Cromwell was considered to be of low birth, the son of a general tradesman named Walter Cromwell, who dabbled in cloth making, brewery and blacksmithing. His mother was a commoner; the daughter of a Yeoman guard who had given her husband two other children, daughters Katherine and Elizabeth. Thomas was born around 1485 and little is known about his early life. Of what we do know, he and his father did not get along well and Walter was known for causing disturbances in the city. He was often drunk and abusive. His father’s frequent shift in occupations left a strong impression on the young boy, who would try hard not to repeat the same mistakes as he grew into adulthood. Unfortunately, his early career found him working as a mercenary, and he spent time in jail before fleeing to Florence, Italy, where he secured a clerkship under the patronage of Francisco Frescobaldi, a prominent banker who felt sorry for the wayward youth. It was here, before 1512, which allowed Cromwell to pick up many useful skills including Latin, Italian, bookkeeping and the merchant trade.
In 1513 he returned to England to marry Elizabeth Wykes, the daughter of an acquaintance of his father. The couple married in London and settled down to family life as Cromwell secured a position through his father-in-law’s contacts as an assistant to textile makers. This proved to be quite a lucrative post and within a short while he had his own house with servants off of Fenchurch Street, in a busy part of the city. By Elizabeth he had a son Gregory and two daughters, Grace and Anne.
Playing on his accounting skills he Acted as the equivalent to a modern loan shark to a wide variety of clients and his reputation spread as being an intelligent, affable, and shrewd businessman. This reputation helped him gain the attention of Cardinal Wolsey in late 1520, when the Cardinal sought Cromwell’s acumen on a land dispute; this proved to be the ultimate connection that brought him into royal service. Wolsey had secured for him a position as his clerk. While not glamorous, it afforded him the opportunity to advance politically and socially. His clerkship and cunning ability brought him in contact with numerous patrons, with whom he used his many talents to acquire favors, estates, and additional business.
Politics seemed to be a natural fit for a man of his talents; his increasing reputation and wealth could only be enhanced by having the power and prestige to accompany it. By 1523, he had become a Member of Parliament in the House of Commons and was well known for his invigorating speeches. Without formal legal training he served the crown as legal advisor in property disputes. His efforts won him election to Gray’s Inn in 1524; one of the four top law associations in the realm.
Under Wolsey, Cromwell learned that, to be successful at his post, he would need to not only adopt that approach to making himself indispensible to his King, he would need to perfect it. Cromwell served the Cardinal as a clerk in the Blackfriar Trial and even assisted him in overseas dealings, spying on the Lutherans and creating his own network of valuable European associates. His only concern over Wolsey’s fall was for his own neck. While he had no direct links to the causes of his predecessor’s ruin, he easily could have been viewed as a complicit accomplice of the Cardinal. Thanks in large part to the Boleyn family’s patronage—when they were still seeking allies for their rise—he was saved from the slaughter thanks to their association and friendship.
When Thomas More briefly took Wolsey’s place as Chancellor before retiring from public life over religious disagreements with the King, Cromwell was deeply concerned that he might never ascend to the post he had so bent himself to winning. More was a staunch Catholic, Cromwell a hidden reformist. Amazingly, he survived his clerkship under the new Chancellor and continued to thrive virtually unscathed. By January 1531, he had become a member of the Privy Council, a trusted position of the King. From there the titles and offices continued to come, especially after More’s resignation in 1532. In 1534 Henry would finally reward Cromwell for his services by bestowing upon the one-time-clerk the position Cromwell had so craved, Chief Minister of the realm. Due to his administrative genius, the King would continue to reward Cromwell with titles and eventually elevating him to the nobility as a member of the peerage.
At its start, before word would come of the Papal Bull and the coming of crisis with Spain, 1538 appeared to be relatively calm for Cromwell. The King and Queen held court at Windsor Castle and were looking forward to a peaceful year there. The King was in the process of renovating this palace with new kitchen equipment and upgrading the plumbing to allow hot and cold pipes into additional chambers among the grounds making it easier to water the gardens and maintain the stable houses. Prince Henry would welcome his second birthday and the Princess Elizabeth was thriving in her studies. Already she was fluent in the English and French alphabets, and could read short stories in each language. Anne personally taught her French when she visited Elizabeth’s estate which was frequent at Hatfield. The Princess would also see her 5th birthday this year with her mother spoiling her with lavish new wardrobes and a grand party she planned most of the spring. The court saw only its usual rivalries, with nothing out of the ordinary, and everyone was attempting to make it through what had already proven to be another brutal winter. Cromwell would become a grandfather for the first time, embracing his family again for the first time since he became Lord Privy Seal.
Religious reforms continued at full speed with January seeing the destruction of relics and shrines to saints. Cromwell ordered destroyed monasteries that had failed to comply fully and speedily with the reforms, along with those that had willingly volunteered their financial assets to the King. He would follow up with each monastery by sending royal agents acting on behalf of his office to collect revenues for tithings and to ensure progress on reforms for those houses that were newly converted. To see through those houses which mandated destruction, Cromwell hired foreign mercenaries to carry out the destruction at a cheap rate. One of the first and most controversial monasteries to experience this type of devastation was Bisham Abbey.
In July 1537 the monastery was dissolved, but only partially. A series of Benedictine monks moved in and did what little they could to renovate the property to make it habitable. The partial dissolution removed vital rooms such as the kitchen, galley, and worship halls. The monks did what they could, but aside from the removal of these rooms, the remainder of the structure was in a horrid shape of disrepair and was due to be completely destroyed in May 1538. Upon receiving notice from Cromwell, the monks wrote to the Queen in urgent desperation for their plight and to save the monastery.
When Lord Rochford discovered the monks’ letter, he informed Anne and she immediately confronted Cromwell, yelling at him in the middle of a council meeting with his tax advisors. She berated his sense of honor, threw a series of hostile questions at him and meticulously scrutinized his every answer. No matter how carefully crafted his words, or his poor attempts at flattery, she would have none of it. She had not forgotten their previous encounter concerning the improper closure of the Cluniac house, and reminded the minister of all of her and the King’s good charity works and his deep sense of caring for the well being of the impoverished.
Before departing the room she threw Cromwell’s seal of state at the window, cracking the glass, before calling him a knave and a coward and vowed to see his undoing. Cromwell later recorded to Chapuys that he had never seen Anne so enraged towards him and that he feared her vengeance this time especially, that she would bring about his destruction. He saw a different side to Henry in the months since the last miscarriage and he no longer trusted his master’s good will towards him. Chapuys advised him that he was right to be cautious; the Queen could easily have him removed. With his options limited, Cromwell attempted to assess his remaining available political maneuvers.
Anne’s intense argument did not end with Cromwell. According to the King’s groom William Buxton, Anne stormed unannounced into Henry’s chambers and demanded Cromwell’s removal. When he questioned for what cause he should do so, she lashed into a somewhat confusing tira
de about his grand abuses of power, his intentionally disobeying Henry’s will, and his deliberate cruelty towards the poor followers of Christ. She then fell to her knees, turning from anger to intense crying, and begged Henry to rectify the situation, out of fear for Henry’s own safety. She claimed that she feared only for his kingdom and that, like Wolsey, this minister was now becoming far too powerful for their own good. Through her tears she told Henry that Cromwell’s thirst for blood, his eagerness to do cruel Acts without mercy, and his ambitious nature, would only lead him to seek his next conquest—Henry’s throne. Enraged, Henry shoved Anne aside and left the room fuming, booming as he departed not to bring up the matter again.
Whether or not Anne’s anger was genuine, or a mere manipulation tactic, remains unknown. Their fight did not end there and was one of the more heated that court followers documented. Her dedication to charitable trusts has been documented by her generous Privy Purse expenses, but even to political insiders the Queen and the minister had appeared to be allies for years. What is certain is that Henry confronted Cromwell on January 28th, 1538 and demanded to be shown the exchequer expense accounts, how the revenue from the monasteries was being spent, and a record of the placement of those persons evicted from dissolved monasteries. That meeting apparently left Henry feeling satisfied that Cromwell had his best interests in mind and he returned to Anne’s chambers afterwards to correct her opinion of the minister’s activities. Anne remained silent and changed the subject abruptly. She apologized for her outburst and begged the King to forgive her womanly foolishness, insisting that if she had been led astray in her opinion of the minister, it was solely out of concern for the King.
Anne realized that if Henry was angry at her treatment of Cromwell, she would need to change the subject until his mood had softened, before she could accumulate more evidence and again bring criticism of the minister. She stormed off to see George to cool her temper until she could find a means of ridding herself of her problem.
7.1 A Successor Stands By
The following day, Anne had her father and brother meet in her chambers to discuss their next strategy; Lord Rochford told Anne of his deepening relationship with Lord Thomas Audley, 1st Baron of Walden. He briefed the Queen on Audley’s success at accumulating wealth in commerce, and of his intense hatred of Cromwell. The Baron despised Cromwell for the same reason the rest of the nobility did, they felt he was an imposter who never should have been able to reach his post, being of lowly birth.
Audley had never been a fan of the minister and the relationship was even further damaged at the falling through of a lucrative land deal the Baron hoped to own by the end of 1531, that Cromwell instead had directed to the crown. Audley remembered the infraction against his wealth and honor. He also had been one of the first to support Anne’s marriage and take reformist views. For all of the Boleyn’s intents and purposes, Audley would make the perfect successor to the minister. He was a loyal Boleyn supporter, a reformer, got on quite well with the Queen, and could be counted upon to exercise discretion in his dealings. Rochford called him to attend their sessions and the four of them first met February 6th, 1538 in the Queen’s Chambers, under the rouse of playing a game of cards.
It is unclear when Audley’s loyalty to the Boleyns came about, but it had been solidified in a separate land deal in early April 1534 where Lord Rochford leased part of his Norfolk estate to Audley at a discounted rate. The estate contained a farm that produced several crops, including wheat, which was a highly valued commodity for the period. The arrangement brought prosperity to both men, Audley gained a cheap rental and Rochford earned a share of the profits in return. No formal record exists outlining how close the two courtiers were aligned in religious affairs, but their political aspirations no doubt were adjoined. Baron Audley had been in favor of Anne’s marriage and was present at the trial of Thomas More.
Like many of the nobility, Audley resented Cromwell’s rapid ascension to royal favor and his involvement in the King’s affairs, particularly when Cromwell’s interference would lead to Audley’s detriment. One of the principal transactions Cromwell halted involved an attempt at a fishery contract with merchants along the southern coastal city of Portsmouth in 1531. The Chancellor had solicited various marine merchants for a percentage of their business and in return he would provide necessary materials and supplies, some of them desperately needed for the fishermen to sail their vessels.
The seamen were at a sincere disadvantage in this deal, they required the netting, canvas, salt, and other items necessary to capture and transport the fish, and now they were at risk of being extorted for an exorbitant share of their profits to maintain access to essentials for their trade. Cromwell’s agents received word that Audley was proposing this deal, excluding any benefit to the crown. This oversight was not without reckless abandon and, had his majesty been notified, Audley would have had a lot more to explain than a mere fishing contract. Cromwell halted the deal and immediately imposed a tax on seafood arriving from the Portsmouth ports. He also notified Audley in a letter dated March 17th, 1532, that his business arrangement with the fishermen had been ceased and he was advised to desist in the matter. This deal would have brought Audley a few thousand pounds a year, instead, those revenues now passed to the crown. Ironically enough, the amount of the tax imposed on Portsmouth fisherman was the same amount Audley had proposed in his scheme; however, Audley would see not a farthing.
When the Boleyns had in 1535 sought to investigate Cromwell in anticipation of future struggles, Audley was one of the first members of court Rochford sought out. Fortunately, the Baron was at court at the time to petition Henry. When Audley had learned of the September 1535 death of fellow peer George Nevill, 5th Baron of Bergavenny, who had been master of vast holdings throughout the realm, Audley had travelled to court to seek parts of the estates that had yet to be divvied out. By the time, in 1538, those relations between the Boleyns and Cromwell had truly soured and Anne sought to finally bring down the “cursed clerk,” Audley agreed to a meeting.
Cromwell was a careful, calculating minister and so their strategy to counteract his measures had to be meticulous and inscrutable. The Queen was adamant about discretion and consistency. If Henry refused to hear Anne directly on this matter for the time being, they would have to find a way to make a very strong case against Cromwell through other means. She knew that, for Henry to believe it, their case had to be rock solid. She directed George to obtain and scrutinize copies of Cromwell’s books and any and all records related to the King’s Privy Purse, reformation progress, state policy, and diplomacy.
The Queen wanted Cromwell’s blood. She railed against his abuses of power and the King’s trust while he was stealing from the poor right in front of the crown. Anne and Cromwell had at one time been close allies of reform, so she viewed any deviation from her path as a deliberate betrayal. She also believed Cromwell was using Henry’s coffers as a means of covering up his own vicious attacks on the righteous, just as Wolsey had once done, and she made many comparisons of the current minister to the former Cardinal.
Anne reasoned that if she could somehow explain away to Henry the domestic abuses in Cromwell’s execution of royal reformist policies, she might succeed in bringing him down by linking him to foreign enemies. She was suspicious of the well-known close relationship between Cromwell and the Spanish Ambassador and wanted solid proof of a traitorous relationship with Spanish interests; in particular she sought any evidence of Cromwell promising Charles assistance with the Spanish war against the Ottomans.
7.2 Setting Maid Against Minister
Rochford insisted on evidence from their spies in Cromwell’s service. Since time was of the essence, a majority of this information was unrealistic to obtain. George was able to view Cromwell’s handling of the treasury and managed to find only a single questionable transaction, a shipment of precious metals to the East Indies placed in a Spanish vessel. There were no fur
ther details, but given the tense relationship with Spain—even during this plotting, before word of the Bull of Excommunication—this alone could provide evidence of entanglement with Spanish interests. It is questionable whether or not this sole action would have been tantamount to treason, but it was enough to justify further questioning when the time was right.
Anne also wanted the chambers of the Duke of Suffolk and Chapuys searched, but carefully and only when it would arouse no suspicion. Lord Rochford interjected that the Duke maintained a retinue of security whether he was out or not, so his would be quite impossible, but the Ambassador’s chambers were subject to routine monthly cleanings, as were all palace rooms, giving them the perfect opportunity to slip in one of the maids as their mole.
They would have to find such a spy, a maid who would be trustworthy and well-compensated to maintain discretion. Fortunately for their purposes, the cleaning crews were managed under the household, which was strictly within Lord Rochford’s duties. The down side was that they were all so distracted by the ever shifting political alliances at court that they rarely bothered to befriend any of the servants, and were not certain who they could trust. This was a wrinkle, to be sure, given the short timeframe available, but not such a serious challenge that it could not be overcome. Rochford would seek out the most discreet and lowly maid, bribe her with a substantial sum, offer her an acre with a small cottage on it in the country, and immediately remove her there after her service to him was done.
The maid was Susanna Caley, a longtime servant of the crown, going on twenty-three years. She had a very gentle nature, was a grandmotherly type, and for the most part made sure to keep to herself. She had four sons, three of which were serving in Henry’s army, and one who was a blacksmith apprentice in Wales, about thirty miles outside Cardiff. This son, Matthew, had two little girls, ages four and seven, and Susanna’s first grandchildren. Her husband Gregory was in his late sixties and very ill, Susanna was the main income earner in the family. With her husband ill, she would have to work for at least another decade for even the possibility of earning enough for a small piece of land to sustain them, if she managed even to live that long. The palace household accounts show that she received a regular paycheck and outstanding performance reviews when they occurred, and on several occasions had been offered advancement or replacement to the kitchen staff, a prestigious position within the palace. She turned them all down, claimed she was content with her duties and did not want the added responsibility. A shrewd move, considering her responsibilities in caring for her ailing husband, but given what she was facing she needed a safe job with a steady check. With just the two of them at home it would not be difficult to place her far away and from the sounds of her unfortunate circumstances she would welcome a chance to be paid off.
Had the Queen Lived: Page 23