Sir Edmund Walsingham (c. 1480 – 10 February 1550) of Scadbury Hall,

Chislehurst Chislehurst () is a suburban district of south-east London, England, in the London Borough of Bromley. It lies east of Bromley, south-west of Sidcup and north-west of Orpington, south-east of Charing Cross. Before the creation of Greater L ...

in Kent, was a soldier, Member of Parliament, and

Lieutenant of the Tower of London The Lieutenant of the Tower of London serves directly under the Constable of the Tower. The office has been appointed at least since the 13th century. There were formerly many privileges, immunities and perquisites attached to the office. Like the ...

during the reign of

King Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disag ...

Origins

He was the eldest son and heir of James Walsingham (1462-1540) of Scadbury by his wife Eleanor Writtle (pre-1465 - post-1540), the daughter and heiress of Walter Writtle of

Bobbingworth Bobbingworth is a village and civil parish in the Epping Forest district of Essex, England. The village is situated approximately north-west from Chipping Ongar, west from the county town of Chelmsford, and lies off the A414 road. Bobbingwort ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

. Sir Edmund, according to a

monumental brass A monumental brass is a type of engraved sepulchral memorial, which in the 13th century began to partially take the place of three-dimensional monuments and effigies carved in stone or wood. Made of hard latten or sheet brass, let into the paveme ...

formerly in the church at Scadbury, had three brothers and seven sisters, including: *William Walsingham (died 1534), who married

Joyce Denny Joyce Denny (1507–1560) was an English courtier. Family and court connections She was a daughter of Edmund Denny, a Baron of the Exchequer, and Mary Troutbeck. Princess Elizabeth was lodged with her brother Anthony Denny at Cheshunt, a former ...

(1506/7–1560), the daughter of Sir Edmund Denny, one of the

Barons of the Exchequer The Barons of the Exchequer, or ''barones scaccarii'', were the judges of the English court known as the Exchequer of Pleas. The Barons consisted of a Chief Baron of the Exchequer and several puisne (''inferior'') barons. When Robert Shute was a ...

, and his second wife, Mary Troutbeck (died 1507), the daughter of Robert Troutbeck of Bridge Trafford,

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

, by whom he was the father of

Sir Francis Walsingham Sir Francis Walsingham ( – 6 April 1590) was principal secretary to Queen Elizabeth I of England from 20 December 1573 until his death and is popularly remembered as her "spymaster". Born to a well-connected family of gentry, Wals ...

(c.1532-1590), Principal Secretary to

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

, and five daughters, Elizabeth (died 1596), Barbara, Christian, Eleanor and Mary (1527/8–1577). After William Walsingham's death, Joyce (née Denny) married Sir John Carey, a younger brother of Sir William Carey, by whom she had two sons, Sir Wymond Carey and Sir Edward Carey. *Elizabeth Walsingham, who married Thomas Ayloffe, second son of William Ayloffe (died 1517), a Bencher of Lincoln’s Inn, by his wife Audrey Shaa, widow of John Writtle and daughter of Sir John Shaa, a London goldsmith and Lord Mayor in 1501. Thomas Ayloffe’s elder brother, William Ayloffe (died 1569), married Anne Barnardiston, the daughter of Sir Thomas Banardiston (died 7 November 1542) of Ketton in

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 Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

, by whom he was the father of William Ayloffe (c.1535 – 17 November 1584). *Cecily Walsingham. *Margaret Walsingham.

Early origins

Although the Walsingham pedigree is said to date to the thirteenth century, the family is first recorded in the County of

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

in 1424, when Thomas I Walsingham purchased the manor of Scadbury. The descent was as follows: * Thomas I Walsingham (d.1457) a wealthy wine and cloth merchant in the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...

who served as a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for Wareham in 1410 and for

Lyme Regis Lyme Regis is a town in west Dorset, England, west of Dorchester and east of Exeter. Sometimes dubbed the "Pearl of Dorset", it lies by the English Channel at the Dorset–Devon border. It has noted fossils in cliffs and beaches on the Herita ...

in 1413, both in Dorset. He married Margaret Bamme, daughter and heiress of Henry Bamme, of the

, a member of the

Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths The Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths, commonly known as the Goldsmiths' Company and formally titled The Wardens and Commonalty of the Mystery of Goldsmiths of the City of London, is one of the Great Twelve Livery Companies of the City of Londo ...

. He purchased the manor of Scadbury in the parish of

,Scadbury Manor
Retrieved 15 June 2103. to which additional land was added in 1433. *Thomas II Walsingham (1436–1467), son and heir, who married Constance Dryland (died 14 November 1476), a daughter of James Dryland, of

Davington Davington is a suburb of Faversham in Kent, England. Davington Priory is a local government ward within the Faversham Town Council and Swale Borough Council areas. Until the civic boundary changes were brought into effect in 2004, the electora ...

, by whom he had a son, James Walsingham (1462 – 10 December 1540). Constance survived him and remarried to John Green, who in 1476 was

Sheriff of Kent The high sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown (prior to 1974 the office previously known as sheriff)."Sheriffs appointed for a county or Greater London shall be known as high sheriffs, and any reference in any enactment or instrum ...

in right of his wife. *James Walsingham, son and heir, who married Eleanor Writtle (born before 1465, died after 1540), the daughter and heiress of Walter Writtle of

, by whom, according to a

formerly in the church at Scadbury, he had four sons and seven daughters, the eldest of whom was Sir Edmund Walsingham (d.1550), the subject of this article.

Career

Walsingham entered the service of

Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk (144321 May 1524), styled Earl of Surrey from 1483 to 1485 and again from 1489 to 1514, was an English nobleman, soldier and statesman who served four monarchs. He was the eldest son of John Howard, 1st Duk ...

(later 3rd Duke of Norfolk), and was knighted by him on 13 September 1513, four days after the decisive English victory over the Scots at the

Battle of Flodden The Battle of Flodden, Flodden Field, or occasionally Branxton, (Brainston Moor) was a battle fought on 9 September 1513 during the War of the League of Cambrai between the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland, resulting in an English ...

, in which the English army was commanded by Surrey's father

Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk (144321 May 1524), styled Earl of Surrey from 1483 to 1485 and again from 1489 to 1514, was an English nobleman, soldier and statesman who served four monarchs. He was the eldest son of John Howard, 1st Duk ...

. In 1520 he was part of the Kent contingent accompanying King

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

at the

Field of the Cloth of Gold The Field of the Cloth of Gold (french: Camp du Drap d'Or, ) was a summit meeting between King Henry VIII of England and King Francis I of France from 7 to 24 June 1520. Held at Balinghem, between Ardres in France and Guînes in the English P ...

Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's prefecture is its third-largest city of Arras. Th ...

in June, and at the King's meeting with the

Emperor Charles V Charles V, french: Charles Quint, it, Carlo V, nl, Karel V, ca, Carles V, la, Carolus V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain ( Castile and Aragon) ...

Gravelines Gravelines (, ; ; ) is a commune in the Nord department in Northern France. It lies at the mouth of the river Aa southwest of Dunkirk. It was formed in the 12th century around the mouth of a canal built to connect Saint-Omer with the sea. As ...

in July. In 1521 he was appointed a sewer in the royal household, was made a freeman of the

Worshipful Company of Mercers The Worshipful Company of Mercers is the premier Livery Company of the City of London and ranks first in the order of precedence of the Companies. It is the first of the Great Twelve City Livery Companies. Although of even older origin, the c ...

, was on the jury which tried and convicted

Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham (3 February 1478 – 17 May 1521) was an English nobleman. He was the son of Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, and Katherine Woodville, and nephew of Elizabeth Woodville and King Edward IV. Thu ...

, and succeeded Sir

Richard Cholmondeley Sir Richard Cholmondeley (or Cholmeley) (c. 1460–1521) was an English farmer and soldier, who served as Lieutenant of the Tower of London from 1513 to 1520 during the reign of Henry VIII. He is remembered because of his tomb at the Tower of L ...

at a salary of £100 a year. He held the office until Henry VIII's death in 1547, residing in a house at the

Tower A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...

, and taking personal charge of prisoners of state, among them

Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury Margaret Plantagenet, Countess of Salisbury (14 August 1473 – 27 May 1541), also called Margaret Pole, as a result of her marriage to Richard Pole (courtier), Sir Richard Pole, was the only surviving daughter of George Plantagenet, Duke ...

Catherine Howard Catherine Howard ( – 13 February 1542), also spelled Katheryn Howard, was Queen of England from 1540 until 1542 as the fifth wife of Henry VIII. She was the daughter of Lord Edmund Howard and Joyce Culpeper, a cousin to Anne Boleyn (the s ...

Henry Courtenay, 1st Marquess of Exeter Henry Courtenay, 1st Marquess of Exeter, 2nd Earl of Devon (c. 1498 – 9 December 1538), KG, PC, feudal baron of Okehampton, feudal baron of Plympton, of Tiverton Castle, Okehampton Castle and Colcombe Castle all in Devon, was a grandso ...

Henry Pole, 1st Baron Montagu Henry Pole, 1st Baron Montagu (also written Montague or Montacute; circa 1492 – January 1539), was an English nobleman, the only holder of the title Baron Montagu under its 1514 creation, and one of the relatives whom King Henry VIII of E ...

Agnes Howard, Duchess of Norfolk Agnes Howard ( née Tilney) (c. 1477 – May 1545) was the second wife of Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk. Two of King Henry VIII's queens were her step-granddaughters, Anne Boleyn and Katherine Howard. Catherine Howard was placed in the Dowa ...

Arthur Plantagenet, 1st Viscount Lisle Arthur Plantagenet, 1st Viscount Lisle, KG (died 3 March 1542) was an illegitimate son of the English king Edward IV, half-brother-in-law of Henry VII, and an uncle of Henry VIII, at whose court he was a prominent figure and by whom he was app ...

Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and of her execution by beheading for treason and other charges made her a key ...

, Bishop

John Fisher John Fisher (c. 19 October 1469 – 22 June 1535) was an English Catholic bishop, cardinal, and theologian. Fisher was also an academic and Chancellor of the University of Cambridge. He was canonized by Pope Pius XI. Fisher was executed by o ...

and Sir

Thomas More Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535), venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, judge, social philosopher, author, statesman, and noted Renaissance humanist. He also served Henry VIII as Lord ...

.Walsingham, Sir Edmund (by 1480–1550), of Scadbury, Chislehurst, Kent, History of Parliament
Retrieved 16 June 2013. It was to Walsingham that More made his jest on ascending the scaffold, "I pray you, Master Lieutenant, see me safe up, and for my coming down, let me shift for myself". In the 1530s Walsingham acquired long-term leases of the manors of Tyting in Surrey and

Stanground Stanground is a residential area in the city of Peterborough, in the Peterborough district, in the ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. For electoral purposes it comprises Stanground South and Fletton & Stanground wards in North West ...

Huntingdonshire Huntingdonshire (; abbreviated Hunts) is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire and a historic county of England. The district council is based in Huntingdon. Other towns include St Ives, Godmanchester, St Neots and Ramsey. The popul ...

, and in 1543 purchased the manors of Swanton Court, West Peckham and Yokes near Scadbury from Sir Robert Southwell. In 1539, after the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the king granted him nine houses in London, former monastic property. In 1544 he became vice-chamberlain to Henry VIII's sixth wife,

Katherine Parr Catherine Parr (sometimes alternatively spelled Katherine, Katheryn, Kateryn, or Katharine; 1512 – 5 September 1548) was Queen of England and Ireland as the last of the six wives of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 12 July 1543 until ...

. He was elected to Parliament as a

Knight of the Shire Knight of the shire ( la, milites comitatus) was the formal title for a member of parliament (MP) representing a county constituency in the British House of Commons, from its origins in the medieval Parliament of England until the Redistributio ...

for Surrey in 1545.

Marriages and issue

Walsingham married twice:

First marriage

Firstly he married Katherine Gounter (or Gunter) (before 1495 – c. 1526), widow of Henry Morgan of

Pencoed Pencoed ( cy, Pen-coed) is a urbanised community and town in the county borough of Bridgend, Wales. It straddles the M4 motorway north east of Bridgend and is situated on the Ewenny River. At the 2011 census it had a population of around 9,166. ...

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( cy, Sir Fynwy) is a county in the south-east of Wales. The name derives from the historic county of the same name; the modern county covers the eastern three-fifths of the historic county. The largest town is Abergavenny, with ...

, and a daughter of John Gounter of

Chilworth, Surrey Chilworth is a village in the Guildford borough of Surrey, England. It is located in the Tillingbourne valley, southeast of Guildford. Geography The village is in the Surrey Hills AONB, Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, AONB an ...

, by his wife Elizabeth Attworth (or Utworth), a daughter and heiress of William Attworth, by whom he had four sons and four daughters: * Sir Thomas Walsingham (c.1526 – 15 January 1584), who married Dorothy Guildford (died 1584), the daughter of Sir John Guildford (died 5 July 1565), by whom he was the father of Sir Thomas Walsingham, patron of

Christopher Marlowe Christopher Marlowe, also known as Kit Marlowe (; baptised 26 February 156430 May 1593), was an English playwright, poet and translator of the Elizabethan era. Marlowe is among the most famous of the Elizabethan playwrights. Based upon the ...

.Walsingham, Thomas (c.1526–84), of Scadbury, Chislehurst, Kent, History of Parliament
Retrieved 14 June 2013. *George Walsingham, who died young. *John Walsingham, who died young. *Walter Walsingham, who died young. *Mary Walsingham, who married Sir Thomas Barnardiston (died 1551), the son of Sir Thomas Barnardiston (died 7 November 1542) by Anne Lucas, the daughter of Sir Thomas Lucas (died 7 July 1531) of Little Saxham Hall,

, Solicitor-General to

King Henry VII Henry VII (28 January 1457 – 21 April 1509) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizure of the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death in 1509. He was the first monarch of the House of Tudor. Henry's mother, Margaret Beaufo ...

. *Alice Walsingham (died 21 May 1558), who married Sir Thomas Saunders (died 18 August 1565), third but eldest surviving son of Nicholas Saunders of

Charlwood Charlwood is a village and civil parish in the Mole Valley district of Surrey, England. It is immediately northwest of London Gatwick Airport in West Sussex, close west of Horley and north of Crawley. The Historic counties of England, historic co ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, by Alice Hungate, the daughter of John Hungate, by whom she had three sons and two daughters. *Eleanor Walsingham, who is said to have married Richard Finch, third son of Sir William Finch,

, by his first wife, Elizabeth Cromer. Eleanor Walsingham is also said to have married, as his second wife, Edward Baynard (died 1575) of Lackham,

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

, and to have been buried at

Lacock Lacock is a village and civil parish in the county of Wiltshire, England, about 3 miles (5 km) south of the town of Chippenham, and about outside the Cotswolds area. The village is owned almost in its entirety by the National Trust a ...

, on 20 August 1559. *Katherine Walsingham, who died young.

Second marriage

He married secondly, Anne Jerningham, a daughter of Sir Edward Jerningham (died 6 January 1515) of

Somerleyton Somerleyton is a village and former civil parish in the north of the English county of Suffolk. It is north-west of Lowestoft and south-west of Great Yarmouth in the East Suffolk district. The village is closely associated with Somerleyton Ha ...

, by his wife Margaret Bedingfield (died 24 March 1504). At the time of her marriage to Sir Edmund Walsingham, Anne Jerningham was the widow of three successive husbands: Lord Edward Grey (died before 1517), eldest son and heir of

Thomas Grey, 1st Marquess of Dorset Thomas Grey, 1st Marquess of Dorset, 1st Earl of Huntingdon, 7th Baron Ferrers of Groby, (145520 September 1501) was an English nobleman, courtier and the eldest son of Elizabeth Woodville and her first husband Sir John Grey of Groby. Her secon ...

, and grandson of

King Edward IV Edward IV (28 April 1442 – 9 April 1483) was King of England from 4 March 1461 to 3 October 1470, then again from 11 April 1471 until his death in 1483. He was a central figure in the Wars of the Roses, a series of civil wars in Englan ...

's wife,

Elizabeth Woodville Elizabeth Woodville (also spelt Wydville, Wydeville, or Widvile;Although spelling of the family name is usually modernised to "Woodville", it was spelt "Wydeville" in contemporary publications by Caxton, but her tomb at St. George's Chapel, Wind ...

; Henry Barley (died 12 November 1529) of

Albury, Hertfordshire Albury is a village and civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire, England, about five miles west of Bishop's Stortford. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 537, increasing in the 2011 Census to 595. Albur ...

; and Sir Robert Drury,

Speaker of the House of Commons Speaker of the House of Commons is a political leadership position found in countries that have a House of Commons, where the membership of the body elects a speaker to lead its proceedings. Systems that have such a position include: * Speaker of ...

Death and burial

Walsingham died on 9 February 1550 and was buried in "a table tomb, richly ornamented with roses, acorns and foliage gilt" in the Scadbury chapel in the church of St Nicholas at Chislehurst.Hutchinson, Robert (2007) ''Elizabeth's Spy Master: Francis Walsingham and the Secret War that Saved England''. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. , p. 296 His son and heir, Thomas Walsingham, erected a monument to his memory in 1581; the inscription begins: ''A knight sometime of worthy fame, Lieth buried under this stony bower, Sir Edmund Walsingham was his name, Lieutenant he was of London Tower.'' His will, dated 8 February 1550, was proved on 8 November of that year.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

External links

Edmund Edmund is a masculine given name or surname in the English language. The name is derived from the Old English elements ''ēad'', meaning "prosperity" or "riches", and ''mund'', meaning "protector". Persons named Edmund include: People Kings and ...