Tallis was an organist and composer. He had to write music for the royal chapels. He was given the lease of a big house in Kent and a salary of £91 12s a year (12s is 60p in modern money). That was a very good salary in those days. In 1575, Queen Elizabeth I gave Tallis and William Byrd a licence which meant they were the only people allowed to print and publish music in England (music printing was a very new invention at the time). Tallis owned a house in Greenwich where he died in 1585.