Henry VIII’s beloved schemer Thomas Cromwell changed course of history but still lost his head

When most people hear the name Cromwell they think of Oliver, the English soldier and politician, But before Oliver another Cromwell had a major impact on British history — Thomas Cromwell, adviser to King Henry VIII.

Portrait of English statesman Thomas Cromwell by German artist Hans Holbein, circa 1533.

When most people hear the name Cromwell they think of Oliver, the English soldier and politician who having signed Charles I’s death warrant at the end of 1648, eventually replaced him as leader of the country after the civil war in the 17th century.

But before Oliver another Cromwell had a major impact on British history — Thomas Cromwell, adviser to King Henry VIII.

Cromwell, who died on July 28 1540, was the man who advised Henry to break ties with Rome and for a time wielded almost supreme power in England.

Reviled by some as a Machiavellian character who schemed to impose his religious views on England, Thomas Cromwell is ­admired by others who see him as a liberator from Papal oppression.

A brilliant mind, he used his legal and diplomatic skills as much out of patriotism as a desire for personal advancement. But it was his brilliance that proved his undoing.

Born in about 1485, in Putney near London, his father Walter was a tavern owner, brewer, blacksmith, fuller and trader. Walter also went by the name of Smyth and many records relating to Walter are of petty crimes. Despite his brushes with the law, Walter was a wealthy and influential man. Thomas, however, was a rebel who ran away from home at 15.

He went to Europe, where he may have served in the French army, was a merchant in Venice and later went to the Netherlands to study law. Many of his dealings were with English traders, alternating trading interests with running a legal practice. Some time before 1520 his legal acumen, particularly his knowledge of Italy, brought him to the attention of Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, then Lord Chancellor, who retained his services in legal matters. Cromwell exploited the connection.

King Henry VIII of England.

Anne Boleyn, second wife of King Henry VIII.

By 1523 he was a member of parliament and, as Wolsey fell out of favour in 1529 over his failure to persuade the Pope to annul Henry’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon, Cromwell’s star began to rise. Throughout Wolsey’s fall Cromwell remained loyal and feared he might be dragged down with the Cardinal. It was Cromwell’s advice to Henry about the annulment that saved him.

Henry was desperate to produce an heir to the throne and this was looking increasingly unlikely given his wife Catherine had failed to give birth to a healthy son (one had died soon after birth). The lack of an heir threatened the sort of chaos that ­existed during the Wars of the Roses, chaos only brought to an end by Henry’s father King Henry VII.

Cromwell advised Henry that, since the Pope would not annul his marriage on any terms, Henry should break with the power of the Pope and enacted a series of legislative changes to sever ties with Rome and place Henry at the head of a national English church, which culminated in the Act of Supremacy in 1534. It freed Henry to marry his mistress Anne Boleyn.

This put Cromwell in a position of great power over parliament and the king. His ability to persuade Henry and the parliament that he was acting in the best interests of the state essentially gave him ­supreme authority in England.

He was put in charge of reforming the monasteries, which he did with some effectiveness, some say zeal because he had allegedly become a follower of militant Swiss protestant priest Huldrych Zwingli.

The closing of monasteries and the confiscation of church property helped fill the king’s treasuries and earned Cromwell a baronetcy in 1536. When Boleyn also proved ­incapable of providing a male heir Cromwell uncovered dubious evidence of infidelities, including with her own brother, that sent her to her death on the chopping block.

Henry married Jane Seymour, who died in 1537 while giving birth to a son and heir.

Jane Seymour, third wife of Henry VIII.

Cromwell soon found he had made enemies. One of them was the king himself, who hated his new wife, the German princess Anne of Cleves, who Cromwell had compelled him to marry. On trumped-up charges of being a heretic and a traitor, he was executed in 1540.

Hollywood’s favourite

The machinations of Thomas Cromwell have been popular fodder for movie and television creators dating back to 1933 when he was brought to life by Dranklin Dyall in The Private Life Of Henry VIII, which also starred Charles Laughton as Henry VIII.

Leo McKern donned the fur-lined robes for the multi Academy Award-winning A Man For All Seasons (1966) and also tackled the role on stage.

Kenneth Williams took the comic approach in Carry On Henry (1971).

More recently Thomas Frain met his demise at the conclusion of the third series of The Tudors (2007).

Mark Rylance won plaudits for his compelling portrayal of Cromwell in the BBC’s Wolf Hall (2015) based on Hillary Mantel’s Man Booker Prize-winning Wolf Hall.

Mark Rylance as Thomas Cromwell in Wolf Hall.

Originally published as Henry VIII’s beloved schemer Thomas Cromwell changed course of history but still lost his head