Thomas Cromwell

Thomas Cromwell was born in around 1485 but very little is known of the life of Thomas when he was young. He was the son of Walter and Katherine Cromwell and spent his childhood at his birthplace in Surrey.

Thomas left England and set sail for continental Europe, where records show that he spent time in Italy, France and the Low Countries. There have been many stories of what Thomas did while visiting these countries but they are often contradictory. Thomas would return to England and marry Elizabeth Wyckes in 1515 with whom he had two daughters and one son.

By 1520 (just five years after his return to England) he was already well-known the mercantile and legal circles of London. He even gained a seat in the House of Commons but nothing of that period has survived. Cromwell was apparently skilled because in the middle of 1520's he joined the service of none other than Cardinal Wolsey. Within long he had participated in the dissolution of almost thirty monasteries to raise money for schools build by Wolsey and must have made an impression on the Cardinal for by 1529 he was one of Wolsey's most trusted advisers - however the Cardinal fell from power later that year.