Robert was born in 1563, the second son of William Cecil. His mother was Mildred Cooke. Robert had an elder half-brother called Thomas who would become the 1st Earl of Exeter but it was this younger, much more clever son, upon who William lavished his affection as well as training him to take over the reins of government.
When he arrived at court he initially seemed at a disadvantage when compared with the young and handsome Earl of Essex. Robert was small and had a twisted back. He had only is mind to recommend him and for a while the contest between the new young favourites cannot have been comfortable but in 1596 Elizabeth made Robert, who she called her “pygmy”, her Secretary of State.
In 1601 the Earl of Essex rebelled against the queen and suffered the ultimate penalty. Robert had blamed his uprising upon the queen’s poor advisor’s of whom Cecil featured. In the aftermath of the short-lived uprising Cecil counselled clemency but it did him no good in popular imagination. People had rather liked the flamboyant Essex whereas Cecil was regarded with suspicion in part because of his physical disability – body reflecting godliness etc- there were ballads placing the blame for Essex’s death squarely on Robert’s head.
Interestingly when the conspirators of the Main and Bye Plot were brought to trial – and bear in mind one of them was his brother-in-law Lord Cobham- it was Cecil who expressed some doubt over Raleigh’s guilt. Modern historians tend to look at the transcript of the trial and wonder how anyone could have thought Raleigh guilty and are more inclined to consider the possibility that Cecil was helping a political opponent out of the picture.
Robert, like his father before him was a loyal servant to the queen but he opened a secret correspondence with James VI of Scotland. The stability of the country was largely due to Cecil’s careful management of the transition between monarchs. The reward for the ease with which James became king was an elevation to the peerage in 1605. Cecil also became Lord Treasurer.
The Earl of Salisbury was at the root of James’ good governance in the years between 1603 and 1612. It was he who negotiated the peace with Spain in 1604 – which although unpopular helped to stabilise the economy which was leaking money into the ongoing war. It was he who introduced a Book of rates in 1608 and it was he who attempted to negotiate the Great Contract between King and Parliament in 1610. This particular venture didn’t come to fruition as neither side particularly trusted the other – and yes it will be a post very shortly. Robert’s financial policy wasn’t helped by the king’s expenditure, his generous gifts to his favourites or the cost of maintaining a royal household that contained a king, his wife and their children.
Like his predecessor, James had a predilection for nicknames – Cecil moved from “pygmy” or “elf” to “little beagle.” The little beagle became increasingly over worked. In addition to finances there was the matter of religion and the Gunpowder Plot. James also had a new favourite – the handsome but somewhat brainless Robert Carr. Cecil found his advice increasingly spurned in favour of that provided by Robert Carr – or more truthfully- Sir Thomas Overbury who advised Carr. Francis Bacon’s political aspirations also made life difficult for Cecil who was increasingly adrift in the Stuart world.
And then there is the matter of the Gunpowder Plot – Cecil presents himself as the saviour of king and parliament but there are some doubts about exactly how much provoking Cecil might have done beforehand – he’d learned from that master of espionage Sir Francis Walsingham how to implicate suspects in a web of guilt.
He died in 1612 having swapped his father’s home at Theobalds in 1607 for the Royal Palace at Hatfield on account of the fact the king had taken a shine to Cecil’s house and garden. Cecil demolished the medieval palace and used the bricks to rebuild a new house.
I’ve posted a James I timeline before. It can be opened 
On the 2nd September 1666, the Great Fire of London officially got to grips with the city. Thomas Farriner had retired to bed thinking that his bakehouse fire had been damped down. At 1.00am his servant discovered that the bakehouse was on fire. The inhabitants of Pudding Lane were the first to have to flee as the flames consumed their homes. Farriner’s family were forced to escape over the roofs but a maid was too scared to go with them so became the first known victim of the fire. At 3.00am Samuel Pepys was awoken by his maid with news that a fire could be seen but he was unalarmed and went back to sleep again. Famously he would bury his valuables including a large cheese in order to save them from the fire.
I keep coming back to the Bonnie Prince probably because there is so much printed material available one way and another not to mention rather beautiful tableware and tall tales. In the past it was assumed that regional newspapers of the period reflected a Londoncentric viewpoint. This was what people wanted to read – with a side interest in the local crime rates, corresponding descriptions of executions and the occasional hideous accident.
Satirists made the point that the Jacobites were in league with the pope and being manipulated by the French. This particular example is in the hands of the British Museum. Another cartoon entitled The Highland Visitors depicts the Scots indulging in a spot of light plundering. To be fair the satirists were more than happy to point a finger at General Cope when he arrived in Berwick with the news of his defeat following Prestonpans and in the aftermath “Butcher Cumberland” was not presented in a warm or friendly light as this cartoon shows with Britannia weighing mercy and butchery:
At the onset of the English Civil War the inhabitants of Cumberland and Westmorland can’t be described as being very enthusiastic for war – although they were largely nominally Royalist. In the North East, the Earl of Newcastle levied a force and roused some stronger feeling although his tenants did, on occasion, simply ignore his warrant.
Sir Philip was the son of Sir Richard Musgrave, the 1st baronet of Hartley Castle. Sir Richard died in 1615 when his son was just eight. His career trajectory followed that of many of other gentleman of the period. He was educated at Trinity College Oxford and then was found a suitable wife- Julia Hutton- from within his own county. He became the Deputy Lieutenant for both Westmorland and Cumberland. In 1642 he was made a commissioner for array – that is to say he was responsible for raising Cumberland’s levy of soldiers for the king. There were problems over the exact nature of his commission from Newcastle and assorted feuds to contend with. However, by 1644 he was able to supply a force to join with Prince Rupert’s army.
Today’s post is about the family of one of the most notorious women in English History. Frances Howard, Countess of Somerset pleaded guilty in 1616 to murdering Sir Thomas Overbury in 1613 whilst he was a prisoner in The Tower.
So who was Frances Howard? She was born on the 31 May 1590. She was the grand daughter of the 4th Duke of Norfolk by his second wife, Margaret Audley – it was how that grand mansion Audley End came into the hands of the Howard family. The fourth duke, Thomas Howard, was the man who aspired to marry Mary Queen of Scots in 1569 then managed to get himself caught up in the Ridolfi Plot of 1571. He was executed in 1572. As a traitor his lands and title were forfeit to the State but by that time the Tudors had become rather adept at removing wealth with one hand and returning it with the other in order to ensure that there weren’t too many grievances to be aired by rebellious subjects. The fact that the Howards were Elizabeth’s cousins should also be added to the scales.
As it happens Audley End was not part of Elizabeth’s haul of booty when the 4th duke got the chop. The estates there and around Saffron Waldon were part of Margaret Audley’s dowry so when she died they had passed straight into the hands of her eldest son Thomas Howard (born 1561), who was Frances Howard’s father.
On which note let us proceed to the Second Duke – unsurprisingly called William. William had gained the title Marquis of Hartington on his father’s elevation to a dukedom in 1594. This is the title by which the heir of the current duke is still known. This William was not a chip off the old block. He did not become involved in drunken brawls or debauchery. His marriage, arranged by his father to show his political loyalties, was to Lady Rachael Russell the daughter of William Russell who was executed in 1683 after attempting to have the Catholic Duke of York excluded from the succession. Charles responded by dissolving parliament thus removing the Whig voice. Russell was ultimately implicated in the Rye House Plot to assassinate Charles II – He hadn’t actually been involved in the actual plot, it was enough that he was a leading Whig – at worst his crime was misprision of treason which wasn’t a capital offence, which basically means that he knew something treasonous was about to happen but he didn’t tell the authorities. The political union between William and Rachael evolved into a love match rather to the first duke’s irritation.
The third duke is, completely unsurprisingly, also a William. He became duke in 1729 following his Oxford education and stint in parliament representing various counties. Dr Johnson who we have already seen was not keen on Whigs made an exception for the Third Duke of Devonshire. He described him as “a man faithful to his word” – though not necessarily of “superior abilities.” He was also described as a man of untidy dress, plain habits and noted on on account of the astonishing amount that he could drink.
In 1718 William, then Marquis of Hartington, married Katherine Hoskins. It was not a match arranged by the second duke. The marquis had fallen in love with a merchant’s daughter – fortunately the merchant was wealthy. Hugh Walpole described Katherine as “delightfully vulgar.” The pair had seven children upon whom their father doted (I’m warming to this Cavendish).
Which brings us to the Fourth Duke – yes his name is William. He was born in 1720. and like his forefathers became an MP and served in Government – briefly becoming Prime Minister. He married aristocratically to Elizabeth Boyle, the 6th Baroness Clifford which is why the Cavendishs own Bolton Abbey. In addition to which she brought huge quantities of London property and other assets into the Cavendish fold. All I really want to add about duke number four is that he arranged for Capability Brown to landscape Chatsworth and he was the chap who had the rather grand stable built.
Finally we arrive at the Fifth Duke of Devonshire and the nineteenth century. Yes, his name was William Cavendish – there does seem to be a bit of a pattern emerging. Like his father the fifth duke was Lord Lieutenant of Derbyshire handheld administrative posts in Ireland but unlike his father who must have held the office of Prime Ministers for one of the shortest periods of time ever he declined cabinet positions. The Fifth Duke is more famous for his marriages, firstly to Lady Diana Spencer and secondly to his long term mistress Lady Elizabeth Hervey but that’s a post for another time as is the development of Buxton as a fashionable eighteenth century spa town.
Bess of Hardwick disowned her eldest son Henry but he had still inherited Chatsworth despite the fact that Bess entailed what she could to William and his heirs. Due to his debts Henry sold Chatsworth to his brother William.
In 1605 thanks to the auspices of his niece Arbella Stuart he became a baronet. In 1618 with the aid of £10,000 paid to James I he became an earl. In addition to his land holdings in Derbyshire he was also investing in foreign trade – the East India Company, the Muscovy Company, the Bermuda Company and also in the settlements in Virginia.
By the time he was in his twenties young William was a polished courtier (pictured left). He also had a reputation of brawling, drinking and womanising. He also spent money as though it was water. This Cavendish was behaving as though he was a member of the aristocracy.
Which brings us to the English Civil War. Christian Bruce was a friend of Henrietta Maria. The Cavendishs were Royalists. In 1642 the 3rd Earl presented himself in York with his younger brother Charles who joined with Prince Rupert and his cavalry, took part in the Battle of Edgehill and ultimately became the Royalist commander for Derbyshire and Lincolnshire prior to his death at the Battle of Gainsborough. Meanwhile the earl, no doubt on his mother’s advice, took himself off to Europe until 1645 when he compounded for his Royalist sympathies – paid a fine of £5000 and returned to live in England at Leicester Abbey where his mother had her residence (it had been purchased by the first earl in 1613) and from there he went to Latimer Place in Buckinghamshire until the Restoration when he returned to Chatsworth.
Let us return today to the Royalist summer of victories in 1643. It was really only in the east of the country that events did not go all Charles I’s way. On 20 July 1643, Lord Willoughby captured Gainsborough in Lincolnshire for Parliament. This meant that the Earl of Newcastle could not now communicate so easily with the royalists at Newark and he could not simply march south expanding royalist territory. The Committee of Safety scratched their various heads and then sent Oliver Cromwell and Sir John Meldrum from the Eastern Association Army to back up Lord Willoughby as he was being threatened by the Royalist military commander – Colonel Charles Cavendish – who was the nephew of the Earl of Newcastle.