Syllabus Edition
First teaching 2016
Last exams 2025
Wolsey's Reforms (Edexcel GCSE History)
Revision Note
Written by: Zoe Wade
Reviewed by: Bridgette Barrett
How Successful were Wolsey's Reforms? - Summary
Cardinal Thomas Wolsey's reforms during Henry VIII's reign aimed to address the various challenges facing England. Wolsey's reforms covered economic instability and social problems.
Wolsey's reforms had mixed success. The financial reforms significantly improved England's economy. They enabled Henry to fund his ambitious domestic and foreign policies. However, many of Wolsey's reforms faced opposition. Wolsey's attempts to regulate enclosure met with resistance from landowners. It was too challenging to enforce many of his other reforms. For example, the Eltham Ordinances reform represented a step towards modernising England's legal system. The impact of this reform was limited.
Wolsey & Enclosure
What was enclosure?
Common land was the shared land which surrounded medieval villages
Villagers could grow crops, scavenge and access large open fields, woodlands and water meadows
If a farmer owned an individual piece of land, they would grant the villagers access to it
Enclosure refers to the practice of placing fences around all the fields surrounding the village
After enclosure, individual farmers owned portions of the land
The farmers refused the villagers access to their enclosed land
What was the impact of enclosure?
Enclosure caused a lot of anger in the countryside
Landowners increased rents for profitable land
Smaller farmers could not afford high rents
Landowners forced small farmers to leave their land
The empty land was then enclosed by larger farmers
Enclosing common land had devastating impacts
People lost their ancient rights to use the land for grazing animals, foraging and collecting wood
Subsistence farmers could no longer survive
What did Wolsey do about enclosure?
In 1517, Wolsey organised an enquiry into the practice and impact of enclosure
Part of Wolsey felt sorry for poorer people in England
Wolsey also enjoyed attacking the rich landowners profiting from enclosure
Impacts of Wolsey's reforms on enclosure
Short-term impacts | Long-term impacts |
|---|---|
The enquiry resulted in 260 criminal cases against landowners. This was a significant amount of criminal cases in Tudor times | In 1523, wealthy landowners went to parliament. They wanted the criminal cases to end. Wolsey was forced to stop the enquiry |
Enclosure continued to be a problem in Tudor England |
Wolsey & Finance
England's economy under Henry VIII
Henry’s annual income was £110,000
Henry's income came from taxes or special grants from parliament
This amount of money was not enough to finance the many wars started by Henry
The Crown collected taxes from the people
People paid tax on moveable goods
Moveable goods were possessions, not land or buildings
The moveable goods tax was calculated as:
One-fifteenth of the possessions' value in the countryside
One-tenth of the possessions' value in towns and cities
These calculations were outdated
They were based on valuations from 200 years ago
What did Wolsey do about England's finances?
Wolsey's financial reforms | Explanation of reform |
|---|---|
Recovering Crown lands | Wolsey took back Crown lands from the nobility |
Subsidies | A subsidy based tax on a person’s income. The more someone earnt, the more they paid in tax. These subsidies made more money than the fifteenth and tenth system |
Forced loans | Wolsey forced landowners to lend money to the government. He did this in 1522 and 1523 |
Clerical taxation | The government gained some income from the Church. It was seen as a gift from the Church to the king |
Examiner Tips and Tricks
There are lots of financial reforms to remember for your Henry VIII and his Ministers exam. A revision technique that could help you is creating an acronym for all the financial reforms. For example, you could use 'LLCs' to stand for Land, Loans, Clerical Tax and Subsidies.
Impacts of Wolsey's financial reforms
Positive impacts | Negative impacts |
|---|---|
These reforms raised a lot of money for the Crown. Recovering Crown lands raised £15,000 in 1515. Subsidies earned £170,000 between 1513 and 1516. | These taxes did not raise enough money to fund Henry's wars |
People paid more taxes. This was very unpopular with people in England |
Wolsey & the Justice System
What was the Star Chamber?
The Star Chamber was created in the late 15th century, it was:
A court that judged cases on behalf of the king
Established to bring justice to all levels of society, not just the rich
As Lord Chancellor, Wolsey oversaw the legal system, including the Star Chamber
In Tudor times, richer people could be above the law
They could use money to avoid legal punishment for their crimes
What did Wolsey do about the justice system?
Wolsey improved the legal system by:
Strengthening the Star Chamber
Wolsey increased the court's work from 12 cases per year to 120 cases
Wolsey oversaw many of the legal cases himself
Encouraging the poor to bring cases to court
Wolsey was supportive when poorer people brought legal cases against richer people
Impacts of Wolsey's legal reforms
Positive impacts | Negative impacts |
|---|---|
Poorer people liked Wolsey's reforms | Landowners accused Wolsey of unfairly targeting them |
The system became fairer. This was especially true because Wolsey made his decision-making public | Wolsey used his reforms to get revenge on his political opponents. Sir Amyas Paulet may have treated Wolsey badly when he was poor. Wolsey ordered Paulet to court every day for five years otherwise Wolsey would have his property seized |
The Eltham Ordinances
What was Henry's Royal Court like?
Henry’s court was not well-run
Many people did not behave well
Money was not wisely spent on the court
Too many people were attending court
Wolsey and the Eltham Ordinances
In 1526, Wolsey created the Eltham Ordinances to improve court conditions and efficiency
This was a 79-chapter long list that included:
Cutting the cost of meals and servants
Firing sick or excess servants from court
Reducing the expenses for courtiers on food, fuel and lodgings
Reducing the Privy Chamber from twelve to six members
Impacts of the Eltham Ordinances
The Eltham Ordinances were unsuccessful because Wolsey had no intention of improving the court
He wanted to use the disorder of the Royal Court to reduce the Privy Chamber
By making the Privy Chamber smaller, Wolsey reduced his competition from political rivals
Once Wolsey had reduced the Privy Chamber, he did not apply the other reforms
Worked Example
‘Wolsey’s domestic policies from 1515 to 1525 were a failure.’ How far do you agree?
16 marks
Partial answer:
Wolsey’s domestic policies were not a failure because he achieved some successes with his financial reforms. Wolsey enacted a series of reforms including changing to a subsidy tax system which raised taxes depending on income rather than moveable goods. This was successful because it raised the Crown £170,000 between 1513 and 1516. This was vital because Henry needed more money to fund his wars. Subsidies were also a more accurate system of collecting tax. Therefore, Wolsey's reforms were not a complete failure as he created a successful way of raising more money for the king.
Examiner Tips and Tricks
The worked example above is the beginning of a 16-mark answer. This question would require you to write another two paragraphs, showing a mixture of Wolsey's successful and unsuccessful reforms. Your paragraphs could follow PEEL:
P - Make a point about the question
E - Use evidence that supports the point that you have made
E - Explain why this evidence was a success or a failure. Avoid repeating the point again. Explain how this reform positively or negatively impacted England
L - Link your explanation back to the question by stating how significant this reform helped or damaged England.
Concluding your thoughts with a reflection on key concepts. You should consider short- and long-term consequences, importance and impact. For example, many of Wolsey's reforms had negative, long-term impacts or only achieved Wolsey's personal aims. Therefore, you could state that they were a failure.
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