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RESIDENTS JOURNAL
T
homas Cromwell was born on
Putney Hill in 1485 to Walter
Cromwell, a blacksmith, and his
wife Katherine. As a young man,
Cromwell left his family behind in search
of adventure on the continent. Rumours
abound that he became a mercenary, a
soldier and a merchant; but little is known
about this early part of his life before 1514
when records list him as an agent for the
Archbishop of York at the Vatican. Returning
to England to marry in 1515, he travelled
back to the continent on several occasions
before becoming more involved in English
politics in the early 1520s.
By 1523, Cromwell had obtained a seat
in the House of Commons, and in 1524
became employed in the service of Henry
VIIIs chief minister Thomas Cardinal
Wolsey. In the mid-1520s, Cromwell assisted
in the dissolution of nearly 30 monasteries
to raise funds for Wolseys educational
establishments and by the end of the 1520s
was a trusted member of the cardinals
council. Wolsey fell from power at the end
of 1529, but Cromwell managed to escape the same fate and was
appointed to the Kings Privy Council in 1530.
After Henrys rst marriage was annulled sometime between
1532 and 1533, Cromwell was tasked with discrediting the papacy a
mission at which he achieved such success, in the eyes of the King,
that in 1534 he conrmed him as his principal secretary and chief
minister, and later that year, royal vicegerent enabling him to levy
a tax against the church to line government coffers. This act caused
Cromwell to fall foul of the new Queen Anne, who was reportedly
in favour of the churchs taxes being used for charitable purposes.
When Anne instructed her chaplains to preach against Cromwell, it
was time to take action. She had yet to produce an heir, and Henry
was becoming increasingly enamoured of the young Jane Seymour, so
Cromwell lead the movement condemning the unfortunate queen as
a witch and adulteress eventually leading to her execution in 1536.
The fall of the Boleyn family from grace benetted Cromwell
immensely. Soon after the execution he succeeded Annes father
as Lord Privy Seal and was raised into the peerage as Baron
Cromwell of Wimbledon. Things were going well for Cromwell
but in 1537, after a difcult pregnancy, Queen Jane died in
childbirth giving Henry VIII his only male heir Edward, and
marking the beginning of the end for Thomas Cromwell. He
suggested Anne of Cleves as a replacement
bride for the grieving king, but this second
Anne proved less popular than the rst
and the marriage was never consummated.
Cromwell was still in favour with the king
in April 1540 when he was granted the
earldom of Essex and the title of Lord Great
Chamberlain; but Cromwells opponents saw
an opportunity to use the Kings unhappy
fourth marriage to remove him from power,
and in June 1540, Cromwell was arrested
and imprisoned in the Tower of London.
Henry deferred the execution until his
marriage could be annulled and, during
this time, Cromwell wrote to him from his
prison cell, supporting the dissolution of the
marriage but hoping for leniency from the
King to whom he had been a loyal servant
for so long; I have meddled in so many
matters under your Highness that I am not
able to answer them all, he supposedly
wrote. Henry, however, did not show mercy
and Cromwell was executed without trial just
weeks later in July 1540.
It would appear that Henry soon came
to regret Cromwells execution, and began to accuse his ministers
of bringing about Cromwells downfall by false charges. In March
1541, the French Ambassador Charles de Marillac reported that
the King was now said to be lamenting that under pretext of some
slight offences which he had committed, they had brought several
accusations against him, on the strength of which he had put to
death the most faithful servant he ever had. Cromwell was one of
King Henry VIIIs more loyal and determined courtiers; during
his years at court he skillfully managed the countrys nances and
extended royal authority, serving Henrys own interests at some of
the most crucial moments of his reign. It is certainly fair to say that
he is one of the most infamous and inuential of Putney residents. n
Thomas Cromwell
The Residents Journal looks back through the annals of history to remember
some of our areas most interesting citizens. This month we learn about Thomas
Cromwell, chief minister to King Henry VIII and a former resident of SW15
IN MEMORIAM:
(1485-1540)
Did you know?
Oliver Cromwell, the Lord Protector (1599-1658) and one
of Britains most iconic historical gures, was the great-grandson
of Thomas nephew Richard
WORDS / Kate Jennion
* Roger B. Merriman, The Life and Leters of Thomas Cromwell: Volume II (Oxford University Press, 1902) p266
** Leters and Papers of the Reign of Henry VIII, vol. XVI, p.284
he had put to death
the most faithful servant
he ever had
A picture of the famous portrait of Thomas
Cromwell by Hans Holbein the Younger
Image / Lisby1 (fickr.com)