developments to Tudor governance

the reform of the privy council 1540

the role of the Privy Council changed considerable in 1540. this was part of Thomas Cromwell's attempt to modernise and reform the governance of England. After Cromwell's fall there was a need to restructure the government. the Privy Council turned itself into a 'chief minister' meaning that the members of the newly formed council were responsible for much of the work previously done by Cromwell. This trend continued under Edward and Mary.

to what extent did the membership of the council and it's relationship with the monarch change from 1540?

from 1540 the council's membership considerably reduced and was fixed to include just the monarchs most trusted advisors - dropping from 227 councillors under Henry vii to 19 in 1540. the number of councillors grew under Edward because he was a child and so the council had more responsibility in actually governing.while Edward was under the control of Edward Seymour the role of the council was actually undermined because Seymour preferred to make decisions himself. the council was still not the most important institution in the country, power still remained within the monarchy.under Mary a larger number of men were appointed in order to be inclusive. however onlya small core of this group were regularly active. by Elizabeth's death the changes started in 1540 had become permanent.

the development of the role of secretary

the role of secretary first became politically important in the 1530s, when Thomas Cromwell assumed the position. originally the role was of personal secretary to the monarch and was part of the royal household. holding the position meant close access to the monarch as well as control of the privy seal. in the hands of Cromwell this position greatly grew in importance, though this declined following his demise. Cromwell used his position to control council meetings and his private access to the kings correspondence meant that he had a detailed knowledge of Henry's day-to-day activities. after Cromwell the post was split between 2 men: Thomas Wriothesely and Ralph Sadler. it regained it's importance during Elizabeth's reign with William Cecil, Frances Walsingham and Robert Cecil. these men chose to use the position to increase their own importance and to run the government on the queen's behalf.

the establishment of the post of Lord Lieutenant

Tudor central governments also extended with increasing directness into local communities, especially with the development of Lord Lieutenant. this position was meant to solve local problems, especially the recruitment for royal armies and to increase royal control. The first developments began under Henry viii as a response to the demands of foreign war and the threat of domestic rebellion. in 1512 and 1545 he gave commissions to nobility to organise the defense against France and Scotland. in 1536 he offered commissions to deal with the threat of the Pilgrimage of Grace. in 1549 the Duke of Northumberland, who was Lord Protector, appointed members of the nobility as Lord Lieuntenant to deal with the trouble caused by the serious rebellions of that year. Northumberland's llieutenants were expected to have both a policing and military role at local level. Under Mary there was further attempts to formalise the system. in 1557-58 the country was split into 10 lieutenancies but this was only a temporary measure. under Elizabeth the position became permanent. the development was a response to the war in Spain. A Lord Lieutenant was appointed to each county with a deputy. there work was initially the organisation of the war effort