Most of the records in this series are acknowledgements of royal supremacy over the Church of England and came to the Public Record Office from the Exchequer, Treasury of the Receipt.

These are of two principal types. The more numerous of the two is the acknowledgement as expressed by houses of religious and secular clergy. The second series is composed of the personal declarations made by archbishops and bishops of England and Wales. Also in the series are a few miscellaneous documents, most of which are related to the renunciation of papal supremacy and the acceptance of King Henry VIII as supreme head of the Church.