Thomas Cromwell
1485 Born at Putney in Surrey
1503, 28 December Serves as a soldier with the French army when they are defeated by the
Spanish at the Battle of Garigliano in Italy
1512 Works as a secretary to English merchants based in Antwerp in the Low
Countries
1516 Marries Elizabeth Wykes, daughter of a clothworker in Putney. A son,
Gregory, is born
1520 Advises Cardinal Thomas Wolsey in legal matters, and members of the
nobility on financial issues
1523 Becomes a Member of Parliament under Wolsey's patronage
1524 Admitted as a lawyer at Gray's Inn and becomes Wolsey's solicitor and
counsellor
1525, 4 January Appointed to investigate five small monasteries to establish their wealth, and
becomes Wolsey's agent in their suppression
1526 - 1529 Suppression of 29 'decayed' minor monasteries and priories to fund Cardinal
Wolsey's foundation of two colleges at Oxford and Ipswich
1527, October Purchases the manor of Tolleshunt D'Arcy n Essex; his accumulation of l
lands and property has begun
1528 or 1529 His wife Elizabeth and his two daughters--Anne and Grace--all die. Their
deaths are probably due to the sweating sickness epidemic (Thomas is aged
c. 44)
1529, 9 October The fall of Cardinal Thomas Wolsey
1529, 3 November Becomes Member of Parliament for Taunton
1530 Enters the service of King Henry VIII as parliamentary manager and ad hoc
legal advisor
1539, 29 November Cardinal Thomas Wolsey dies
1531, January Sworn in as junior member of the King's Council
1532 Appointed Receiver General. Also becomes supervisor of the lands at
Oxford belonging to Wolsey's former Cardinal's College
1532 - March Commons passes 'Supplication Against the Ordinaries,' an anti-clerical
petition
1532 - 14 April Appointed Master of the King's Jewel House (a shared position)
1532 - 16 July Appointed Clerk of the Hanaper and Master of the Court of Wards
1533 - 25 January King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn secretly marry at Westminster
1533 - March Act for Restraint of Appeals passed; it becomes the foundation stone of the
English Reformation
1533 - 12 April Appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer
1533 - 23 May Archbishop Thomas Cranmer grants annulment of Henry and Queen
Katherine of Aragon's marriage
1533 - 8 August Appointed Recorder of Bristol
1533 - 7 September Princess Elizabeth Tudor is born
1533 - 12 September Appointed Steward of Westminster Abbey
1534 - 27 February Appointed Joint Constable of Hertford Castle and Hertingfordbury, as well as
Keeper of the Park there
1534 - 23 March First Act of Succession passed
1534 c. 15 April Appointed Chief Secretary to King Henry VIII
1534 - 20 April The Nun of Kent and her accomplices are executed
1534 - September Appointed Joint Constable of Berkeley Castle and Keeper of the Park,
Master of the Game, and Keeper of the Woods
1534 - 8 October Appointed Master of the Rolls until July 10, 1536
1534 - 12 October Pope Paul III succeeds Pope Clement VII
1534 - November Act of Supremacy passed
1534 - 3 November Treasons Act passed
1535 - 1 January Appointed Vicar General and Visitor General of Religious Houses
1485 Born at Putney in Surrey
1503, 28 December Serves as a soldier with the French army when they are defeated by the
Spanish at the Battle of Garigliano in Italy
1512 Works as a secretary to English merchants based in Antwerp in the Low
Countries
1516 Marries Elizabeth Wykes, daughter of a clothworker in Putney. A son,
Gregory, is born
1520 Advises Cardinal Thomas Wolsey in legal matters, and members of the
nobility on financial issues
1523 Becomes a Member of Parliament under Wolsey's patronage
1524 Admitted as a lawyer at Gray's Inn and becomes Wolsey's solicitor and
counsellor
1525, 4 January Appointed to investigate five small monasteries to establish their wealth, and
becomes Wolsey's agent in their suppression
1526 - 1529 Suppression of 29 'decayed' minor monasteries and priories to fund Cardinal
Wolsey's foundation of two colleges at Oxford and Ipswich
1527, October Purchases the manor of Tolleshunt D'Arcy n Essex; his accumulation of l
lands and property has begun
1528 or 1529 His wife Elizabeth and his two daughters--Anne and Grace--all die. Their
deaths are probably due to the sweating sickness epidemic (Thomas is aged
c. 44)
1529, 9 October The fall of Cardinal Thomas Wolsey
1529, 3 November Becomes Member of Parliament for Taunton
1530 Enters the service of King Henry VIII as parliamentary manager and ad hoc
legal advisor
1539, 29 November Cardinal Thomas Wolsey dies
1531, January Sworn in as junior member of the King's Council
1532 Appointed Receiver General. Also becomes supervisor of the lands at
Oxford belonging to Wolsey's former Cardinal's College
1532 - March Commons passes 'Supplication Against the Ordinaries,' an anti-clerical
petition
1532 - 14 April Appointed Master of the King's Jewel House (a shared position)
1532 - 16 July Appointed Clerk of the Hanaper and Master of the Court of Wards
1533 - 25 January King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn secretly marry at Westminster
1533 - March Act for Restraint of Appeals passed; it becomes the foundation stone of the
English Reformation
1533 - 12 April Appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer
1533 - 23 May Archbishop Thomas Cranmer grants annulment of Henry and Queen
Katherine of Aragon's marriage
1533 - 8 August Appointed Recorder of Bristol
1533 - 7 September Princess Elizabeth Tudor is born
1533 - 12 September Appointed Steward of Westminster Abbey
1534 - 27 February Appointed Joint Constable of Hertford Castle and Hertingfordbury, as well as
Keeper of the Park there
1534 - 23 March First Act of Succession passed
1534 c. 15 April Appointed Chief Secretary to King Henry VIII
1534 - 20 April The Nun of Kent and her accomplices are executed
1534 - September Appointed Joint Constable of Berkeley Castle and Keeper of the Park,
Master of the Game, and Keeper of the Woods
1534 - 8 October Appointed Master of the Rolls until July 10, 1536
1534 - 12 October Pope Paul III succeeds Pope Clement VII
1534 - November Act of Supremacy passed
1534 - 3 November Treasons Act passed
1535 - 1 January Appointed Vicar General and Visitor General of Religious Houses
