Thomas Docwra Docwra in 1519. Another transaction was the leasing of land in Hampton, Middlesex to Thomas Wolsey, the Archbishop of York. This is where Wolsey built Hampton Court of which Henry VIII of England took possession when Wolsey fell from favour. Overall the Order had over 40 preceptories spread out from Cornwall to Northumberland, the majority of which retained their consensual status. Docwra would have had to visit them all once a year. As the Lord of St John, Docwra was a senior lay baron with a seat in the House of Lords. He was one of the peers who tried
Thomas Wolsey other English clerics. The highest political position Wolsey attained was Lord Chancellor, the King's chief adviser (formally, as his successor and disciple Thomas Cromwell was not). In that position, he enjoyed great freedom and was often depicted as an "alter rex" (other king). After failing to negotiate an annulment of Henry's marriage to Catherine of Aragon, Wolsey fell out of favour and was stripped of his government titles. He retreated to York to fulfill his ecclesiastical duties as Archbishop of York, a position he nominally held, but had neglected during his years in government. He was recalled to London to