Henry VII: Finance and domestic policy

1.       Royal finance and domestic policy

·         There were a number of sources of royal income, including Crown Lands, Feudal dues profits, customs revenue, pensions, profits of justice and extraordinary revenue.

·         At the beginning of Henry’s reign, he was in a financially weak position. Loans were needed to pay for the coronation and the marriage.

·         Royal finance was split into Ordinary revenue that was collected regularly (Crown lands, Custom duties, Feudal dues and Profits of Justice) and Extraordinary revenue which were a one-off payment (Parliamentary grants, Loans, Clerical taxes, feudal obligations)

·         The exchequer was the centre of the crown’s financial administration and functioned to receive/store/pay out money and to audit accounts.

·         The Chamber was new and informal, originally set up to take care of the King’s private expenditure. In 1490s it became the centre of most royal finance collections.

1.1   Crown Lands: 

-Henry was the country’s biggest landowner and the rental income for his property was a large part of his ordinary revenue as it had supported…