![Attributed to William Larkin Portrait of a gentleman, probably Sir Francis Nethersole](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/91/Attributed_to_William_Larkin_Portrait_of_a_gentleman%2C_probably_Sir_Francis_Nethersole.jpg)
Sir Francis Nethersole (1587–1659) was an English diplomat, secretary to the
Electress Elizabeth, Member of Parliament for
Corfe Castle, Dorset, and a
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
political pamphleteer.
Early life
Francis Nethersole was second son of John Nethersole of Winghamswood or Wimlingswold, Kent, by his wife Perigrinia, daughter of Francis Wilsford.
[
]
Nethersole was elected to a scholarship at
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...
. After graduating
M.A.
A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...
in 1610, he became a popular tutor. On 11 December 1611 he was elected public orator of the university.
Diplomatic service
In 1619 Nethersole resigned his offices at Cambridge, and accepted the post of secretary to
James Hay, viscount Doncaster who had been selected to visit the
Elector Palatine
The counts palatine of Lotharingia /counts palatine of the Rhine /electors of the Palatinate (german: Kurfürst von der Pfalz) ruled some part of Rhine area in the Kingdom of Germany and the Holy Roman Empire from 915 to 1803. The title was a kind ...
with a view to settling on a peaceful basis his relations with his
catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
neighbours. Nethersole was a staunch
protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
, and readily became an enthusiastic advocate of the cause of the elector and of his wife, the
Princess Elizabeth.
On his return with Doncaster Nethersole was knighted at
Theobalds
Theobalds House (also known as Theobalds Palace) in the parish of Cheshunt in the English county of Hertfordshire, was a significant stately home and (later) royal palace of the 16th and early 17th centuries. Set in extensive parkland, it was a r ...
, Hertfordshire, on 19 September 1619, and was at the same time appointed the English agent to the princes of the
Protestant Union
The Protestant Union (german: Protestantische Union), also known as the Evangelical Union, Union of Auhausen, German Union or the Protestant Action Party, was a coalition of Protestant German states. It was formed on 14 May 1608 by Frederick IV ...
, and
secretary
A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a w ...
to the
Electress Palatine
The Electress of the Palatinate () was the wikt:consort, consort of the Prince-elector of the Electorate of the Palatinate, one of the Holy Roman Empire's greatest princes.
First Electorate, 1356–1648
House of Wittelsbach, Main branch, 1356 ...
, in succession to
Sir Albertus Morton. Nethersole did not take up his duties in attendance on the electress until her husband had accepted the crown of
Bohemia
Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...
. Late in the summer of 1620 he travelled to
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
, and practically became English
minister at the court there.
His despatches to the English government were very full and frequent. He was at first sanguine that the elector would come forth victorious from the struggle, but in August 1620 he was writing to
James I James I may refer to:
People
*James I of Aragon (1208–1276)
*James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327)
*James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu
*James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347)
*James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...
that his son-in-law's position was hopeless. In May 1621 the elector sent Nethersole to England to beg for aid in the defence of the
Palatinate. He returned with an unfavourable answer (
Green
Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 Nanometre, nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by ...
, Lives of the Princesses of England, v. 365). On 24 September 1622, four days after the fall of the elector's capital of
Heidelberg
Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...
, Nethersole landed again in England, and was dismissed a few days later by
Buckingham
Buckingham ( ) is a market town in north Buckinghamshire, England, close to the borders of Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire, which had a population of 12,890 at the 2011 Census. The town lies approximately west of Central Milton Keynes, sou ...
, with an assurance that England would at once intervene in the
German war
The Austro-Prussian War, also by many variant names such as Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), (; "German war of brothers") and by a variety of other names, was fought in 186 ...
in the elector's behalf. Next year, although still retaining his office as agent to the electress, Nethersole permanently settled in England, in the belief that he might thus influence the English government more effectually in her behalf. He maintained for the next twelve years a voluminous correspondence with the electress.
He was sent to Spain in September 1623 during the
Spanish match with letters from
Elizabeth of Bohemia. He probably met
Prince Charles
Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...
and the
Duke of Buckingham
Duke of Buckingham held with Duke of Chandos, referring to Buckingham, is a title that has been created several times in the peerages of England, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom. There have also been earls and marquesses of Buckingham.
...
at
Segovia
Segovia ( , , ) is a city in the autonomous community of Castile and León, Spain. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the Province of Segovia.
Segovia is in the Inner Plateau (''Meseta central''), near the northern slopes of th ...
. His message concerned the potential marriage treaty, and an invitation for Buckingham to be godfather to Elizabeth's son.
English Politician
Some of his leisure Nethersole now devoted to English politics. On 31 Jan 1623–4 he was elected M.P. for
Corfe Castle, Dorset. He was re-elected for the same constituency to the first and third of
Charles I's parliaments (in 1625 and 1628 respectively). In the opening days of the latter parliament Nethersole spoke against the king's claim to imprison persons without showing cause.
In May 1633, in his capacity of agent to the princess, Nethersole sought and obtained permission from Charles I to raise a voluntary contribution or benevolence for the recovery of the
Palatinate. He induced two London merchants 'to advance 31,000l.' Before the legal documents authorising the levy of the money were made out, Nethersole's scheme was betrayed to the public. Charles was easily persuaded that Nethersole had misled him in the business. He at first ordered him to keep his house, then directed him to apologise formally, and finally revoked his assent.
Imprisonment
In December 1633 Nethersole received from the private secretary of Elizabeth an importunate letter entreating him to secure aid for her in England with the utmost speed. Nethersole forwarded an extract from the letter to the king's secretary,
Sir John Coke, and appended a message of his own supporting its appeal, in which he suggested that if no help were sent to the princess her son might be justified in attributing his ruin to her kinsfolk's inaction.
Charles, offended by the suggestion, sent Nethersole to 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 ...
.
Nethersole was released at the end of April, but not until Charles had obtained a formal promise from his sister, who had done what she could to defend him, never to employ him in her service again (cf. Cal. State Papers, Dom. 1633–4, p. 496; Cowper MSS. ii. 43–4 in Hist. MSS. Comm. 12th Rep.). His public life was thus brought to a premature close.
Civil War Pamphleteer
Thenceforward Nethersole lived chiefly at
Polesworth
Polesworth is a large village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the North Warwickshire district of Warwickshire, England. Polesworth is situated close to the northern tip of Warwickshire, adjacent to the border with Staffordshire. It ...
, Warwickshire, on property which his wife inherited. On 28 March 1636 he wrote thence to Secretary
Windebanck, protesting in very humble language his loyalty to the king (Cal. State Papers, Dom. 1635–1636, p. 333). His religious views, always sternly protestant, in later life tended towards
presbyterianism
Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...
. He used his influence to obtain the vicarage of Polesworth for one Bell, subsequently one of the
ejected ministers, and
Richard Baxter
Richard Baxter (12 November 1615 – 8 December 1691) was an English Puritan church leader, poet, hymnodist, theologian, and controversialist. Dean Stanley called him "the chief of English Protestant Schoolmen". After some false starts, he ...
wrote of Bell 'that he needed no other testimonial of his loyalty than that he was pastor to Sir Francis, and this is equally a proof of his learning also' (Palmer, Nonconformists' Memorial, iii. 347).
On his father's death he inherited
Nethersole House, in the parish of
Wimlingswold. Although he fully sympathised with the king's cause, he took no part in the civil wars; but in the autumn of 1648 he endeavoured, in a series of pamphlets, to advocate a peaceful solution of the desperate crisis.
* On 15 August 1648 he published, under the signature 'P.D.,' an address to the lord mayor, aldermen, and common councilmen of London, entitled Problems necessary to be determined by all that have or have not taken part on either side in the late unnatural War.''’
* On 17 August 1648 he published 'A .'
* ''A strong Motive to the passing of a General Pardon and Act of Oblivion, found in a Parcell of Problemes selected out of a greater Bundle lately published by P. D.'' appeared on 30 October 1648; ‘
* ''Another Parcell of Problemes concerning Religion necessary to be determined at this time'' on 3 November 1648; and
* ''Parables reflecting upon the Times, newly past and yet present'' on 13 November 1648.
On 11 Jan 1648–9 Nethersole, throwing off the veil of anonymity, openly attacked
John Goodwin's defence of the army's resolution to bring the king to the scaffold in ' ' In a postscript, Nethersole avowed himself the author of the earlier pamphlets issued under the signature P. D.
Retirement and legacies
![Polesworth School - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fd/Polesworth_School_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1063789.jpg)
Nethersole married Lucy Goodere, a daughter and heiress of Sir
Henry Goodere
Sir Henry Goodere (1534–1595) was an English nobleman, the son of Francis Goodere of Polesworth Hall.
He went to meet Mary, Queen of Scots in 1568 at Workington when she first came into England from Scotland. He gave her a cipher code to write ...
of Warwickshire in February 1620. She had been a member of the household of
Lucy Russell, Countess of Bedford
Lucy Russell, Countess of Bedford ( Harington; 1580–1627) was a major aristocratic patron of the arts and literature in the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras, the primary non-royal performer in contemporary court masques, a letter-writer, and a ...
.
[Thomas Birch & Folkestone Williams, ''Court and Times of James the First'', vol. 1 (London, 1848), p. 202.] Lucy Nethersole died on 9 July 1652, aged 58, and was buried in Polesworth Church.
In 1653 Nethersole, after protracted litigation, finally
compounded for his estates. About the same time he built and endowed, in accordance with his wife's desire, a
free school at
Polesworth
Polesworth is a large village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the North Warwickshire district of Warwickshire, England. Polesworth is situated close to the northern tip of Warwickshire, adjacent to the border with Staffordshire. It ...
, and he endowed the
benefice
A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...
.
Francis Nethersole died at Polesworth in August 1659. An inscribed stone in his memory was placed in the church in 1859.
Francis and Lucy Nethersole had no children. The Nethersole line lives on today through the Nethersole-Thompson family, whose head Desmond Nethersole-Thompson (1908–1989) was Francis' nephew 14 generations back.
References
;Attribution
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nethersole, Francis
1587 births
1659 deaths
English knights
17th-century English diplomats
English people of the Thirty Years' War
Prisoners in the Tower of London
English MPs 1624–1625
English MPs 1628–1629