Search York

piece, and to give his orders for the security thereof; the

English court having always a jealous eye upon the French,

lest they might, some time or other, take their advantage

against those places in France belonging to the English.

A comrais- There was also, in the same month of December, a com-
sion fDr mission mven forth to Sir Richard Cotton and Sir Richard
Guisnesand '^
Calais. Bray, knights, to repair with certain instructions to the said

castle and county of Guisnes, as also to the town of Calais,

and to certain other pieces on that side of the seas. And

there shewing their commission, to hear their opinions and

advice, as well of the counsellors in each of the said pieces,

as of other officers there, concerning the works, buildings,

and fortifications of the said pieces. Such was the circum-

spection of the King and his Council, over their confines

upon France, notwithstanding this present appearing friend-

ship with that king.

The Lord '^^^^ Lord Admiral returned from his embassy, and these

Admiral other charges committed to him, December 30, and then

coniGs
home. delivered to the Lords the ratifications of the marriage be-

1300^'^' ^^^^^ ^^^ King's Majesty and the Lady Elizabeth, the

French King's daughter, under the great seal of France.

And it was resolved, that the same treaty should be deli-

vered to the Lord Treasurer, to be by him reposed in the

treasury of the Exchequer, to remain there of record in

safe keeping.

OF KING EDWARD VI. 509

CHAP. VI. 289
The English jealous of the Emperor. The Bishop of Ely

hath the great seal : delivered up hy the Lord Rich. His

rise and wealth. Some account of the Bishop of Ely.

Richard Turner^ B. D. A mint at Yorh:. Merchants

of the Stilyard.
It was hardly practicable for the King to keep all fair Anno 1551,

at once with France and the Emperor : but as the Kinff'*s ^^^ ^^'

. . . peror pre-
friendship seemed to become cordial with one prince, the pares a

other grew into jealousy, as though the friendship dimi- ^^j^^^'J'

nished towards him. And this was the case at this time

with the Emperor, after these mutual respects with France

before-mentioned. And the good understanding with the England

Emperor began to be much doubted, especially now in De- j!*^^"^

cember, upon account of a fleet that was setting forth im-

mediately by the Emperor's order. Mons. de Bever, a sea

officer, was newly come to the Emperor, and after six or

eight days was despatched towards Zealand, to rig out, as

the speech went, a great number of ships, at this unseason-

able time of the year ; some reported sixty sail, others,

thirty : and that he was to go with the same for Spain in all

haste ; or, according to others, after Christmas. Skipperius,

the Emperor''s admiral, lay then also in Zealand about ma-

ritime affairs. Of this. Sir Thomas Chamberlain, the King's

ordinary ambassador, wrote to the Lords of the Council in

much doubt about it : for he could not tell what to make

of that bruit, that ships should be sent to Spain ; consider-

ing the Emperor had as good ships in Biscay, and enow,

and meeter ships for the wars, than those in that country:

which made him remember the year 1536, or 1537, when

the Emperor being then in Spain, a number of hulks were

bruited to be sent out of Flanders thither, and after were

discovered to have sought landing in England, as he heard

then say ; praying God they did not mean to attempt again.

And to encourage some such purpose of invasion, reports

were thrown up and down in the Low Countries, of the

510 MEMORIALS ECCLESIASTICAL

BOOK weak condition of England at this time. And so did the

"• ambassador inform the lords : " These people (as the tenor

Anno 1551." of his letter ran) do verily think things to be worse in

" the realm than I trust they shall find to be. God for-

" give them that cause our poor country to be slandered

" and talked of, as presently it is."

England But it was certain, whether upon these movings of the
fiu out to j^jj^pgj.^j.^ or for some other cause, that the King also was

making preparation for the seas : insomuch, that the Presi-

dent of the Lady Regent''s Council asked Chamberlain the

reason of it : to whom he rephed, that he had not heard

thereof; but if any such were, he supposed it was to keep

the narrow seas from rovers : for, he said, these wars were

not to be looked for to be other than before had been seen .

290 that when the Emperor having war with France, and we

neuter, the poor merchants were robbed on each side : and

for any other purpose, he could not guess. Thus might

one see they were in jealousy of England. But to look at

home.

A great 'j'}^^ King was bred up to arms as well as learning : for
Viteiiius, the royal youth was warlike and active, and loved to exer-

^' ^' cise himself in feats of arms. December 7, (the King's Jour-

nal makes it the 4th,) in Hyde-park was a great muster in

his presence, after this manner : first came the King's trum-

peters ; and then the Lord Bray, in gilt harness, captain of

the pensioners, and a great banner of the King's arms:

then all the pensioners in complete harness and great ar-

ray, in white and black, five and five in a rank : and after

them came their servants, in number an hundred, with

great horses and harness, in white and black, and spears.

The second company was led by the Lord Treasurer, being

an hundred men of arms, with broidered coats, red and

white, with spears: his standard a falcon of gold. The

third company belonged to the Duke of Northumberland,

being an hundred men of arms, in velvet embroidery, with

trumpeters : his standard a lion crowned gold, and ragged

staflp. The fourth captain was the Lord Marquis of North-

ampton, with an hundred men of arms, in yellow and

OF KING EDWARD VI. 511

black; spears, pensils, and trumpeters: his standard the cHAP.

maidenhead. The fifth was the Earl of Bedford, with an VI.

hundred men of arms, in red and white: his standard a Anno 1551.

goat white, a trumpeter, pensils, and spears. The sixth the

Earl of Rutland, with an hundred men of arms, in yellow

and blue : his standard a peacock, and pensils. The seventh

the Earl of Huntingdon, with fifty men of arms, in blue;

spears, standard, and pensils : his standard a maunch. The

eighth the Earl of Pembroke, with an hundred men of

arms : his standard the green dragon. The ninth the Lord

Cobham, with fifty men of arms, in black and white: his

standard the Saracen's head. The tenth the Lord Cham-

berlain, with fifty men of arms, coats of white and red, and

spears; their coats in broidery, pensils: his standard the

maiden's body. The eleventh Mr. Treasurer Cheny, with

an hundred men of arms, all black ; spears and pensils,

besides costerels : his standard the rose in the sun. There

is some variety in the numbers of the men as set down in

King Edward's Journal. Tl]^e horses were all fair and

great. They marched twice about St. James's, and so went

away.
On Monday, December 21, anno regni Reg. Edwardi The gre&t

VI. quinto, letters were brought from the King, and de- J^^J^^^^^^jJ^ ^*^

livered to the Lord Rich, by William Marquis of Win- Lord Rich.

Chester, lord treasurer, John Duke of Northumberland, ooodrick's

president of the council, and Thomas Lord Darcy, lord Ledger,

chamberlain of the household, at his house in Great St. b. 9.'

Bartholomew's. (Sir John Hayward, writer of the reign of

this King Edward, adds the Earl of Pembroke, falsely, and

leaves out the Marquis and the Lord Darcy, defectively.)

And being in an inner chamber there, between the hours of

eight and nine in the morning, he delivered them the great

seal. About ten of the clock, the same lords offered and

presented it to the King, in the new palace of Westminster,

in his chamber there, in the presence of divers nobles and

others. The King kept the seal with him till the next

day, viz. Tuesday, December 2J2, on which day, about ten Delivered

aclock, the King committed and delivered it to the reve- ^^J ^^^^'

Ely.

512 MEMORIALS ECCLESIASTICAL

BOOK rend father in Christ, Lord Thomas Bishop of Ely, du-

''• ra7ite beneplacito, to keep, exercise, and use it : and then

Anno 1551. ordained and appointed the said Bishop keeper of the great

291 seal: present the aforesaid Marquis of Winchester, Duke

of Northumberland, Lord Darcy, WilHam Peter, and Wil-

liam Cecyl, knights, principal secretaries.to the King ; Robert

Bowes, Philip Hoby, John Mason, knights ; Thomas Powl,

comptroller of the Hanaper, Thomas Cotton, deputy of

John Hales, clerk of the said Hanaper ; Anthony Skynner,

one of the examiners of the Court of Chancery ; Edmund

Walter, and Edmund Day, and others. The same day a

warrant came to the Chancellor of the Augmentations, to

pay him for the wages, diet, and livery of himself, and the

ministers of the Chancery, in as large manner as the Lora

Rich or any other had, serving in that place.

Made Lord The King's Journal tells us, that the seal was sent for

Chancellor. fj,Qj^ ^\^q Lord Rich, considering his sickness ; and that it

was delivered to the Bishop of Ely during his sickness, as

though it were designed to be restored him again. And to

this agrees, that he was only made keeper of it during plea-

sure. But January 19, the Lord Rich's indisposition con-

tinuing, and therefore he probably desiring to be eased of

the office, the Bishop was made Lord Chancellor. And that

because, as custos sigilli, he could execute nothing in the

Parliament that should be done, but only to seal ordinary

King's things, as the King writes. And a warrant was sent to the

Journal. Big^op of Ely, to make out a commission to the Lord Trea-

surer, to take the said Lord Chancellor's oath.

Why the Hay ward imposeth his own fancy upon his reader, rather

J JJ jo^|!jj' than the truth, when he frameth the motive that prevailed

his place. ^\(j^ tJig Lord Rich to lay down his place : which he thus

setteth down : " That he having built a fair estate, and

" perceiving what nimble ears were born to listen after trea-

" son ; also for that a Parliament was towards, and doubt-

" ful what questions might arise, made suit to the King,

" that, in regard of the infirmities of his body, he might be

" discharged of his office.^' If the historian had spoke this

as his conjecture, it might have passed better : but to tell

OF KING EDWARD VI. 513

us what was in that Lord\s mind, and to report it the true CHAP,

cause of his abandoning his chancellorship, when he openly

alleged another cause to the King; this is scarce allow- Anno 1551

able : for, surely, that which the said Lord asserted, namely,

his infirmity, was at least one true cause that inclined him

to relinquish it, being not able to attend the business it re-

quired : for he was certainly, the year before, visited with

a sore sickness, at Leez in Essex, with forty more of his fa-

mily, as appears by the King's Journal: which, I doubt King's

not, was some infectious disease; the relics whereof might' "^"Jj"'' '

hang upon him a great while after. And it is certain, in

October the Master of the Rolls, and three judges, and two

civilians, were appointed commissioners to despatch the

matters of the Chancery, the Chancellor being indisposed.

But if any worldly respects made him incline to quit his

place, one might be, that he did not like the proceedings in

religion, being himself a favourer of the old superstition ;

and another, his friendship to the Duke of Somerset, now

under a cloud, with whom he saw he must fall ; and there-

fore thought best to resign voluntarily, rather than to be

forced so to do. It appeared also, that the said Chanpellor

was declining at court some months before, by the anger

the King and Council had expressed against him ; and that

for a matter indeed which deserved commendation rather,

seeming to shew his care and circumspection how he set 292

the great seal to any thing : for his rule was, not presently

upon a few privy counsellors' hands, to seal any important

matter with the great seal. It happened in the month of

September 1551, a letter came to him, signed with the

hands of eight counsellors, to pass somewhat under the

great seal. But he delayed to do it, and sent the same let-

ter back again, enclosed in one of his to the Earl of War-

wick, requiring more hands. At this great offence was

taken with the Chancellor, and a letter was despatched to

him from the King, declaring his mislike of this his doing.

The Earl of Warwick, I suppose, was concerned in this,

and the broad seal was to be set to somewhat of his procur-

ing for himself, or his friends. And to have this stop put

VOL. II. E 1

514 MEMORIALS ECCLESIASTICAL

BOOK to it by the Chancellor, created some impatience in him;

^^' and he might resent it.

Anno 1551. Yet Hay ward saith true in this, that " he had built a fair

His wealth «c estate.*" A ffreat part of which he had obtained under this

procnred *-' ^
under King King, either by gift or by purchase : which, as I find

Edward. t^^m set down particularly in the King^s Book of Sales, and

partly in the Warrant-Book, were thus. An. reg. Edw. 1°.

For fulfilling King Henry VIII's purpose, and in con-

sideration of service, the King gave him, by patent dated

June 1, the manor of Hatfeld Broadoak in Essex, and di-

vers other lands and tenements in the said county, yearly

value 80Z. 9^. Sd. and 13Z. Qs, 4id. reserved.

Item, anno reg. S. For 240Z. and in consideration of

divers spiritual promotions, [which he had formerly got,

but now parted with,] the King, by patent dated Feb. 12,

gave him the manor of Wansted, with its rights, members,

and appurtenances, in Essex, and the park there, and divers

other lands and tenements, parcel of the said manor ; yearly

value ISZ.
Item, anno reg. 4. He obtained of the King in fee-

simple all the house and scite of the late priory of Pretewel,

ahas Pritelwel, in the county of Essex, with divers other

lands, tenements, &c. to the yearly value of 45Z. 4^. to

be holden in capite, by the tenth part of a knight^s fee :

paying yearly for the same 4/. 11^. and to take the profits

from Michaelmas last. Dated in March.
Item, anno reg. 4. Of the King's special grace, and in

consideration of service, he granted him, by patent dated

April 16, the manor and lordship of Brainktree, with its

appurtenances, in Essex ; and the advowson of the vicarage

and parochial church of Coggeshal in Essex, parcel of the

late possessions of the Bishop of London ; yearly value 39/.

13*. 4d
Item, A gift to the Lord Rich, anno reg. 5. September,

(in consideration of his faithful service, and for 500Z.) of the

lordship of East Woodbury in Essex, with divers other

lands, &c. to the yearly value of 67/. 19.?. ^d.

Item, anno reg. 7. June 24, a purchase was made by the

OF KING EDWARD VI. 515

same Lord Rich, of the honour of Raleigh in Essex, with CHAP,
the hundred of Rochford, and Rochford in the same county : 1_
value yearly of 113Z. 13^. M. Anno 155
This Lord (to mention a passage or two concerning him, 293

while we have him before us) was amonff those that were ^^^ ^^^1"^

•' _ o concernin
produced witnesses on Bishop Gardiner's behalf, anno 1550, swearing

when he declined the taking an oath, and being sworn in |[^^„^°"^/^

common form ; saying, " That honourable personages, be- Fox, ist

" ing of dignity and office as he was, were by the laws of

" the realm privileged not to be sworn in common forms."
His son and heir was Richard Lord Rich, born about the

beginning of King Edward'^s reign : who in his younger

years travelled to Rome, and was there in the year 1570.

For a testimony whereof, as though it v/ere a matter of reli-

gious merit, he procured formal letters testimonial from

James, cardinal of St. Mary in Cosmedin, die Pope's vicar-

general, with his seal appendent. In which instrument the

said Lord is exactly described a, ''to be of the county of

" Essex, and diocese of London ; to be aged about two and

" twenty, of middle stature, without a beard, having scars

" upon the joints of two of his fingers of the left hand, and

" another in the middle of the palm of his right. That he

" was present in person in the office of the notary of the

" court ; and that George Nevel and Walter Hinton did

" there see, know, and speak with him.'' Such narrow no-

tice, it seems, was taken of the English gentlemen that came

to Rome. But this testimonial was seized, and came into

the hands of the Secretary of State, and laid him under a

cloud in the English court. But begging pardon for this

digression concerning the Lord Rich, I proceed to inquire

into the qualities and abihties of Bishop Goodrick, that suc-

ceeded him.

Havward hath represented the parts of this Bishop, and Some ac-
,.,!.. 1 11 cc A '^1 tount of
his merit of so high a dignity, to be very slender. "A man, chanceih

saith he, " if happily able to discharge this place, assuredly Goodrick

a Mediocris staturae, imberbera, habentem cicatrices super juncturis duorum

digitoruni manus sinistrae, necnon aliam, &c.

l12

516 MEMORIALS ECCLESIASTICAL.

BOOK "no more/' But it is agreeaTble to his ordinary practice, to

"• make very ill representations of the clergy, especially such

\tmo 1551. as favoured the Gospel. The Bishop of Sarum, in his His-

tory, gives a character of this Chancellor, quite contrary to

that of Hayward ; namely, " That he was a busy secular-

" spirited man, and gave himself up wholly to faction and

" intrigues of state ; and that though his opinions always

" leaned to the reformation, it was no wonder, if a man so

" tempered would prefer the keeping of his bishopric [in

" Queen Mary's days] to the discharge of his conscience."

A hard farewell of a man of eminent figure, a long time, in

the State. I do acknowledge it his great faiHng, that he

comphed with the religion professed under that Queen, if

he did so. And he seems likewise to have been of the fac-

tion against the Duke of Somerset : for at Ely house they

met : which house he had let out, or lent to the Duke of

Northumberland, as I conjecture: for he lived not there

himself, but in Warwick-lane.

Abating this, according to the collections we can pick up

concerning this reverend man, he is misrepresented, and

his memory wronged to posterity. In King Henry's days,

he sided with those that laboured a reformation of corrupt

Image of rehgion : insomuch that John Bale joined him with seve-

cimrches ^^^ kings, archbishops, and bishops, as Archbishop Cran-

mer, Archbishop Herman, [of Colen,] Bishop Barlow, Bi-

shop Bird, Bishop Thurlby, Bishop Latymer; whom he

294 took to be prophesied of. Rev. xvii. to hate the whore,

though they were before the horns of the beast. Under

King Edward he was one of the learned bishops appointed

to purge the public service from the old superstitions, and

to frame the Book of Common Prayer. He was in many

weighty commissions in this reign. I find A Lasco once

applying to him in behalf of his church of strangers ; to

whom he was very kind and assistant. He used learned

reasons with Bishop Day, and argued with him before the

Council, for taking away Popish altars. And for his abi-

lities in matters of state, he was long nurtured up therein,

by being employed both by King Henry and King Edward.

OF KING EDWARD VI. 517

In the great embassy to France in May 1551, he was one CHAP,

of the ambassadors, with Sir Philip Hoby and others ; and ^^'

the Bishop was the mouth of the rest, and made the speech Anno 155;

to the French King: to which the Cardinal of Loraine

made answer. Archbishop Parker, who knew him well,

praised him for his impartial administration of justice. And

in his epitaph, extant in Godwin"'s Catalogue, it appears he

was not only employed by, but acceptable to, the two Kings

in many actions both concerning the Church and common-

wealth, and was often employed abroad in embassies to fo-

reign princes, and at home a privy counsellor. And his wis-

dom, integrity, and abstinence is there commended. Under

King Henry he had two great men belonging to him, vizs

Thomas Smith, LL. D. (after knighted, and made secre-

tary of state,) was his chancellor ; and Richard Cox, D. D.

his chaplain, whom he preferred to King Henry, to be tutor

to Prince Edward. What preferments befell him afterwards,

under King Edward and Queen Elizabeth, are sufficiently

known.
To whom I will add, for a third, Petrus Valentius, an Petrus Va

honest learned French Protestant, chaplain to this Bishop, niouer to"

and whom he made his almoner in Ely, where he continued Goodrick.

for above twenty years : an instance of whose integrity fol-

lows. While William Wolsey of Well in Cambridgeshire,

and Robert Pygot, lay prisoners in Ely gaol, (afterwards

burnt in that town,) among others that came to see them,

came this Valentius : who calling them kindly by the style

of brethren, said, " That according to his office, he was

" come to talk with them ; for that he had been amner

" there twenty years, and above. He desired them to take

" his coming in good part. And he promised them, that he

" would not endeavour to pull them from their faith ; but

" he both required and desired them, in the name of Jesus

" Christ, to stand to the truth of the Gospel, and God's

" word ; beseeching God Almighty, for his Son Jesus

" Christ's sake, to preserve both him and them in the same