By the time the British Statute of Monopolies was promulgated in 1623, the British Crown had already been issuing monopolies for nearly two centuries. The first monopoly had been issued by Henry VI in 1449 to a Flemish individual to provide stained glass for a period of 20 years. However, in order to prevent abuse of the grant of monopolies (e.g., some were lifetime grants), a modification of the Statute of Monopolies was decreed during the reign of Queen Anne.[wikipedia (20071204): "British Statute of Monopolies", patent], including requiring a written specification of the invention.