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Tudor Population Figures & Facts

This page features a population chart & list of the Lord Chancellors and Keepers of the Great Seals during each Tudor reign; it also explains the duties of those offices.

Total Population in Tudor England includes England & Wales

1524…..2.3 million
1541…..2.7 million
1550…..2.9 million
1569…..3.2 million
1599…..4.0 million
in 1520, 6% of the population lived in urban areas (towns of over 4,000 people)
in 1520, 3% of the population lived in London

Lord Chancellors and Keepers of the Great Seals

Throughout English history government was traditionally ‘by the three seals’ – the Great Seal of England (held by the Lord Chancellor), the Privy Seal and the Signet. Under Henry VII and his successor Henry VIII this tradition continued; but under Edward VI, Mary I and (most especially) Elizabeth I, the tradition declined. Elizabethan England saw the development of government by ministers as a replacement for the medieval government by seals.

What does ‘government by seal’ mean? Under Henry VII and his son all the work of government was handled by the officers of the Keepers of the seals – they authorized all decisions by applying the relevant seals. In other words, they validated decisions by applying the seal. During Elizabeth’s reign, the Lord Chancellor became the principal legal officer of the realm & the keeper of the Privy Seal became secretary-of-state. In other words, the ministers became more important than the seals.

The following is a list of all LORD CHANCELLORS & KEEPERS OF THE GREAT SEAL under the Tudor monarchs:

***note the stability & length of service in Henry VIII & Elizabeth I’s reigns; also note that Elizabeth I had virtually no titled noblemen serve as Lord Chancellor/Keeper of the Seal

1485 Thomas Rotherham, Archbishop of York
1485-87 John Alcock, Bishop of Worcester and then Ely
1487-1500 John Morton, Archbishop of Canterbury
1500-02 Henry Deane, Archbishop of Canterbury (Keeper)
1502-04 William Warham, Bishop of London and then Archbishop of Canterbury (Keeper of the Seal until he became Chancellor in 1504)
1504-15 William Warham, Archbishop of Canterbury
1515-29 Thomas Wolsey, Cardinal Archbishop of York and Papal Legate
1529-32 Sir Thomas More
1532-3 Sir Thomas Audley (Keeper)
1533-44 Sir Thomas Audley (created first Lord Audley, 1538)
1544-7 Thomas Wriothesley, 1st Lord Wriothesley (created 1st Earl of Southampton, 1547)
1547 William Paulet, 1st Lord St John (Keeper)
1547-51 Richard Rich, 1st Lord Rich
1551-2 Thomas Goodrich, Bishop of Ely (Keeper of the Seal until he became Lord Chancellor in 1552)
1552-3 Thomas Goodrich, Bishop of Ely
1553-5 Stephen Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester
1556-8 Nicholas Heath, Archbishop of York
1558-79 Sir Nicholas Bacon (Lord Keeper)
1579-87 Sir Thomas Bromley
1587-91 Sir Christopher Hatton
1592-6 Sir John Puckering (Lord Keeper)
1596-1603 Sir Thomas Egerton (Lord Keeper), created 1st Lord Ellesmere, 1603

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Link will appear as Hanson, Marilee. "Tudor Population Figures & Facts" https://englishhistory.net/tudor/tudor-population-figures-facts/, February 8, 2015

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