The More is a Hertfordshire residence whose plot significance lies in its reuse as a royal lodging: Henry VIII selects it for Katherine of Aragon while Mary is to be sent elsewhere. Once associated with Thomas More, the house becomes part of the machinery by which the king’s household separates mother and daughter and manages the consequences of his marital and political choices.

A Former Cardinal’s House

When Thomas Cromwell tells Katherine where she is to go, he describes The More as comfortable and expects its former association with Thomas More to matter. Mary observes that, as the cardinal’s house, it would be lavish. The exchange identifies the estate through its prior ownership and its capacity to accommodate a substantial household; Katherine is told that her whole court will be provided for, with lodging prepared for two hundred.

The Planned Separation

The residence is proposed during a meeting in which Katherine learns that Henry intends to leave her behind while he travels. She asks when she is to follow him; Cromwell answers that the king will return in a fortnight and that she is to go to The More. Mary calls attention to the human cost of the arrangement, describing her mother’s coming stay as being alone while Henry is with Anne Boleyn. Katherine resists the plan, insisting that her place is with her husband and that she will write to him. Cromwell advises her to accept the arrangement gently, indicating that resistance could lead to a more severe separation from Mary.

A Contested Destination

The More’s proposed role does not remain a settled detail. After speaking with Katherine, Cromwell learns from Thomas Wriothesley that the decision is for Mary to go to Richmond and that mother and daughter are to be separated. Cromwell had not known this when he tried to persuade Katherine to comply, and his surprise marks the limits of his information even as he works within the king’s plans. The estate therefore figures in the negotiations as Katherine’s intended destination, while the larger policy turns on removing Mary from her mother.

Narrative Significance

The house’s importance comes from the contrast between domestic comfort and political coercion. Katherine is promised a well-appointed residence and a household of her own, but she understands the proposed move as exile from Henry and refuses to treat comfort as a substitute for her place beside him. The More’s past association with Thomas More also gives the destination an inherited political resonance: a former cardinal’s house is drawn into a royal dispute over marriage, obedience, and the handling of the royal family.