Wolsey's Domestic Reforms

Wolsey's Domestic Reforms (the Star Chamber and Enclosure)

As chief minister, Wolsey had considerable influence in Henry VIII's government. He used this to introduce several reforms.

Star Chamber

The Star Chamber was a court set up to give out royal justice to all levels of society, not just the rich.
Wolsey increased the courts work from 12 to 120 cases per year, many of which he oversaw himself.

Star Chamber continued...

Wolsey encouraged the poor to bring their cases to court and supported their cases.
He made the reasons for his decisions public.
However, Wolsey was criticised for using it to get revenge on political opponents who treated him badly because of his poor background e.g. Sir Amyas Paulet.

Enclosure

Enclosure was when landlords fenced off land that used to be accessed by the poor, meaning they couldn’t use it for growing food or grazing animals anymore.
Wolsey set up an enquiry in 1517 and brought 260 cases to court - a huge number in Tudor times!

Protests

Wolsey did care about the poor but used this as an excuse to attack the rich too.
In 1523, wealthy landowners in parliament protested and Wolsey was forced to stop the enquiry.
Enclosure continued to be a problem.

Wolsey's Domestic Reforms (Subsidies and the Eltham Ordinances)

As chief minister, Wolsey had considerable influence in Henry VIII's government. He used this to introduce several reforms.

The reasons for subsidies

Henry’s normal income was £110,000 per year but this wasn’t enough to pay for his wars.
The existing system of direct taxation was calculated on a percentage of moveable goods (i.e. possessions, not land or buildings). This was one fifteenth in the countryside, and one tenth in towns and cities.
The problem was that these calculations were based on valuations from 200 years earlier!

The subsidies

Wolsey improved the tax system by basing it on a person’s income and sent commissioners to re-assess the valuations.
- This was called a subsidy.
Subsidies raised £170,000 between 1513 and 1516, compared to £90,000 from fifteenths and tenths.
- In his time, Wolsey collected four subsidies.

Limits of the subsidies

However, it still didn’t raise enough for Henry’s wars.
Henry spent £1.4 million on war between 1511 and 1521, and the taxes were very unpopular.

The Eltham Ordinances 1526

Henry’s court was dirty, badly behaved and money was spent inefficiently, due to the huge numbers of people attending.
Wolsey introduced reforms called the Eltham Ordinances to improve court efficiency:
- Removing unnecessary jobs and firing sick workers.
- Reducing spending by cutting people’s expenses and having meals at set times rather than constantly.
- Banning dogs in an attempt to keep things clean.
- In total it was 79 chapters long!

Wolsey manipulating the Eltham Ordinances

It was also used to remove political opponents.
- Wolsey halved the number of Gentlemen of the Chamber.
He said it was to save money, but in reality, he just removed his rivals.
Once this was done, Wolsey stopped applying any further reforms.

The Amicable Grant, 1525

The Amicable Grant was designed to fund Henry's war in France. The failure of the Grant marks the start of Wolsey's downfall.

Reasons behind the Amicable Grant

Henry wanted to take advantage of France’s defeat by Charles V in 1525 and invade France while it was vulnerable, but this would cost a lot of money, and even subsidies could not raise enough.

Introducing the Amicable Grant

Wolsey decided to introduce a new direct tax to raise money for the war with France but didn’t get approval from Parliament.
One of Parliament’s main roles was to approve taxes, so this was a very risky move.
The tax would demand a third of the income of priests and a sixth from everyone else. They had just 10 weeks to find the money.

Response to the Amicable Grant

People refused to pay, and this led to rebellion in Suffolk in May 1525, where 10,000 men protested.
The Dukes of Norfolk and Suffolk had to be sent to deal with the rebels and negotiate their surrender.
This was the first significant rebellion of Henry’s reign.

Impact of the Grant on Wolsey

Henry blamed Wolsey and cancelled the tax, claiming he didn’t know about it.
Wolsey became very unpopular with the public, and Henry began to doubt Wolsey.
He had to abandon plans for war, and Wolsey never attempted further taxation again.

1Henry VIII & Wolsey, 1509-1529

1.1Henry VIII & Wolsey, 1509-1529

1.1.1Henry VIII, Renaissance Prince

1.1.2The Rise of Wolsey

1.1.3Wolsey's Domestic Reforms

1.1.4Wolsey's Foreign Policy

1.1.5Evaluating Wolsey's Foreign Policy

1.1.6The Succession & Annulment

1.1.7Fall of Wolsey

1.1.8End of Topic Test - Henry VIII & Wolsey

1.1.9End of Topic Test - Henry VIII & Wolsey 2

2Henry VIII & Cromwell, 1529-1540

2.1Henry VIII & Cromwell, 1529-1540

2.1.1The Rise of Cromwell

2.1.2The King's Annulment

2.1.3Cromwell & the King's Marriages

2.1.4Cromwell & Government

2.1.5Cromwell & Parliament

2.1.6Fall of Cromwell

2.1.7End of Topic Test - Henry VIII & Cromewell

2.1.8End of Topic Test - Henry VIII & Cromwell 2

3The Reformation & its Impact, 1529-1540

3.1The Reformation & its Impact, 1529-1540

3.1.1The Break with Rome

3.1.2Opposition to the Reformation

3.1.3Impact of the Reformation

3.1.4Role of Religious Houses

3.1.5Dissolution of the Monasteries

3.1.6Impact of Dissolution

3.1.7The Pilgrimage of Grace

3.1.8Evaluating the Pilgrimage of Grace

3.1.9End of Topic Test - The Reformation

3.1.10End of Topic Test - The Reformation 2

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