On this day in history, 13th September 1520, William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley and Elizabeth I’s chief advisor, was born Bourne in Lincolnshire. He was the son of Richard Cecil, former Groom of the Robes, Constable of Warwick Castle and High Sheriff of Rutland, and his wife Jane Heckington. His grandfather, David Cecil, had been one of Henry VIII’s favourites, and was High Sheriff of Nottingham.
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On 22nd August 1553, John Dudley, Earl of Warwick and Duke of Northumberland, was beheaded on Tower Hill for his part in putting his daughter-in-law, Lady Jane Grey, on the throne in place of Mary I. Northumberland’s friends, Sir John Gates and Sir Thomas Palmer, were also executed on this day in 1553 for supporting Northumberland.
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In today’s Claire Chats video I discuss whether Lady Jane Grey should actually be called Queen Jane.
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On this day in history, 2nd July 1489, one of my favourite Tudor personalities, Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, was born in Aslockton, Nottinghamshire.
Cranmer had a major impact on Tudor England. Not only did he provide Henry VIII with the annulment of his first marriage to Catherine of Aragon, he was also a key player in the English Reformation, and, of course, he was burnt at the stake for his faith in the reign of Queen Mary I.
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Today is the anniversary of the birth of Sir John Cheke, the English classical scholar and statesman. He was born on 16th June 1514 and was the son of Peter Cheke, bedel of the University of Cambridge. Sir John Cheke was educated at St John’s College, Cambridge, and became a fellow of the college in 1529. He became the first Regius Professor of Greek at the university in 1540 and taught William Cecil, Baron Burghley, and Roger Ascham, the English scholar and Princess Elizabeth’s tutor.
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23rd April is the feast day of St George, who we know today as the patron saint of England. It is the traditional date given for his execution in 303 AD. St George was a Roman soldier who was imprisoned, tortured and beheaded for his Christian faith after he protested against the persecution of Christians.
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Thomas Howard was the eldest son of Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk, and of Elizabeth Tilney. He was the brother of Elizabeth Boleyn (née Howard) and Edmund Howard so was uncle to Queens Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard. Howard’s father and grandfather had fought on Richard III’s side at the Battle of Bosworth but Howard was able to work his way back into royal favour by fighting for the Crown against both the Cornish rebels and the Scots in 1497. He was made a Knight of the Garter in 1510, was created Earl of Surrey in 1514 and succeeded his father as Duke of Norfolk in 1524. In September 1514 he was prominent in leading the English army in defeating the Scots at the Battle of Flodden.
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The Groom of the Stool, or, as the official title was known, The Groom of the King’s Close Stool, has gone down in history as one of the grossest jobs available. As the name suggests the Groom of the Stool was responsible for attending to the King’s toileting needs. The Groom would care for the King’s toilet, known in the Tudor period as a ‘Stool’. He would be responsible for supplying water, towels and a washbowl for the King when he had finished his business. There is some debate as to whether or not the Groom of the Stool was responsible for wiping the King’s behind, with some believing he did and others thinking his duties did not extend to that extreme.
While being responsible for the King’s bodily functions may seem quite disgusting for us in today’s times when going to the bathroom is considered to be a private matter, it was very, very different in the Tudor age.
