Overview
Council in the Marches of Wales
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Edward IV had large estates as earl of March in the Welsh borders and in the 1470s established a council at Shrewsbury. Henry VII, Welsh by birth, followed the example. After a period in abeyance, the council seems to have been revived by Thomas Cromwell. A statute of 1543 established a council in Wales and in the border counties of Shropshire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, and Gloucestershire. Much of its business was judicial and petitioners were saved a long journey to London. Unlike the Council of the North, the Council in Wales was not abolished by the Long Parliament. Reconstituted in 1660, the council never regained its former importance and was abolished in 1689.
Subjects: History — Regional and National History
