Mini Timeline

1258	Apr	Henry asks for money
		The Pope offered the Sicilian crown for Henry's youngest son Edmund. The pope wanted to add Sicily to the papal dominions. To raise the money required for such an expedition, Henry met Parliament at Westminster. The barons who were not involved in the meeting forced Henry to meet again in June where they wanted Henry to reform the way the county was being run.
1264	Jun	Simon summons Parliament
		From a provisional administration consisting of Simon himself, the Earl of Gloucester and the Bishop of Chichester, a council of 9 were chosen to advise the king. From these 9, 3 were to be with the king at all times.
1265	Jan 20	Ordinary people's Parliament
		Simon calls a Parliament where for the first time ordinary people were brought to represent the country.
1275	May	Statute of Westminster
		The Statute of Westminster, drawn up between Parliament and Edward I, defined the legal privileges that landowners were allowed. These were based on the investigations carried out in 1274 into the landowners rights to own their land.
1283	Jun	David of Wales captured
		David the brother of Llewelyn was handed over to the king by his own supporters who had already surrendered. He was taken to Shrewsbury Castle where a Parliament met and sentenced him to death by execution.
1295	Nov	The first Model Parliament
		Edward called together a parliament consisting of a cross-section of society; the heads of the church, the Barons and members of the burghs. The parliament agreed that a tax could be raised to allow Edward to launch attacks on the Scots and the French.
1299	Mar	Edward evades Parliament
		Edward I was supposed to appear before Parliament at Westminster where the Barons wanted him to abide by rules preventing him levying taxes not agreed upon by the Barons. Edward failed to attend but the Barons tracked him down and forced him to comply.
1308	Jun	Gaveston banished
		Parliament was unhappy with Gaveston's actions as Regent while Edward was away. Gaveston's closeness to Edward was also distressing for Edward's new wife as well. Parliament concluded that Edward should remove Gaveston and the knight was given the role of Lieutenant of Ireland in order to remove him from England.
1309		Robert Bruce recognised as King
		Robert Bruce was formally recognised as King of Scotland by the Scottish parliament at St. Andrews.
1311	Jul	Edward returns to England
		Edward II left Scotland and returned to England to attend a session of Parliament. Gaveston was left behind at Bamburgh Castle where he was relatively safe from the Lords Ordainers.
1312	May	Gaveston surrenders
		While the Earl of Lancaster set up camp midway between York and Scarborough to prevent Gaveston and the King rejoining, the Earls of Pembroke and Surrey besieged Scarborough castle. The castle was not prepared to withstand the stand-off and Gaveston surrendered after a couple of weeks. The terms of his surrender were generous and Pembroke gave his word that Gaveston would not be harmed until he was presented to Parliament.
1321	Qtr 1	Despenser and the Marcher Lords
		Hugh Despenser began obtaining lands in South Wales. He did this by exchanging estates he held in England and by obtaining grants from the king. He even obtained the Isle of Lundy. When the last male heir of the Marcher Lord Braose family died, Despenser was able to obtain the land that the family owned in and around Swansea. This angered the other Marcher Lords as they had customs that allowed land to pass into the hands of one another. The Marcher Lords threatened to start a civil war and it was agreed that a Parliament should be called to settle the matter. It was also agreed that Despenser was to be held in custody by Lancaster until the meeting but Despenser refused.
	Jul	Parliament at Westminster
		Lancaster put a large amount of pressure on Edward to remove the Despensers from power. The Marcher Lords brought a force to London and threats were made that Edward would be removed from the throne if he did not comply.
1322	May	Parliament at York
		Edward was now back in control of the country and at the Parliament held at York the rebels who had fought against him were punished, many being executed for treason. The Ordinances against Edward were repealed and those who had supported Edward through the bad times were rewarded. The elder Hugh Despenser was made Earl of Winchester. The younger Despenser was given large amounts of land forfeited by the rebels.
1325	Nov	Edward commands Isabella to return
		At a Parliament called to discuss the situation in France, it was decided to send a petition to Isabella for her return to England. She refused. In France, her brother the King had become annoyed with Isabella's conduct. Isabella left France and went to the court of William II, Count of Hainault who assisted her with preparations to invade England. A promise was made to marry Prince Edward, now Duke of Aquitaine to William's daughter Phiippa.
1330	Oct	Execution of Mortimer
		Edward III arrested Mortimer at Nottingham Castle in October and tried him before Parliament.
1340	Mar 29	Edward raises taxes
		Parliament agreed to raise taxes so that Edward could fund an army to invade France.
1341	Spring	Edward raises funds
		To raise funds for further French expeditions Edward had to confront Parliament. Parliament insisted that Edward reconfirmed various ancient charters.
1369	Jun 3	Edward III restates claim for French throne
		The English Parliament freed Edward III from the Treaty of Bretigny that was signed in 1360. When Edward signed the treaty he had agreed to give up the claim for the French throne. Now that Edward was free from the treaty he was able to restate and pursue his claim to be the French King.
1371		Wykeham asks for war supplies
		William of Wykeham, Bishop of Winchester and chancellor, asked for supplies for war. Parliament petitioned the king to stop the practice of ecclesiastics having positions of power and not being liable to account for their actions, and that non-clerical laymen should replaced them. An important supporter of this action was John of Gaunt.
1384	Apr	Criticism of Richard
		At a session of Parliament held this year both John of Gaunt and Thomas of Woodstock argued with Richard about the way in which the country was being run, his finances and the influences of his advisors.
1386	Summer	Commission appointed
		With the French threatening to invade, Richard's continued disregard of his uncles' requests to remove his Chancellor and Treasurer from office, a delegation met Richard at Eltham. His uncle, Duke of Gloucester acted as spokesman for Parliament. He reminded Richard of his duties and demanded that his advisors be removed. He reminded Richard that if he didn't comply he could be removed from his position as King. Richard had little choice and a commission was set up to oversee the king's affairs.
1398		Urquhart Castle becomes the King's property
		An act of Parliament is passed which brings the ownership of Urquhart Castle into the hands of the English King.
1399	Sep	Bolingbroke accepted by Parliament
		Parliament accepted Bolingbroke's claim to the throne. He was to become Henry IV, king of England.
1404	May	Glendower's Parliament
		Owen Glendower called a Parliament where he declared himself to be the true 'Prince of Wales'. Embassies from France and Scotland attended the meeting and gave promises to support Glendower's plans to overthrow Henry IV.
1435	Sep	Duke of Bedford dies
		John, Duke of Bedford, died in Rouen. Henry was still too young to rule and Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, took over as regent until Henry was old enough to rule England unaided. Gloucester was not popular and was the cause of unrest with Parliament.
1450	Jan	The Duke of Suffolk is sent to the Tower
		The Duke of Suffolk was accused by Parliament of using his position close to the king to influence matters for his and his followers own ends. He was also accused of increasing his own wealth at the expence of the king and perverting the course of justice. Suffolk was murdered on his way to exile in May of the same year.
	May	Death of William de la Pole
		William de la Pole, Duke of Suffolk was accused by Parliament of being the cause of the country's problems. Suffolk was arrested and imprisoned. The King allowed the Duke to be banished rather than executed but as he left the country he was attacked and killed.
1451		Support for Richard in Parliament
		Thomas Young, the member of Parliament for Bristol stood up and declared that Richard, Duke of York's claim to the throne should be concidered. Thomas Young was quickly arrested and locked up in the Tower of London.
1459	Nov	Parliament acts against the Yorkists
		At a Parliament called in Coventry the Yorkists are condemned as rebels and their land was confiscated by the crown.
1460	Jul 30	Yorkists in power
		Now that the Yorkists had control of the King, they started moves to regain their confiscated lands and reverse the sentences of attainder passed by the Coventry Parliament. To this end they sent letters demanding Parliament should meet on 7th October. George Neville, the Kingmaker's brother was made chancellor of England.
	Oct	Duke of York claims throne
		Richard, Duke of York returned from Ireland to claim the throne of England as a direct decendant of Edward III. The Lords refused to abandon Henry VI and Parliament agreed he should remain King until his death. Then Richard or his heir should become the next king of England.
1469	Sep	Riots and rebellions
		With the king in custody there began a series of riots around the country protesting against the Earl of Warwick. Warwick did not have the backing of Parliament and in the end had little choice but to let Edward go free and return to rule the country.
1625	Jun	Charles' First Parliament
		Charles I called his first Parliament in June of 1625. His aim was to raise money for war against Spain although he did not tell Parliament what the money was for. Parliament refused to give the full amount and gave only limited funds. Parliament restricted Charles to collect 'Tonnage and Poundage' for only one year. Before this 'Tonnage and Poundage' was collected at any time. There were concerns over Charles' marriage to his Roman Catholic wife and favouritism shown to her religion. Further concerns related to the Duke of Buckingham and his influence over the King. Charles dissolved the Parliament in August without achieving his aims.
1626	Feb	Charles' Second Parliament
		Charles called his second Parliament again to raise funds for his military exploits. To improve his chances of success Charles gave appointments of County Sheriff to those who had previously opposed him. It was not possible for Sheriffs to be members of the Commons. Parliament was led by Sir John Eliot who criticised the King's and Buckingham's failed military expeditions. Charles dissolved Parliament again without getting his funds.
	Jun 15	Charles' second Parliament dissolved
		Charles dissolved Parliament after first arresting Sir John Eliot. The king was still short of money so he resorted to 'forced loans' from well-off people in the country. Those who did not pay were threatened with imprisonment without trial. Charles also forced people to give shelter and food to his soldiers.
1628	Mar	Charles' Third Parliament
		Charles called another Parliament intent on getting money for more military campaigns. He wanted to finance another attack on La Rochelle. Parliament refused to give any money unless the king agreed to terms set out in the 'Petition of Right'. ending of forced loans ending of enforced billeting of troops no taxation with Parliamentary approval end to imprisonment without cause shown end to martial law Charles agreed to the Petition and Parliament gave him the money he required.
	Jun 26	Parliament dissolved
		Although Parliament had agreed to give the King his money, it also pressed for the arrest of Buckingham. To protect Buckingham, Charles dissolved Parliament.
1640	Apr 13	The Short Parliament
		Charles I called Parliament to ask for taxes to raise money for war against the Scots. Parliament agreed to grant the King 'twelve subsidies' on the condition that 'ship money' was abolished. Ship money was a tax normally imposed at time of war to allow the King to build ships for the defence of the country, but Charles had imposed this tax in peace times without Parliament's consent which was illegal. John Pym stood up against the King and complained about how he was running the country. Charles grew impatient and disolved Parliament on May 5, only three weeks after Parliament was called.
	Nov 3	The Long Parliament
		Charles I was forced to call Parliament to raise money to pay for a continued war with the Scottish. Parliament was led by John Pym who opposed the King. Parliament agreed to give Charles some money in return for concessions. These included the removal of Charles' closest advisors, Archbishop Laud and Thomas Wentworth Viscount Strafford. Laud would be kept in the Tower of London while Strafford would be executed.
1641	Nov 22	Grand Remonstrance
		Parliament passed the Grand Remonstrance, a list of grievances against King Charles. Parliament was unhappy with the King's advisors and wanted the King to allow Parliement to choose who should advise him.
	Dec 21	William Balfour dismissed
		Charles I dismissed Sir William Balfour from his position as Constable of the Tower of London because of his support for Parliament against the King.
1642	Jan 4	Charles attempts arrests
		Charles I, with a small band of soldiers, attempted to arrest key leaders of Parliament including John Pym. When Charles arrived at Westminster he found that the men had already left and had found sanctuary in the city of London. Charles had little support in the city and had little choice but to leave.
	Mar	Earl of Warwick takes control of navy
		Parliament authorised Robert Rich, the Earl of Warwick to take control of the English Navy before King Charles did so.