Chaucer moved to Kent in 1385 where he had a new position as Justice of the Peace. He was also elected as one of two knights of the shire to be a member of parliament. At the end of the year he lost his customs jobs. His wife, Phillipa, died in 1387. But on 12 July 1389, he was made the "Clerk of the Kings Works", looking after repairs to the royal palaces. He was given other small positions, including looking after the river banks of the Thames, and as a deputy forester in the Royal Forest. Over the next few years, Chaucer became poorer and often was given small payments and pensions from the king.