On either 24th or 25th February 1618, sixty-five-year-old literary patron Elizabeth Carey (née Spencer), Lady Hunsdon, wife of Sir George Carey, 2nd Baron Hunsdon, died from what was described “a palsie”, probably a stroke. She was buried at Westminster Abbey, in the Hunsdon family vault.
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On this day in Tudor history, 24th February 1540, in the reign of King Henry VIII, courtier, author and administrator, Henry Howard, Earl of Northampton, was born at Shottesham in Norfolk.
Northampton was the second son of courtier and poet Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, and his wife, Lady Frances de Vere.
Let me give you a few facts about this Tudor earl…
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On this day in Tudor history, 23rd February 1503, Elizabeth of York, Queen Consort of Henry VII and mother of Henry VIII, was laid to rest at Westminster Abbey.
Elizabeth had died on her 37th birthday, on 11th February, at the Tower of London, nine days after giving birth to a daughter, Katherine, who also died.
In “The Last Medieval Queens: English Queenship 1445-1503”, J L Laynesmith writes of how at least £3,000 was spent on Elizabeth’s funeral, compared to the £600 spent on that of Arthur, Prince of Wales, the previous year, and that “the whole process was rich with references to the queen’s coronation”.
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On this day in Tudor history, 22nd February 1571, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, translator John Bury died.
Bury was only about thirty-five years old at his death, but he’d suffered a fall from his horse six months earlier. Bury had broken his leg in the accident, a serious injury in those days and one which led to his death.
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On this day in Tudor history, 21st February 1568, Katherine Seymour (née Grey), Countess of Hertford, was buried at Yoxford. Her remains were later re-interred, by her grandson, in the Seymour family tomb at Salisbury Cathedral.
Katherine was the second daughter of Henry Grey, Duke of Suffolk, and his wife, Frances Brandon, and the granddaughter of Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, and Mary Tudor, Queen of France. She was also the younger sister of Lady Jane Grey, or Queen Jane.
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On this day in Tudor history, 20th February 1552, Anne Herbert, Countess of Pembroke, died at Baynard’s Castle in London.
Anne was the younger sister of Queen Catherine Parr and served Queens Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves and Catherine Howard.
Let me give you a few facts about this Tudor countess…
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On this day in Tudor history, 19th February 1567, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox, was informed of the murder of her son, Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley.
Darnley had been murdered nine days earlier at Kirk o’ Field, Edinburgh, in the Royal Mile, just a few hundred yards from Holyrood House where his wife, Mary Queen of Scots, and baby son, the future James VI/I, were staying.
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On this day in Tudor history, 18th February 1563, a Huguenot assassin shot Francis, Duke of Guise, at Orléans in France. The duke died six days later.
The Catholic Guise was a prominent leader during the French Wars of Religion, and there had been attempts on his life previously. Guise was wounded by Huguenot, Jean de Poltrot de Méré, at the Siege of Orléans, and it is thought that the treatment he received from his physicians, bloodletting, contributed to his death.
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On this day in Tudor history, 17th February 1557, Henry Radcliffe, 2nd Earl of Sussex, died at Cannon Row in Westminster. He was buried firstly at St Laurence Pountney and then moved to Boreham in Essex.
Sussex, who was about 50 at his death, was the son of courtier and soldier Robert Radcliffe, 1st Earl of Sussex. He accompanied the king and Anne Boleyn on their 1532 Calais visit and was made a Knight of the Bath in the celebrations for Anne’s coronation in 1533. He commanded men under the Duke of Norfolk in Henry VIII’s French campaign in 1544 and was lord sewer at Edward VI’s coronation in 1547.
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On 16th February 1497, German humanist, reformer and scholar, Philipp Melancthon, was born at Bretten in Germany.
Elizabeth I was said to have memorised his 1521 work “Loci Communes”.
Here are a few facts about this famous reformer
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On this day in Tudor history, 15 February 1503, Henry Deane, administrator and Archbishop of Canterbury, died at Lambeth Palace at around the age of 63. He was laid to rest at Canterbury Cathedral in a lavish funeral.
Deane was the last monk to become Archbishop of Canterbury.
Let me give you a few facts about this archbishop…
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On this day in Tudor history, 14th February 1492, in the reign of King Henry VII, magnate William Berkeley, Marquis of Berkeley, died. He was buried in the Augustinian friary in London with his second wife, Joan.
Berkeley is known for his involvement in the 1470 Battle of Nibley Green, the last English battle fought between private armies of feudal magnates.
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On this day in Tudor history, 13th February 1564, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, astrologer and physician John Harvey was baptised at Saffron Walden in Essex.
Harvey was the third son of farmer and rope maker John Harvey and his wife, Alice. His brothers were renowned scholar Gabriel Harvey and astrologer and theologian Richard Harvey.
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On this day in Tudor history, 10th February 1564, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Henry Neville, 5th Earl of Westmorland, died at Kelvedon in Essex.
Neville was born in around 1524/1525 and was the eldest son of Ralph Neville, 4th Earl of Westmorland, and his wife, Catherine Stafford. His maternal grandfather was Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham.
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Historian Claire Ridgway’s next online event, Henry VIII and His Six Wives, is open for registration with an early bird discount coupon!
Register now and join Claire, Dr Tracy Borman, Dr Linda Porter, Gareth Russell, Dr Owen Emmerson and Kate McCaffrey as they delve into the lives of this iconic king and his six queens consort.
Henry VIII and His Six Wives is a completely online event and its starts properly on 22nd May 2023. However, Claire is hosting zoom video calls twice a month leading up to the event so participants can get to know each other and talk Tudor. The zoom calls start on 12th February and the topic for discussion is Henry VIII in film and on TV.
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This day in Tudor history, 9th February 1554, in the reign of Queen Mary I, was one of the dates set for the execution of Lady Jane Grey, the former Queen Jane, but she was granted a three-day reprieve.
Why and what had happened between her trial in November 1553, when she had been condemned to death, and this day?
Let me tell you…
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On this day in Tudor history, 8th February 1545, in the reign of King Henry VIII, Sir John Arundell of Lanherne, died at the home of his nephew, Richard Roscarrock of Roscarrock, in St Endellion, Cornwall.
Let me give you a few facts about this Tudor man, who was actually the third John Arundell out of 9 prominent John Arundells in the same family…
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On this day in Tudor history, 7th February 1587, the warrant for the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots, arrived at Fotheringhay Castle in Northamptonshire, where Mary was being held.
Mary had been tried for treason in October 1586 after being implicated in the Babington Plot, a plot to depose Queen Elizabeth I and to replace her with Mary. She had been found guilty and sentenced to death, but Elizabeth would not sign the execution warrant, not wanting the responsibility of killing an anointed queen. However, Mary’s gaoler, Sir Amias Paulet, would not agree to quietly doing away with Mary, and after pressure from her council and petitions from Parliament, Elizabeth finally signed the warrant, although she later said she had asked for it not to be sent to Fotheringhay yet.
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On this day in Tudor history, 6th February 1585, lawyer, legal scholar and law reporter, Edmund Plowden, died in London.
Plowden was laid to rest in the Middle Temple Church.
Cambridge University’s libraries and the British Library contain manuscripts of his commentaries and opinions, and he is known for his 1571 volume of law reports covering cases during the reigns of Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I.
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On 3rd February 1478, in the reign of King Edward IV, Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, was born at Brecon Castle.
His father, the 2nd Duke of Buckingham, was executed as a traitor in Richard III’s reign and Edward came to the same end in 1521, in King Henry VIII’s reign.
Let me tell you a bit more about this Duke of Buckingham…
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On this day in Tudor history, 2nd February 1508, in the reign of King Henry VII, physician and Provost of King’s College, Cambridge, John Argentine died at King’s College.
He was about sixty-five years of age at his death. He was laid to rest in the Chantry Chapel at the college.
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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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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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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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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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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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