I have had a good look into this and I am pretty confident that this is the first time in history there have been four English cardinals holding office at the same time. During the reign of Queen Mary I (1553–1558), who restored Catholicism in England after the Protestant Reformation under her father, King Henry VIII there were a high number of English cardinals, but I don't think there were ever four at the same time.
Back in the16th century, the English cardinals included such great names as: