It is 1485. The instability and destruction of the Wars of the Roses is gradually fading into the past, and a new chapter of English history is being presided over by Henry VII. His control of the throne, tough fiscal administration and dominance over the nobility soon provided a relative calm and stability that had not been experienced by the inhabitants of England during a century filled with war. The Valor Ecclesiasticus (or ‘Church Valuation’) indicates that, during this period, the Church and State implemented various measures aimed at managing the levels of the poor and sick, and provided palpable support to local communities. The Catholic Church in England was the cornerstone of society, and children in particular benefited from its monastic institutions though alms, sanctuary and education. The combined stability provided by both Church and State meant that a child growing up in Henry VII’s England would have been fortunate enough to experience the most stable period of the Renaissance.
Enter Henry VIII
Upon his death in 1509, Henry VII left behind him a legacy of effective economic policy, shrewd diplomatic initiatives and a very healthy exchequer. But the man who inherited this legacy of stability had very different ideas about kingship. The reign of Henry VIII (1509-1547) began with 20 years of relative stability, largely due to the considerable financial resources left by his father, with the day-to-day running of the country overseen by capable statesmen; but by 1530, the exchequer was nearing empty, the coinage debased and taxes had reached their limit of public acceptability.
Minor religious reforms that had been quietly carried out for a decade soon spiralled into a fiscal enterprise, fuelled by Henry’s obsession with marrying Anne Boleyn, and his quarrel with the Bishop of Rome over his divorce from Catharine of Aragon. The AD 1535-1550 religious reforms that saw the dissolution of the monasteries, and the emergence of Henry as the head of his new protestant Church of England, irrevocably tore apart the social fabric of England, destroying the infrastructure provided by Catholic ‘social welfare’ (see box at the end).
Excavating Essex