 Thomas Cromwell ( c . 1485 – 1540 ) also came to define Henry 's government . Returning to England from the continent in 1514 or 1515 , he soon entered Wolsey 's service . He turned to law , also picking up a good knowledge of the Bible , and was admitted to Gray 's Inn in 1524 . He became Wolsey 's " man of all work " . Cromwell , driven in part by his religious beliefs , attempted to reform the body politic of the English government through discussion and consent , and through the vehicle of continuity and not outward change . He was seen by many people as the man they wanted to bring about their shared aims , including Thomas Audley . By 1531 , Cromwell and those associated with him were already responsible for the drafting of much legislation . Cromwell 's first office was that of the master of the King 's jewels in 1532 , from which he began to invigorate the government finances . By this point , Cromwell 's power as an efficient administrator in a Council full of politicians exceeded what Wolsey had achieved . Cromwell did much work through his many offices to remove the tasks of government from the Royal Household ( and ideologically from the personal body of the King ) and into a public state . He did so , however , in a haphazard fashion that left several remnants , not least because he needed to retain Henry 's support , his own power , and the possibility of actually achieving the plan he set out . Cromwell made the various income streams put in place by Henry VII more formal and assigned largely autonomous bodies for their administration . The role of the King 's Council was transferred to a reformed Privy Council , much smaller and more efficient than its predecessor . A difference emerged between the financial health of the king , and that of the country , although Cromwell 's fall undermined much of his bureaucracy , which required his hand to keep order among the many new bodies and prevent profligate spending which strained relations as well as finances . Cromwell 's reforms ground to a halt in 1539 , the initiative lost , and he failed to secure the passage of an enabling act , the Proclamation by the Crown Act 1539 . He too was executed , on 28 July 1540 . 
