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.Yet Richmond’s relationship with Cromwell was rather different from that with the king’s previous first minister.Thomas Wolsey’s indiscriminate interference in Richmond’s affairs had been done under colour of being both Richmond’s godfather and the minister responsible for the king’s Council of the North.Cromwell had no such excuse.Now that Richmond’s household was, in all practical senses, independent from the government of the north, there was no real reason for him to involve himself directly in the duke’s business.Also Richmond was no longer a child in the schoolroom.Accordingly, when the duke’s interests clashed with Cromwell’s envisaged programme of government reform, it was the minister who was required to tread carefully.On the surface, Brereton’s relations with Cromwell seem to have been reasonable.As late as May 1536, hearing a rumour that some religious establishments in Cheshire were to be suppressed, Brereton saw nothing wrong in hopefully lobbying Cromwell in expectation of even greater spoils.Brereton could count on some powerful supporters: not only was he Richmond’s steward, he also enjoyed the favour of the Duke of Norfolk, who acted as the overseer of his father’s will.If this was not enough, he was also a groom of the privy chamber and apparently well-liked by the king.It did not give Cromwell a lot of room for manoeuvre.In response to this latest development, plans now suddenly emerged for the Duke of Richmond, accompanied by the Duke of Norfolk, to make a progress up to Holt.The official reason was Richmond’s investiture as Lord of Holt.However the idea, which was probably Norfolk’s, would also allow the young duke to address the state of his affairs in person.Coming two weeks after Lee’s complaints, the timing was no coincidence.Ralph Broke was amazed that the dukes would make such a journey ‘now in the time of winter’.On one level it was obviously desirable that Richmond should redress problems within his jurisdiction in person.It was an effective way to rebuff Lee’s criticisms of mismanagement in his name and, to be fair, the problem of justice was not completely neglected.An agreement was reached for an exchange of prisoners between Powis and Chirk.However, the manner in which the progress was conducted and received suggests that the visit was also something of a political statement.Richmond was asserting his authority as an independent magnate and as such might have been perceived as striking a blow for the other marcher lords.As Cromwell intensified his efforts to eradicate the power of the marcher lordships, it is only natural that some of the lords began to look to the king’s son as their best hope for survival.As long as Richmond enjoyed his traditional rights and privileges, there was hope for them all.Despite the unseasonable time of year, his visit attracted attention.Ralph Broke was probably not the only man who put off other business to pay his respects.The people of Shrewsbury were particularly determined to make a good impression.The town bailiffs agreed to provide food and drink.The main street and both the bridges were scrubbed clean and Richard Clarke, a barber, was paid the princely sum of 2s 4d to ride out and give a warning when Richmond and Norfolk entered the county.As the two dukes entered the town they were greeted with a host of presents, including swans, calves, oxen and capons at a cost of £5 18s 2d.The townspeople were clearly prepared to spend a significant amount of time and money to secure Richmond’s goodwill.The extent to which Richmond’s influence would have been effective in blocking reform is less certain.On the one hand, the Act of Union in April 1536 was a measure of Cromwell’s resolve to effect change.On the other hand the minister’s determination to remove Brereton is an indication of how seriously he took the issue of Richmond’s authority in the Marches.It is entirely probable that the combined power of Richmond and Norfolk, together with the threat of Brereton in the privy chamber and close to the ear of the king, convinced Cromwell that no fundamental solution to the problem of the Marches would be possible as long as this status quo remained.Unfortunately, this conviction probably helped Brereton to the block.Not all historians are convinced that the extent of Brereton’s influence supports a conspiracy theory.Retha Warnicke makes the valid point that Brereton ‘was not the only powerful courtier in the region’.Others have dismissed him as a man who ‘carried little political weight’.Certainly he was not a major court player like Rochford.Even his removal from the Marches would not clear the way for political reform.However, perhaps it was a well-timed signal that resistance was not only useless, but dangerous.If Cromwell wanted to make an example to underline this point, then Brereton had certainly been annoying enough to be a prime candidate.One instance that must have particularly rankled occurred in 1534, when Brereton had used his influence to block Cromwell’s efforts to save the Flintshire gentleman John ap Gryffith Eyton from the gallows.Instead, the steward had had Eyton arrested in London and returned to Wales for execution.In the end it was not Brereton’s conduct as steward that provided Cromwell with the means to dispose of him.Indeed, if Brereton’s hope of patronage in May 1536 is any indication, he was totally unaware of what was about to happen.By this point the musician Mark Smeaton was already under arrest, accused of committing adultery with the queen.His arrest on 30 April was quickly followed by that of the courtier Henry Norris on 2 May.At this point Anne herself was dispatched to the Tower, having been informed that she was believed to have had adulterous relations with Smeaton, Norris and one other.In the event, Smeaton, Norris and three others were accused.These were Anne’s brother, George Boleyn, Lord Rochford, the courtier Francis Weston and William Brereton.The cloud of suspicion which blew up around Anne Boleyn gave the secretary the excuse he had previously lacked to move against Brereton.The evidence against all the supposed paramours of the queen is uniformly weak.This was a political coup, not a crime of passion.Indeed, Cromwell seems to have toyed with removing other members of the court.Both Sir Richard Page and Sir Thomas Wyatt made it as far as the Tower.Outside, several others waited anxiously to see if they would be the next to be implicated.A man who uses and abuses his power as Brereton did, was bound to make enemies [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]