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The Tudor Society
  • January 31 – Henry VIII’s death is announced

    On this day in Tudor history, 31st January 1547, Lord Chancellor Thomas Wriothesley announced the death of King Henry VIII to Parliament. The king had died on 28th January.

    Chronicler and Windsor Herald Charles Wriothesley records the late king’s son, nine-year-old Edward, being officially proclaimed king

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  • January 30 – Sir William More of Loseley

    On this day in Tudor history, 30th January 1520, in the reign of King Henry VIII, member of Parliament, Protestant, landowner and administrator, Sir William More, was born. More’s offices under Elizabeth I included Chamberlain of the Exchequer,

    More was the only surviving son of Sir Christopher More of Loseley, a powerful administrator in Henry VII’s reign, and his wife, Margaret Mudge.

    The Protestant More came to the forefront in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, serving her as Constable of Farnham Castle, Treasurer of the Lottery, Commissioner for Ecclesiastical Causes, Collector of the Loan, Master of Swans and Deputy Custos Rotulorum, as well as Chamberlain of the Exchequer. He was also a commissioner on various commissions of oyer and terminer during her reign.

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  • January 28 – John Dynham, 1st Baron Dynham

    On this day in Tudor history, 28th January 1501, in the reign of King Henry VII, politician and administrator John Dynham, 1st Baron Dynham, died at his home at Lambeth. He was buried at the London Greyfriars on 30th January.

    Here are a few facts about this Tudor baron…

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  • January 27 – The burning of Bartlet Green and six other Protestants

    On this day in Tudor history, 27th January 1556, in the reign of Queen Mary I, Protestant Bartlet or Bartholomew Green was burnt at the stake at Smithfield, with six other Protestants.

    Green, who martyrologist John Foxe describes as a gentleman and lawyer, “saw the true light of God’s gospel” when listening to lectures given by Peter the Martyr while studying at Oxford. Foxe writes that “Whereof when he had once tasted, it became unto him as the fountain of lively water, that our Saviour Christ spake of to the woman of Samaria, so as he never thirsted any more, but had a well springing unto everlasting life”. Green studied law at the Inner Temple at London.

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  • January 26 – Sir Francis Poyntz

    Poyntz arms - Barry of eight or and gules

    On this day in Tudor history, 26th January 1528, in the reign of King Henry VIII, courtier and diplomat Sir Francis Poyntz died in London. He died of the plague.

    Poyntz, who was about 31 at his death, was the third son of courtier, Sir Robert Poyntz, of Iron Acton in Gloucestershire, and his wife, Margaret, an illegitimate daughter of Anthony Woodville, 2nd Earl Rivers. Francis was made an Esquire of the Body to Henry VIII in 1516, and then a Carver in 1521.

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  • January 25 – St Edmund Campion, Catholic Martyr

    Engraving of St Edmund Campion with a knife in his chest

    On this day in Tudor history, 25th January 1540, St Edmund Campion, Jesuit and martyr, was born in London.

    Campion was hanged, drawn and quartered on 1st December 1581 for treasonable conspiracy.  He was beatified in 1886 by Pope Leo XIII and canonized in 1970 by Pope Paul VI.

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  • January 24 – Henry VII’s Lady Chapel

    Henry VII and the pendant fan-vaulted ceiling of his Lady Chapel

    On this day in Tudor history, 24th January 1503, the foundation stone of King Henry VII’s chapel, a large Lady Chapel, at Westminster Abbey, was laid.

    At the time, Henry VII planned for the chapel to be a shrine to King Henry VI, who was expected to be canonised, but this never happened.

    The chapel was completed in 1516, in the reign of Henry VII’s son, King Henry VIII, and became the burial place of fifteen kings and queens, including Henry VII and his wife, Elizabeth of York, who have beautiful gilt-bronze effigies, and their grandchildren Edward VI, Elizabeth I and Mary I, and great-granddaughter, Mary, Queen of Scots. Others buried there in the Tudor period include, Lady Margaret Beaufort, Henry VII’s mother, and Lady Margaret Douglas, his granddaughter.

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  • January 23 – The assassination of Regent James Stewart, Earl of Moray and half-brother of Mary, Queen of Scots

    On this day in Tudor history, 23rd January 1570, James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray, illegitimate son of James V, half-brother of Mary, Queen of Scots, and a man who was acting as regent for his half-nephew, King James VI, was assassinated.

    Moray, who was about 38 or 39 years of age at his death, had become regent for his one-year-old half-nephew following the abdication of Mary, Queen of Scots. Mary, who was imprisoned at the time, had been forced to abdicate by the confederate lords following her defeat at Carberry Hill.

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  • January 22 – Francis Bacon, Viscount St Alban

    Francis Bacon by Paul van Somer

    On this day in Tudor history, 22nd January 1561, Francis Bacon, Viscount St Alban, was born at York House in the Strand, London.

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  • January 21 – The death of Eustace Chapuys, imperial ambassador

    On this day in Tudor history, 21st January 1556, imperial ambassador Eustace Chapuys died in Louvain, the place he had retired to in 1549. He was laid to rest in the chapel of Louvain College, the college he had founded.

    Chapuys is one of my favourite sources for the reign of Henry VIII because his dispatches to the emperor and his fellow ambassadors are so detailed.

    But who was Eustace Chapuys? Let me tell you a bit more about him…

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  • January 20 – Mary I’s fifth and final Parliament

    Portrait of a seated Mary I by Anthonis Mor

    On this day in Tudor history, 20th January 1558, in the final year of Queen Mary I’s reign, there was the state opening of Mary’s fifth Parliament.

    As Cedric Ward points out in his article “The House of Commons and the Marian Reaction”, by this time, due to Mary’s marriage to Philip of Spain, England was allied with Spain in its war against France so Parliamentary business focused on financial and military items.

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  • January 19 – Diplomat Sir Edward Carne and Henry VIII’s fourth marriage

    Portraits of Henry VIII, Anne of Cleves, Mary I and Dom Luis of Portugal

    On this day in Tudor history, 19th January 1561, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Sir Edward Carne died in Rome. He was about sixty-five years of age.

    The administrator and diplomat, who came from Glamorgan in Wales originally, carried out diplomatic missions for King Henry VIII, was a royal commissioner during the dissolution of the monasteries, negotiated for a fourth marriage for Henry VIII after the death of Jane Seymour, was Mary I’s English ambassador to Rome, and claimed descent from the Kings of Gwent! An interesting man.

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  • January 18 – Alfonso Ferrabosco, composer, musician and spy

    On this day in Tudor history, 18th January 1543, composer, court musician and perhaps spy Alfonso Ferrabosco was baptised at the Cathedral of San Petronio, in Bologna, Italy.

    Why am I talking about an Italian composer and musician?

    Well, because he worked at Queen Elizabeth I’s court and is said to have been responsible for the growth of the madrigal at the royal court.

    Here are some facts about this Italian composer and musician…

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  • January 17 – Clockmaker Bartholomew Newsam

    Repeater watch and key ca. 1565 by Bartholomew Newsam, Met Museum

    On this day in Tudor history, 17th January 1587, Bartholomew Newsam (Newsum, Newsham), died. He was buried in the church of St Mary-le-Strand, the parish in which he lived and worked. He was in his fifties at his death.

    Bartholomew Newsam, who is thought to have come from the York area, was a famous clockmaker, sundial maker and scientific instrument maker. He worked for Queen Elizabeth I, repairing clocks and perhaps even making them for her.

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  • January 16 – Sir Anthony Denny

    On this day in Tudor history, 16th January 1501, in the reign of King Henry VII, Sir Anthony Denny was born at Cheshunt in Hertfordshire. He was the second son of Sir Edmund Denny, Baron of the Exchequer to Henry VIII, and his wife, Mary Troutbeck.

    The courtier and good friend of Henry VIII was educated at St Paul’s School, London, before moving on to St John’s College, Cambridge.

    Following employment in the service of Sir Francis Bryan, a man known as the Vicar of Hell, Denny joined King Henry VIII’s privy chamber in 1533 and was made a yeoman of the wardrobe in 1536.

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  • January 15 – Jane Dudley, Duchess of Northumberland

    On this day in Tudor history, 15th January 1555, in the reign of Queen Mary I, Jane Dudley, Duchess of Northumberland and wife of John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, died in Chelsea, London.

    Forty-six-year-old Jane had outlived her husband, who was executed in 1553 after Mary I had successfully seized the throne from the couple’s daughter-in-law, Lady Jane Grey.

    Here are some facts about this Duchess of Northumberland…

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  • January 14 – Charles Brandon is sent to fetch Mary Tudor, Queen of France, home to England

    On 14th January 1515, in King Henry VIII’s reign, Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, was sent to France to bring back the king’s sister, Mary Tudor, Queen of France.

    Eighteen-year-old Mary had married fifty-two-year-old King Louis XII on 9th October 1514, but the marriage had been short-lived as Louis died on 1st January 1515.

    Before marrying Louis, Mary had made her brother promise that if the French king died she could marry a man of her choosing. That man ended up being Suffolk, Henry VIII’s best friend, and the very man sent to fetch her.

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  • January 13 – Sir Henry Neville

    Engraving of Billingbear House, home of Sir Henry Neville.

    On 13th January 1593, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Sir Henry Neville died. He was buried at Waltham St Lawrence in Berkshire.

    Sir Henry Neville was a groom of Henry VIII’s Privy Chamber and a gentleman of Edward VI’s Privy chamber.

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  • The Life and Death of Cardinal Wolsey

    We’ve been contacted by the lovely John Greenman who has set his life to creating “pro bono” volunteer recordings of public domain works. He let us know that he has recently completed a recording of the book “The Life and Death of Cardinal Wolsey” written by George Cavendish.

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  • January 12 – William Howard, 1st Baron Howard of Effingham, Lord Admiral

    Painting of William Howard, 1st Baron Howard of Effingham, English School

    On 12th January 1573, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, William Howard, 1st Baron Howard of Effingham, died at Hampton Court Palace.

    The diplomat, soldier and naval commander was buried at Reigate Church.

    Howard had served four Tudor monarchs: Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I, and had been Lord Admiral and Lord Chamberlain of the Household. At one point, he was convicted of misprision of treason, but was fortunately pardoned.

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  • January 11 – Blessed William Carter

    The Tyburn Tree, the gallows at Tyburn

    On 11th January 1584, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Blessed William Carter was executed for treason.

    Printer William Carter, who was about thirty-six years of age at his death, had been found guilty of treason for printing a book which allegedly contained a passage inciting the queen’s assassination. He was hanged, drawn and quartered at Tyburn.

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  • January 10 – The death of Arthur Dent

    Title page of Arthur Dent's "The Plain Man's Pathway to Heaven"

    On or around 10th January 1603, Arthur Dent died of a fever. The religious writer, Puritan and clergyman had made his will three days earlier.

    Arthur Dent’s works included his “Sermon of Repentance”, “The Ruine of Rome, or, An Exposition upon the Whole Revelation”, and “The Plaine-Mans Pathway to Heaven”, which was very popular and had reached its 25th edition by 1640 and its 41st by 1831. It influenced John Bunyan’s “Pilgrim’s Progress” and Richard Baxter’s “The Poor Man’s Family Book”.

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  • January 9 – Clement Adams

    Sebastian Cabot's map

    On this day in Tudor history, 9th January 1587, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Clement Adams died. He was laid to rest at St. Alphege Church, Greenwich

    The Warwickshire schoolmaster and map engraver was about sixty-eight at his death, having been born in around 1519.

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  • January 8 – Henry Clifford, 2nd Earl of Cumberland, and an interesting family story

    Photo of the ruins of Brougham Castle, Henry Clifford's home, and a picture of the earl's arms.

    On 8th January 1570, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Henry Clifford, 2nd Earl of Cumberland, died at his home, Brougham Castle. He was buried at Holy Trinity Church, Skipton.

    According to a family story, Clifford was so devastated at the death of his first wife, Lady Eleanor Brandon, that he could only be brought back from a certain death by suckling from a woman’s breasts!

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  • January 7 – Nicholas Hilliard

    On this day in history, 7th January 1619, the famous Elizabethan and Jacobean goldsmith and miniaturist Nicholas Hilliard was laid to rest at the parish church of St Martin-in-the-Fields in London.

    Hilliard’s exact date of death is not known but he was around 72 years of age when he died.

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  • January 6 – Jane Dormer, Duchess of Feria

    Portrait of an unknown woman thought to be Jane Dormer, Duchess of Feria.

    On this day in Tudor history, 6th January 1538, in the reign of King Henry VIII, Jane Dormer, Duchess of Feria, was born at Eythrope in Buckinghamshire.

    Jane was a favourite of Queen Mary I, and was the one Mary trusted on her deathbed to deliver her jewels to her successor and half-sister, Elizabeth I. She married Gómez Suarez de Figueroa, Count of Feria, later Duke of Feria, in December 1558.

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  • January 5 – The Christening of Henry, Duke of Cornwall, son of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon

    On this day in Tudor history, Sunday 5th January 1511, the lavish christening of Henry, Duke of Cornwall, took place in the Chapel of Observant Friars at Richmond, in Surrey.

    The little duke had been born on New Year’s Day at Richmond Palace on New Year’s Day. He was the son of King Henry VIII by his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, and news of the prince’s birth had been met with bonfires, wine being given out to the citizens of London, and processions.

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  • January 4 – The burial of Roger Ascham

    Church of St Sepulchre-without-Newgate

    On this day in Tudor history, 4th January 1569 author, scholar and royal tutor Roger Ascham was buried in St Stephen’s Chapel at St Sepulchre-without-Newgate, London.

    Ascham, who had served as a tutor to Queen Elizabeth I in her youth, had died on 30th December 1568.

    You can find out more about Ascham in the video I did on the anniversary of his death…

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  • January 3 – John Clerk, Bishop of Bath and Wells

    Arms of the Bishop of Bath and Wells

    On this day in Tudor history, 3rd January 1541, in the reign of King Henry VIII, John Clerk, Bishop of Bath and Wells, died.

    Before becoming Bishop of Bath and Wells, Clerk had served as a chaplain to Cardinal Thomas Wolsey and had been Archdeacon of Colchester, Dean of Windsor and Master of the Rolls.

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