Illusions of Grandeur and Reform at the Jacobean Court
Cranfield and the Ordnance
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8957191 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Michael B Young (Illinois Wesleyan University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1979 |
| Volume | 22 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 53-73 |
| Publication date | 1979-03-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Historical Journal (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0018-246X • E-ISSN: 1469-5103 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s0018246x00016678 |
| OpenAlex | W2075810131 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 14 |
Several administrative reforms in the reign of James I are commonly associated with the name of Lionel Cranfield. One such reform is supposed to have occurred in the ordnanceoffice in 1620, though curiously little is known about it. The two principal accounts of the ordnance project are contained in the well-known studies of Cranfield by R. H. Tawney and Menna Prestwich.1 From these two accounts it is possible to glean only a few apparent facts; and these can be stated briefly as follows. The ordnance project is alleged to have been carried out by a special commission appointed in November of 1618 or 1619. Although several officers of the ordnance were included on this commission, they apparently offered no resistance to the reform of their own office. And, finally, the recommendations of the commission are assumed to have been implemented with the result that in 1621 King James was able to report to parliament that ordnance expenditure had been reduced from £34,000 to £14,000 annually.2 The first objective of the present article is to show that all of these assumptions about the ordnance reform of 1620 are mistaken. The second objective is to provide a new account of the ordnance project that is more consistent with the existing evidence. A final objective is to shed new light on the career and impeachment of Lionel Cranfield. Cranfield's career lends itself quite naturally to heroic narrative. His attempt to stave off financial disaster by reforming many departments, including the household, navy, and wardrobe, has the appearance of a Herculean undertaking
Art · Commission · Literature · Narrative · Navy · Parliament · Political science · Politics · Reign · Historical Economic and Social Studies · Historical Studies of British Isles · History · Law · Scottish History and National Identity
The Reign of James VI and I
The Origins of the English Civil War
History of England from the Accession of James I to the Outbreak of the Civil War, 1603–1642
Industry and Government in France and England, 1540-1640
Attempts at Administrative Reform, 1625-40
Business and Politics under James I
The Royal Arsenal
Politics and Profits under the Early Stuarts. The Career of Lionel Cranfield Earl of Middlesex
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |