Henry VIII Acts of Parliament Timeline

An act was passed which stated that all able-bodied men under the age of 60 years were to keep bows and arrows in their houses and they were to regularly practice with the longbow.

An act of Parliament was passed which made it illegal for anyone to practice as a surgeon or physician in London unless they were approved by the Bishop of London.

An act of Parliament was passed which set regulations for the manufacture of cloth. The new regulations guarded against short weight, short measure, undue shrinkage and undue stretching.

An act of Parliament was passed which stopped clerks who were not in holy orders from claiming benefit of clergy for serious offences committed in an occupied house or on the King’s highway. At that time the law defined clerks as – ordained priests, anyone who fulfilled a religious vocation, university teachers and students and anyone employed by the Church.

Parliament granted king Henry VIII a tax of two-tenths and two-fifteenths to finance his war with France.

Having completed all outstanding business, Parliament was adjourned.

Parliament was summoned to approve standards for a number of fortifications to be built along the south coast. Local authorities were to be responsible for ensuring that the work was carried out. A mayor found to be guilty of not ensuring the work was done would be imprisoned for a month, while any labourer refusing to do the work faced 10 days in prison.

Having completed all necessary business, parliament was dismissed. It would not be recalled until Spring 1515.

This Act of Parliament, passed in 1511, was reinforced. It stated that all able-bodied men under the age of 60 years were to keep bows and arrows in their houses and they were to regularly practice with the longbow.

This act ordered that pasture land be converted to tillage and that all decayed houses be rebuilt.

This act fixed a labourer’s pay at 3 pence per day for winter months and 4 pence per day for summer months, with bonuses to be paid at harvest time. A skilled artisan could expect to be paid 5 pence per day in the winter and 6 pence per day in the summer months. Sundays and Saint’s days were to be days off.

An act was passed which authorised the Speaker of the House of Commons to keep records of attendance, while the clerk of the House was to keep a register of all Members of Parliament.

This act was introduced as an extension of the 1512 Benefit of Clergy Act and specified that all clerks that commit crimes should be tried in secular rather than ecclesiastical courts. The act was quashed by the House of Lords.