It was helpful that Sir John’s brother, Sir Andrew, was also proving a successful soldier, ‘content to follow his elder brother’s lead’.30 Sir John was no ‘empty-headed swashbuckler but a strategist and tactician of the front rank’.31 He inherited his father’s incisive intelligence, applying it ‘to the achievement of personal wealth and power’.32 He avowed Protestant sympathies and as a practical royal servant, ‘the King’s cause was his cause’.33 Like most men close to the Crown, he benefited from the purchase and sale of property made available after the dissolution of the monasteries. This spurred him on to seek the acquisition of the family’s ancient Midlands estates.
Sir John’s father’s cousin, Edward, 2nd Lord Dudley, died in January 1532. He had already pawned much of his patrimony to enable him to cut an impressive figure at court. Although his son John inherited as the 3rd Lord Dudley, he was a ‘simpleton’ with a thirst for ready money. If Sir John could raise the wherewithal, Dudley Castle and its surrounding estates could be his. On 3 July 1532, he turned to his wealthy connections, the Earl of Shrewsbury, Lord de la Warr, Lord Maltravers (Arundel’s son) and others for finance and purchased his family’s properties for £4,200. This did not endear him to the 8th Lord’s heirs, who believed that they had been cheated of their inheritance. Despite their appeals to Thomas Cromwell, Sir John was already too secure in the King’s favour.34 ‘As he prospered, relatives and acquaintances swallowed their pride and clamoured for his patronage.’35 Gradually, he transferred his powerbase from the south-east ‘to make Dudley Castle the centre of a much-augmented barony’.36 He employed Sir William Sharington, one of the most talented designers in England, to rebuild the castle’s accommodation as a manor house.
In 1533, with Guildford now being infirm, Sir John replaced him as Master of the Tower Armoury. On Guildford’s death in the following year, he inherited his estates in Kent and Sussex despite facing a legal challenge from Guildford’s nephew. He was also returned for Guildford’s seat in the House of Commons, attending the last few sessions of the momentous ‘Reformation’ Parliament. He acquired Ely Place, the substantial home of the former bishops of Ely in Holborn, as a London residence for his family. This occupied ten acres of gardens stretching towards Islington. Jane and their children spent most of the winter months there, while she attended court.37 By this time, their eldest son Henry was about 8. He was followed by Mary, John, Margaret, Ambrose and Catherine. On 24 June 1533, they christened another son, Robert. He was followed in 1534 by Guildford and later by a second Henry and Charles (who died young). Four other children did not survive infancy.
Sir John inspired deep devotion among those with whom he was associated, and there was a genuine warmth between husband, wife and children. ‘His sons, when they grew to manhood, supported him loyally.’38 He paid careful attention to their education and training despite lacking an academic background; he had learned no Latin and spoke indifferent French. Yet he corresponded with theologians like Cranmer and Hooper and was a patron of scholars such as Thomas Wilson, Walter Haddon and John Cheke.39 Although he was trained as a soldier and courtier, on becoming Lord High Admiral in 1543, he took a close interest in maritime navigation, leading on to mathematics, cosmography and astronomy.40
Sir John’s lack of scholarship was compensated by his wife’s considerable intellect. Jane had been influenced by the brilliant academics of her age. As a child, she had studied at the royal school attended by Henry VIII’s daughter, the Princess Mary, and by Catherine Parr, under the great Spanish humanist, Juan Luys Vives. His book, The Education of a Christian Woman, became a lasting influence on the devout and learned ladies at court. These also included Margaret More, Anne Bacon, Mildred Cooke, another brilliant scholar, who later married William Cecil, and Katherine Willoughby, who became the second wife of Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk. While Jane encouraged her children in their education, they also enjoyed the traditional pursuits of well-to-do families, including training in the use of arms, horsemanship and the chase.41 Henry, the eldest, showed aptitude as a soldier, but John was more artistic and scholarly. Ambrose was also serious-minded and puritanical with an interest in theological debate. Catherine was to become the devout and pious wife of the Calvinist Henry Hastings, heir to Francis 2nd Earl of Huntingdon.42 Robert was tall, handsome and athletic, loving most sports. He had little natural aptitude in the school room, but he shared his father’s fascination for mathematics.43 In 1564, Roger Ascham was still criticising Robert’s preference for geometry and his shortcomings in Latin and other languages.44 Nevertheless, ‘it was interest in the new sciences, coupled with a love of adventure, which inspired Robert’s generation of young gentlemen to be the patrons and captains of the great era of Elizabethan maritime expansion’.45 Much later he acted as a patron for academics writing books on navigation.
Although Sir John was appointed Master of the Horse in 1540 for the new Queen, Anne of Cleves, it was renewed warfare in the 1540s that enabled him to prove his worth with the King. Henry was once more embarked on an aggressive foreign policy to undo the alliance between France and Scotland. It was Prince Edward’s uncle, Hertford and his close ally, Sir John, who rose to the challenge. In 1542, on the death of his stepfather, Arthur Plantagenet, Sir John inherited as Viscount Lisle. In that autumn, Hertford and Lisle were posted to the Scottish border. In November, with Hertford being nervous at being positioned too far from court, he asked to be released as Lord Warden and Keeper of his Grace’s Marches towards Scotland and was succeeded by Lisle.46 Two months later, Lisle succeeded Hertford as Lord High Admiral. This was a huge strategic step for him. With its increasing firepower, the English navy’s original role in transporting troops to different theatres of action was being progressively enhanced, and Henry was lavishing care and pride on it. Despite his long-term interest in navigation, Lisle rapidly needed to overcome his shortcomings in naval tactics when compared to the captains under his command. He worked tirelessly and, under his tenure of office, the Navy Board was founded as ‘a Government department to cater for the needs of ships and sailors’.47
He established the first floating academy for English captains under the greatest living expert, Sebastian Cabot [Cabot was the son of the Venetian, John Cabot, who had made his home in England. Both father and son were the most noted explorers of their day]. [Lisle] patronized scientific scholars like John Dee and William Cunningham. He encouraged and backed enterprising captains and it was during his period of supreme power (1549–1553) that the first official English expeditions began to explore the farthest reaches of the Atlantic, the Levant and the coast of Africa. This stage of maritime expansion culminated in the departure of Sir Hugh Willoughby’s fleet questing a north-east passage.48
It can be no surprise that Lisle’s sons shared their father’s enthusiasm for overseas adventure and that Ambrose and Robert were to become prime movers in the colonial expansion of Elizabethan England.49 Lisle’s considerable worth was rewarded. In April 1543, he was admitted to the Order of the Garter and was appointed a member of the Privy Council, although his other duties prevented his regular attendance. This was no mean feat for a man whose father had been executed for treason.
Ely Place was not just the Dudley home, it was Lisle’s place of business. He used it to preside over sessions of the High Court of Admiralty, ‘hearing complaints about piracy, evasions of harbour dues and plundering of wrecks’.50 In the spring of 1544, he commanded the fleet which carried Hertford on what became known as the first of the ‘Rough Wooings’ against Scotland. This was a lightning foray, designed to coerce the Scots into agreeing the betrothal of the infant Mary Queen of Scots to Prince Edward. While the expedition was entirely successful in laying Edinburgh and the area surrounding the Firth of Forth to waste, it failed completely to achieve Scottish agreement to the proposed marriage. The outcome was counterproductive. Henry’s belligerence only pushed the Scots into the welcoming arms of France with the betrothal of Mary Queen of Scots to the infant French Dauphin. Y
et Prince Edward always hoped that Mary would become his bride, seeing their union as the means of settling England’s difficulties on its northern border.
Hertford sent Lisle south with a letter to report the success of the military mission to the English King. Lisle seemingly put pressure on Hertford to be accorded a proper share of the credit for their success. Hertford obliged and was heartfelt in his praise, writing:
Pleaseth Your Highness to be advertised that, for as much as my Lord Admiral repaireth unto your Majesty, I can do no less than to recommend him unto your Highness as one who has served you hardly, wisely, diligently, painfully, and as obediently as any that I have seen, most (humbly) beseeching your Majesty, that he may perceive by your Highness that we have not forgotten him.51
This suggests that Lisle already feared that Hertford might see him as a future rival. His concerns were to prove correct.
While Lisle seems to have been diffident of his own political abilities, there was no doubting his military prowess. After completing his term on the Scottish border, he was recalled to London to prepare for a new campaign against the French. Having transported the royal army of 40,000 men led by Suffolk (Henry’s old comrade-in-arms) safely across the Channel, Lisle was appointed second-in-command at the siege of Boulogne. With Hertford still considered the most able English commander, he too was brought from London to oversee Boulogne’s capture, leaving Catherine Parr to act as Regent. On 13 September 1544, Henry entered the City in high spirits at the head of his victorious forces. Although Lisle received his share of praise, tragically, his eldest son Henry was killed during preliminary skirmishing. Although English losses were few, the campaign was ruinously expensive, and Boulogne was of little strategic importance. (It was restored to the French six years’ later after Lisle became Protector.) Lisle was appointed Governor of Boulogne, tasked with rebuilding and strengthening its fortifications to put it into a state of defence, while retaining his post as Lord High Admiral. He showed his worth, harrying French shipping and harbours. In 1545, with the French dominating the Channel, he warded off a French invasion attempt on England.52
It was the marriage of Henry VIII to Catherine Parr at Hampton Court on 12 July 1543 which had really enhanced the Dudley family’s standing. Lisle was abroad on naval duties at the time, but Jane attended the wedding in a service that closely followed Catholic dogma. Only the educated classes were permitted to read the Bible and the clergy remained celibate. Yet Catherine established a moderate reforming clique in the King’s immediate circle, ‘which the forces of reaction were powerless to remove’.53 To the disappointment of the Catholic ambassadors, it embraced growing Humanist and Evangelical sentiments. Like the Seymours, Lisle and his wife were at its centre as enthusiastic propagandists for the Reformation.54 Its key members included Hertford, Queen Catherine Parr, Katherine Willoughby (the Dowager Duchess of Suffolk), Anne Stanhope (Countess of Hertford) and Jane Guildford. When the King died three-and-a-half years later, they were ‘in an unassailable position … and ready to lead England farther along the road of Reformation during the reign of Edward VI’.55 It was their ascendancy that resulted in Hertford and Lisle becoming the leading figures at court in the last months of Henry’s reign.
Catherine Parr, aged 31 at her marriage to the ageing King, proved a model wife, providing a home for his two younger children, Elizabeth and Edward, at the royal manor of Ashridge. She gained their genuine affection and the 10-year-old Elizabeth became deeply attached to her stepmother, while also enjoying the company of her half-brother, Edward, with whom she corresponded. Up to this time, she had suffered an upbringing which encompassed the tragedies of the executions of her mother and Catherine Howard, and the death after childbirth of Jane Seymour. It is understandable that this highly strung but intelligent girl suffered bouts of childhood hysteria. The one stabilising influence was her governess, Kat Champernowne of a family of minor gentry, who provided her early education. In 1545, Kat married Sir John Ashley, a cousin of the Boleyns, but remained in Elizabeth’s service despite having children of her own.
Although Catherine Parr’s household did not always remain under one roof, contact was maintained ‘through a continual interchange of letters and gifts’.56 She maintained permanent establishments at Westminster and Hampton Court, but if plague broke out, Edward was moved to Copthall or to join Elizabeth at Ashridge. Catherine continued to supervise Elizabeth’s and Edward’s education, providing them with their own households and tutors. These were mainly academics ‘from Cambridge, the home of the English Reformation’.57 They adhered to humanist principles and proved enlightened and sensitive teachers. The two most influential were John Cheke, Edward’s second tutor, and his friend Roger Ascham with responsibility for Elizabeth, both graduates of St John’s College. Under Catherine’s supervision, Cheke ran a small private school for Edward and his companions. He imbued them with an enthusiasm for learning by ‘the sweetness and easiness’58 of his methods, profoundly influencing Edward’s religious and political thinking. Edward thrived in the care of Cheke, whose, ‘integrity, devotion and outspokenness were in marked contrast to the sycophancy of the courtiers still trying to climb into the King’s favour by distracting him from the strenuous but varied routine devised by his tutors.’59
Cheke later became a Member of Parliament and Clerk to the Privy Council. He was knighted and was, for a short time, Secretary of State to both Edward and Dorset’s daughter, Lady Jane Grey. It was through him that his brother-in-law William Cecil was employed, initially by Hertford soon after he became Protector, as his master of requests. This positioned him to deal with all those seeking Hertford’s (later Somerset’s) help and influence, a role which could be lucrative. Roger Ascham was a connection of Kat Ashley’s husband. He believed that no education ‘ought to be learnt with bondage … Whatsoever the mind doth learn unwillingly, with fear, the same doth quickly forget’.60 He:
was the educational genius of the century. Not only was he a brilliant teacher, but his cast of mind was enlightened to a degree never yet surpassed. He expressed his loathing of the brutal severity commonly used by masters. … He imparted a sense of stability to [Elizabeth’s] desperate existence, and she seized upon the support he gave with a passionate tenacity.61
Although he supervised Elizabeth’s teaching, he was not always in attendance. From 1544 to 1548 her tutor was Ascham’s protégé, the loveable William Grindall, who taught her Greek and Latin. When Grindall died of the plague in January 1548, Elizabeth persuaded Catherine Parr to arrange for Ascham to come himself. He stayed for two years, but remained connected to her studies, eulogising over her abilities until his death.62 He was also in regular attendance on Edward to assist with his writing, which he found ‘rather irksome’.63
By 1546, Henry VIII had become feverish from his ulcerated legs, and senior courtiers were positioning themselves for the inevitability of a regency when Edward inherited the throne. His accession would make Lisle one of a ‘handful of men in the very top echelon of power’.64 It became important for these powerful men that their children should attend classes arranged for Edward and Elizabeth. Edward already had close companions in Barnaby Fitzpatrick, eldest son of the Lord of Upper Ossery in Ireland, and Henry Sidney, whose father had been a squire to the body of Henry VIII. In about 1545, they were joined by Edward Seymour, Hertford’s son; Henry Brandon, who had recently succeeded as 2nd Duke of Suffolk; and Robert Dudley, despite them being a few years older. This brought Robert, who was 12, into close contact with his contemporary, the Princess Elizabeth. Although her academic talent far outstripped his, they became close friends, sharing interests in ‘riding, the chase and dancing’.65
Robert was soon well-established at court. As he had two surviving elder brothers, he was not involved in political training or in the management of the family’s burgeoning estates.66 With his extrovert temperament, his interest was in emulating his father’s successes in the tiltyard and other martial arts, particularly fencing. He also b
enefited from the schooling provided by royal tutors, particularly William Buckley, with his novel methods of teaching mathematics. Theology was taught exclusively by protestant preachers, including Hugh Latimer, Archbishop Cranmer and Nicholas Ridley.67 They provided ‘a profound and precise grounding in Protestant theology’.68 When Latimer lashed out at corruption and greed in court life, so conscience-stricken was his audience that he secretly received £500 over two years from men who had defrauded the Government.
Prince Edward, who was pious and zealous beyond his years, cooperated to ensure that his household was a godly one, rereading sermons for discussion with his fellow students. Yet, he also enjoyed a more relaxed and jovial side with sports, recreations and court revels. This brought him into closer contact with Robert. Some of the young Prince’s slightly older playfellows induced him to adopt thundering oaths, which they claimed were appropriate to his sovereign dignity. The culprits, when discovered, duly received a ‘sharp whipping’.69
Elizabeth I's Secret Lover Page 2
