On this day in Tudor history, 31st December, "the Gunner" Sir William Skeffington, Lord Deputy of Ireland, died at Kilmainham (1535), and Owen Oglethorpe, Bishop of Carlisle, died while under house arrest (1559)...
- 1535 – Death of Sir William Skeffington, known as “the Gunner”, Lord Deputy of Ireland, at Kilmainham in Dublin. He was buried at St Patrick's Cathedral in the city. His nickname, “the Gunner”, came from his use of heavy artillery while taking Maynooth Castle in County Kildare. He killed, or had executed, the whole garrison there. See video below.
- 1559 – Death of Owen Oglethorpe, Bishop of Carlisle, while under house arrest in London. He was buried at St Dunstan-in-the-West. He had been deprived of his bishopric due to his Catholic faith, and had angered Elizabeth I by elevating the host on Christmas Day 1558. See video below.
- 1564 – Death of Edward North, 1st Baron North, administrator, at the London Charterhouse, which he had acquired in 1545. North served Henry VIII as Treasurer of the Court of Augmentations, Chancellor of the reformed Court of Augmentations and executor of his will. In Edward VI's reign, he was a privy councillor but lost this position in Mary I's reign. His Charterhouse was used as lodgings for Elizabeth I and her court for a few days following her accession, and she appointed him Lord Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire. North was buried at Kirtling, in the family vault.
- 1600 – The East India Company, or “Company of Merchants of London trading into the East Indies”, was chartered, i.e. given royal approval, by Queen Elizabeth I.
Leave a Reply