Dorothy Silking ( fl. 1608-1640), was a Danish courtier, one of the

chamberer A chamberer was a female attendant of an English queen, queen consort, or princess. There were similar positions in aristocratic households. Chamberers at court At court, the position was similar to a male groom of the privy chamber. The names of t ...

s in the household of

Anne of Denmark Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I; as such, she was Queen of Scotland The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional fo ...

Career

Records of the royal household refer to her as "Mistress Dorothy", or "Dorothy Silkin" or "Silken", or "Selken". She was from

Güstrow Güstrow (; la, Gustrovium) is a town in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is capital of the Rostock district; Rostock itself is a district-free city and regiopolis. It has a population of 28,999 (2020) and is the seventh largest town in Me ...

. Her name appears as "Dorothea Silking, of an ancient family in the kingdom of Denmark" on her daughter's monument at Ketton church,

Kedington Kedington is a village and civil parish in the West Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England, located between the towns of Clare and Haverhill in the south-west of Suffolk. History Known as Kidituna in the ''Domesday Book'' (1086), there ...

, Suffolk. Dorothy's work for Anna of Denmark included looking after her silver plate and jewellery. She was probably a successor of

Margaret Hartsyde Margaret Hartsyde or Hairtsyde ( fl. 1600–1640) was a Scottish servant, jewel thief, and landowner. A servant of the queen, Anne of Denmark, Hartsyde's duties included looking after the queen's jewels, dealing with the goldsmith George Heriot, ...

who was accused of stealing the queen's jewels and trying to sell them back to

George Heriot George Heriot (15 June 1563 – 12 February 1624) was a Scottish goldsmith and philanthropist. He is chiefly remembered today as the founder of George Heriot's School, a large independent school in Edinburgh; his name has also been given to H ...

. The queen gave Dorothea and her sister Jyngell Silking gifts of clothes as a mark of favour. An inventory of the

jewels of Anne of Denmark The jewels of Anne of Denmark (1572–1619), wife of James VI and I and queen consort of Scotland and England, are known from accounts and inventories, and their depiction in portraits by artists including Paul van Somer. A few pieces survive. So ...

mentions that "Mrs Dorothy" returned a bracelet to the queen's cabinet in 1607.

The mine at Corsham

In October 1609 Silking attempted to open a coal mine on a royal manor at

Corsham Corsham is a historic market town and civil parish in west Wiltshire, England. It is at the south-eastern edge of the Cotswolds, just off the A4 national route, southwest of Swindon, southeast of Bristol, northeast of Bath and southwest o ...

in Somersetshire, a right she had presumably been given by the queen as a reward. The manor of Corsham was part of the queen's

jointure Jointure is, in law, a provision for a wife after the death of her husband. As defined by Sir Edward Coke, it is "a competent livelihood of freehold for the wife, of lands or tenements, to take effect presently in possession or profit after the de ...

lands. Silking wrote to the Earl of Salisbury about permissions and patents, signing her name "Dorothy Selkane". George Carew, the queen's chamberlain, wrote to the lawyer

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...

for support on her behalf. It is not clear that Silking's venture was successful.

Sisters at court

"Dorthee" and "Engella Seelken" were naturalized as English citizens in July 1610 at the same time as other members of the queen's household, including; Katherine Benneken from

Garlstorf Garlstorf is a municipality in the district of Harburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, ...

, the queen's doctor

Martin Schöner Dr Martin Schöner or Schönerus (died 1611), physician to James VI and I and Anne of Denmark. Schöner was born in Głogów in Lower Silesia, then a part of the Habsburg Empire, but was considered to be from Thuringia. He is said to have been a ...

from

Głogów Głogów (; german: Glogau, links=no, rarely , cs, Hlohov, szl, Głogōw) is a city in western Poland. It is the county seat of Głogów County, in Lower Silesian Voivodeship (since 1999), and was previously in Legnica Voivodeship (1975–199 ...

, the apothecary

John Wolfgang Rumler John Wolfgang Rumler (died 1650) was a German physician and apothecary in Augsburg, known for his ''Observationes medicae'', who eventually served the English royal family in the households of Prince of Wales, Queen Anne, King James and Charles I ...

from

Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ' ...

and his wife Anna de l'Obel from

Middelburg Middelburg may refer to: Places and jurisdictions Europe * Middelburg, Zeeland, the capital city of the province of Zeeland, southwestern Netherlands ** Roman Catholic Diocese of Middelburg, a former Catholic diocese with its see in the Zeeland ...

, a daughter of

Matthias de l'Obel Mathias de l'Obel, Mathias de Lobel or Matthaeus Lobelius (1538 – 3 March 1616) was a Flemish physician and plant enthusiast who was born in Lille, Flanders, in what is now Hauts-de-France, France, and died at Highgate, London, England. H ...

Lady Zouch of Woking

She married

Edward Zouch Sir Edward Zouch of Woking (died 1634) was a courtier to English kings James and Charles I, a masque actor, and Knight Marshal of the King's Household. He was the son of Sir Willam Zouch or Zouche. His mother's name is not known. Career Marria ...

of Woking in 1612, and was usually known as "Lady Zouch". In 1635 Reverend George Garrard, who had been at court in the household of

Prince Henry Prince Henry (or Prince Harry) may refer to: People *Henry the Young King (1155–1183), son of Henry II of England, who was crowned king but predeceased his father *Prince Henry the Navigator of Portugal (1394–1460) *Henry, Duke of Cornwall (Ja ...

, recalled that Silking was "a Dane, one that served Queen Anne in her bedchamber. I knew her well, a homely woman, but being very rich Zouch married her for her wealth". The jeweller

recorded in his accounts for 1613 that the "Lady Sutch" owed him £81 which "she affirmes her Majesty is pleased to paye". At the funeral of Anne of Denmark in 1619, "Lady Zouch" walked in procession, listed with the ladies of the Privy Chamber. When an inventory of the late queen's silver plate at

Denmark House Somerset House is a large Neoclassical complex situated on the south side of the Strand in central London, overlooking the River Thames, just east of Waterloo Bridge. The Georgian era quadrangle was built on the site of a Tudor palace (" ...

was taken in 1621, the Zouches were asked to supply a shortfall worth £492-19 shillings, including a gold casting bottle engraved with the arms of Queen Elizabeth. Edward Zouch successfully claimed that a warrant signed by Dorothea Silking was a forgery because she could not write her name, and they were not liable. Edward Zouch died in 1634, and the year after their 17-year-old daughter Sophia was married to

Viscount Wimbledon A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial ...

, a 63-year-old war veteran, the age difference attracted comment from Sir

John Finet Sir John Finet or Finett (1571–1641) was the English Master of the Ceremonies in the Stuart court. Early life Finet was a son of Robert Finet (d. 1582) of Soulton, near Dover, Kent. His mother was Alice, daughter and coheiress of John Wenloc ...

. Her son James Zouch married Beatrice Annesley (1619-1668), daughter of Francis Annesley, then Lord Mountnorris. In 1638 Mountnorris advised James Zouch, after consulting his steward Andrew Conradus, that in view of his debts he ought to live more economically with his mother and just four or five servants for £100 a year. After the death of James Zouch in 1643, Beatrice Zouch married Sir John Lloyd of Woking and the Forest (d. 1664) while their son was still an infant, and then Sir Thomas Smith of Hill Hall, Essex (d. 1668), according to a law case heard before the

Lord Chancellor The lord chancellor, formally the lord high chancellor of Great Britain, is the highest-ranking traditional minister among the Great Officers of State in Scotland and England in the United Kingdom, nominally outranking the prime minister. The ...

in 1669. The mother and son in this case were noted to be related to

Arthur Annesley, 1st Earl of Anglesey Arthur Annesley, 1st Earl of Anglesey PC (10 July 16146 April 1686) was an Anglo-Irish royalist statesman. After short periods as President of the Council of State and Treasurer of the Navy, he served as Lord Privy Seal between 1673 and 1682 ...

. The case was brought by a creditor of Sir Edward Zouch called Gilpen, against Dorothea's grandson as his heir. The exact dates of Dorothea's birth and death are unknown.

Family

Dorothy's children included; * James Zouch (1615-1643), who married Beatrice Annesley (1619-1668), a daughter of

Francis Annesley, 1st Viscount Valentia Francis Annesley, 1st Viscount Valentia, (1 February – 22 November 1660) was an English statesman during the colonisation of Ireland in the seventeenth century. He was a Member of Parliament for both the English and Irish houses, was elevate ...

. She was a niece of

Bridget Annesley Bridget Annesley ( fl. 1610-1630) was a courtier to Anne of Denmark, wife of James VI and I. Bridget Annesley was a daughter of Robert Annesley of Rathverd or Rathuard and Newport Pagnell, an undertaker of the plantations in Munster, and Beatri ...

, a companion of Dorothy Silking in Anne of Denmark's bedchamber. James and her brother had travelled together on a Grand Tour. * Sophia Zouch (1618-1691), who married (1) in September 1635

Edward Cecil, 1st Viscount Wimbledon Edward Cecil, 1st Viscount Wimbledon (29 February 1572 – 16 November 1638) was an English military commander and a politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1601 and 1624. Life Cecil was the third son of Thomas Ceci ...

(1572-1638), and had a child called Algernon who died young, (2) Robert King of

Boyle Abbey Boyle Abbey ( ga, Mainistir na Búille) is a ruined Cistercian friary located in Boyle, County Roscommon, Ireland. It was founded by Saint Malachy in the 12th century. History In the 12th century, Saint Malachy became aware of two new mona ...

County Roscommon "Steadfast Irish heart" , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Roscommon.svg , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Connacht , subdi ...

(d. 1657). Her daughter Elizabeth King married Thomas Barnadiston. Sophia was buried at Ketton in Suffolk.Charles Dalton, ''Life and times of General Sir Edward Cecil, viscount Wimbledon, 1605-1631'' (London, 1885), p. 342-3, 374, 404.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Silking, Dorothy Women of the Stuart period Ladies of the Bedchamber People from Güstrow Household of Anne of Denmark Chamberers at court