the entire court. Skypp's diatribe was intended to persuade courtiers and Privy Councillors to change
4920-785: The records of the English Hospital in Rome indicate that he stayed there in June 1514, while documents in the Vatican Archives suggest that he was an agent for the Archbishop of York , Cardinal Christopher Bainbridge , and handled English ecclesiastical issues before the Roman Rota . In 1517–1518, he travelled to Rome again, this time to gain Pope Leo X 's approval for plenary indulgences to be sold by
5002-638: The royal household, the Chancery , and the Exchequer . Henry and Anne married on 25 January 1533, after a secret marriage on 14 November 1532 that may have taken place in Calais. On 26 January 1533 Audley was appointed Lord Chancellor and his replacement as Speaker of the House of Commons was Cromwell's old friend (and former lawyer to Cardinal Wolsey) Humphrey Wingfield . Cromwell further increased his control over parliament through his management of by-elections: since
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#17328414310195084-509: The same day, Cranmer declared Henry's marriage to Anne invalid, a ruling that illegitimised their daughter, Princess Elizabeth . Two days later, Anne herself was executed. On 30 May, the King married Jane Seymour. On 8 June, a new Parliament passed the Second Succession Act , securing the rights of Queen Jane's heirs to the throne. Cromwell's position was now stronger than ever. He succeeded Anne Boleyn's father, Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire , as Lord Privy Seal on 2 July 1536, resigning
5166-469: The session of 1529. Once he achieved his goal of managing affairs in Parliament, he never relinquished it. In March 1532, speaking without royal permission, he urged the House of Commons to draw up a list of clerical abuses in need of reform. On 18 March 1532, the Commons delivered a supplication to the King, denouncing clerical abuses and the power of the ecclesiastical courts, and describing Henry as "the only head, sovereign lord, protector and defender" of
5248-432: The shire (Member of Parliament) for the county. Jane, then nine years of age, accompanied him. Cromwell's records show him paying Elizabeth for clothing and expenses for Jane. It is unknown what became of Jane's mother, though historian Caroline Angus argues that Jane's mother was Elizabeth Gregory, a former household servant who was left a surprisingly large amount of money and items in Cromwell's will. Elizabeth Gregory
5330-485: The streets of Florence). It appears that he later worked as a cloth merchant in the Low Countries, where his frequentation of English Merchant Adventurers allowed him to develop useful contacts and gain familiarity with several languages. Cromwell, who was known to have a prodigious memory, was probably already fluent in French and Italian , as well as being proficient in Latin , with some knowledge also of Ancient Greek . At some point Cromwell returned to Italy:
5412-435: The unsoundness of the ship and the unseasonableness of the time of year. The voyage went ahead without Lok in 1562; accounts were written in prose by William Rutter and in verse by Robert Baker . Lok is said to have died in France. The date of his death is unknown. Lok married Margaret Spert, cousin of Sir Thomas Spert , but is said to have died without issue. William Lok Sir William Lok (1480 – 24 August 1550)
5494-433: The validity of his marriage to Catherine was to be the subject of an ecclesiastical court hearing. The trial began on 10 May 1533 at Dunstable Priory (near to where Catherine was staying at Ampthill Castle ) and on 23 May the Archbishop pronounced the court's verdict, declaring the marriage "null and invalid…contrary to the law of God". Five days later he pronounced the King's marriage to Anne to be lawful, and on 1 June, she
5576-449: The voyage was written by Robert Gaynsh or Gainsh, master of one of the ships. On 8 September certain articles were delivered to Lok by the London merchants Sir William Garrard , William Winter , Benjamin Gonson , Lok's brother-in-law, Anthony Hickman, and Edward Castelyn concerning another voyage to Guinea which they proposed to finance with Lok as captain. In a letter dated 11 December 1561 Lok declined to go, citing, among other reasons,
5658-422: The whole Bible in English" be set up in every church. Moreover, following the "voluntary" surrender of the remaining smaller monasteries during the previous year, the larger monasteries were now also "invited" to surrender throughout 1538, a process legitimised in the 1539 session of Parliament and completed in the following year. The King was becoming increasingly unhappy about the extent of religious changes, and
5740-405: The wife of Anthony Hickman, a merchant of London, reading this of my father, have thought good to leave to my children this addition to it, that for that act the King gave him £100 a year, and made him a Gentleman of his Privy Chamber, and he was the King's mercer, and his Majesty vouchsafed to dine at his house. Moreover he was knighted, although he was never mayor, but only Sheriff of London, and so
5822-402: Was Cromwell's agent in Chester from 1534 to 1540. Jane and her husband remained staunch Roman Catholics, who, together with their daughter, Alice, her husband, William Whitmore, and their children, all came to the attention of the authorities as recusants during the reign of Elizabeth I. By 1520, Cromwell was firmly established in London mercantile and legal circles. In 1523, he obtained
5904-445: Was a gentleman usher to Henry VIII and a mercer , alderman, and sheriff of London . He was the great-great-great-grandfather of the philosopher John Locke (1632–1704). William Lok was the second son of Thomas Lok, a London mercer , and the grandson of John Lok, also a mercer, who was Sheriff of London in 1461. His mother was Joan Wilcock (d. 1512), only daughter of one 'Mr Wilcock' of Rotherham , Yorkshire. Even before he
5986-753: Was a half-brother of the mercer Thomas Lok (8 February 1514 – 9 November 1556), Sir William Lok's eldest surviving son and heir by his first wife. His brothers and sisters of the whole blood were: In 1553 Lok travelled to Jerusalem . In 1554 Lok was captain of three ships, the Trinity of 140 tons, the Bartholomew of 90 tons, and the John Evangelist of 140 tons which set sail on a trading voyage to Guinea on 11 October. Although unfavourable winds kept them from leaving England's shores until 1 November, they were near Madeira by 17 November, and becalmed two days later at
6068-404: Was accused of adultery with: Mark Smeaton , a musician of the royal household; Sir Henry Norris , the King's groom of the stool and one of his closest friends; Sir Francis Weston ; Sir William Brereton ; and her brother, George Boleyn, 2nd Viscount Rochford . The Imperial Ambassador, Eustace Chapuys , wrote to Charles V that: he himself [Cromwell] has been authorised and commissioned by
6150-578: Was admitted to the Mercers' Company in 1507, Lok had already supplied cloth of gold and silver to Henry VIII . During the course of his visits as a mercer to the annual markets in Antwerp and Bergen op Zoom in the Low Countries , he collected intelligence which he passed on to the King and his chief minister, Thomas Cromwell . In March 1527, he was granted 'exclusive licence to import silks, jewels, and mercery wares for court revels'. In addition to his trade as
6232-506: Was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false charges for the execution. Cromwell was one of the most powerful proponents of the English Reformation . As the king's chief secretary, he instituted new administrative procedures that transformed the workings of government. He helped to engineer an annulment of the King's marriage to Catherine of Aragon so that Henry could lawfully marry Anne Boleyn . Henry failed to obtain
6314-492: Was consecrated Archbishop of Canterbury, and Convocation immediately declared the King's marriage to Catherine unlawful. In the first week of April 1533, Parliament passed Cromwell's bill into law, as the Ecclesiastical Appeals Act 1532 ( 24 Hen. 8 . c. 12), ensuring that any adjudication concerning the King's marriage could not be challenged in Rome. On 11 April, Archbishop Cranmer sent the King formal notice that
6396-464: Was crowned queen. In December, the King authorised Cromwell to discredit the papacy. The minister organised an adept smear campaign throughout the nation, attacking the Pope in sermons, pamphlets and plays mounted in parish churches. In 1534 a new Parliament was summoned, again under Cromwell's supervision, to enact the legislation necessary to make a formal break of England's remaining ties with Rome. Archbishop Cranmer's verdict took statutory form as
6478-409: Was educated and resided in Cromwell's homes, but in 1539, Margaret Vernon, the worldly Prioress of Little Marlow Priory (who had also helped to raise Gregory Cromwell ) suggested she take Jane to begin her education away from home. In that same year Jane's half-brother Gregory (at age nineteen) and his wife Elizabeth moved into Leeds Castle , Kent, in preparation for Gregory's election as a knight of
6560-675: Was employed in his uncle's service and by the autumn of 1529 had changed his name to Cromwell. Richard was the great-grandfather of Oliver Cromwell . Cromwell acknowledged to Thomas Cranmer , the Archbishop of Canterbury, that he had been a "ruffian ... in his young days". Around the turn of the century, for reasons which remain unclear, he left his family in Putney and crossed the Channel to continental Europe, allegedly after spending some time in prison. Accounts of his activities in France , Italy and
6642-475: Was listed among family members in the will, despite not being any relation to the Cromwell, Williams, Wyckes or Williamson families. Cromwell was known to be one of the few men at court without mistresses and tried to keep this indiscretion secret. Jane married William Hough ( c. 1527 –1585), of Leighton in the Wirral Hundred , around 1550. William Hough was the son of Richard Hough (1505–1574) who
6724-551: Was never any Londoner before him. Lok also brought French translations of the Gospels and Epistles from the continent for Henry VIII's second wife, Anne Boleyn . On 20 October 1545, he was elected alderman for Vintry ward , and on 3 March 1549 was elected Sheriff , and knighted by the young Edward VI . On 10 October 1549, he was among those who escorted the Lord Protector, Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset , to imprisonment in
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