Arms of Henry Clifford, 1st Earl of Cumberland

Henry Clifford, 1st Earl of Cumberland KG (1493 – 22 April 1542) was a member of the Clifford family which was seated at

Skipton Castle Skipton Castle is a Grade I Listed medieval castle in Skipton, North Yorkshire, England. It was built in 1090 by Robert de Romille, a Norman baron, and has been preserved for over 931 years. History The castle was originally a motte and bai ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

from 1310 to 1676.

Origins

He was born at

, a son of

Henry Clifford, 10th Baron de Clifford {{Infobox noble, name=Henry Clifford, christening_date=, noble family=, house-type=, father=, mother=, birth_name=, birth_date=c. 1454, birth_place=, christening_place=, styles=, death_date=23 April 1523, death_place=, burial_date=, burial_plac ...

by his wife Anne St John, daughter of Sir John St John of Bletso by his first wife Alice Bradshaigh.

Career

As a youth, Clifford spent time at the court of King Henry VIII and was knighted at Henry's coronation in 1509. He was later appointed

Sheriff of Yorkshire The Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been transferred elsewhere o ...

in 1522 and became hereditary Sheriff of Westmorland on the death of his father in 1523. As part of King Henry VIII's plans for the defence of the Scottish border, he was created

Earl of Cumberland The title of Earl of Cumberland was created in the Peerage of England in 1525 for the 11th Baron de Clifford.''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press'', 2004. It became extinct in 1643. The dukedom of Cumberland was cr ...

on 18 June 1525 and made

Warden of the West Marches The Lord Warden of the Marches was an office in the governments of Scotland and England. The holders were responsible for the security of the border between the two nations, and often took part in military action. They were also responsible, alo ...

and

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Carlisle Castle Carlisle Castle is a medieval stone keep castle that stands within the English city of Carlisle near the ruins of Hadrian's Wall. First built during the reign of William II in 1093 and rebuilt in stone under Henry I in 1122, the castle is over ...

. Replaced by William, Baron Dacre, he was reinstated to the post in 1534 after Dacre was accused of treason. During the

Pilgrimage of Grace The Pilgrimage of Grace was a popular revolt beginning in Yorkshire in October 1536, before spreading to other parts of Northern England including Cumberland, Northumberland, and north Lancashire, under the leadership of Robert Aske. The "most ...

he remained loyal to the crown and was besieged in Skipton Castle by the rebels. He was made a

Knight of the Garter The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. It is the most senior order of knighthood in the British honours system, outranked in precedence only by the Victoria Cross and the George ...

by a grateful King Henry VIII in 1537.

Marriages and progeny

He married twice: *Firstly to Margaret Talbot (died before 1516), daughter of

George Talbot, 4th Earl of Shrewsbury George Talbot, 4th Earl of Shrewsbury, 4th Earl of Waterford, 10th Baron Talbot, KG, KB, PC (c. 1468 – 26 July 1538) was the son of John Talbot, 3rd Earl of Shrewsbury, and Lady Catherine Stafford, daughter of the 1st Duke of Buckingham. He ...

and Anne Hastings, daughter of

William Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings William Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings KG (c. 1431 – June 1483) was an English nobleman. A loyal follower of the House of York during the Wars of the Roses, he became a close friend and one of the most important courtiers of King Edward IV, w ...

and Katherine Neville. *Secondly he married Margaret Percy, daughter of

Henry Percy, 5th Earl of Northumberland Henry Algernon Percy, 5th Earl of Northumberland, KG (13 January 1477 – 19 May 1527) was an English nobleman and a member of the courts of both Kings Henry VII and Henry VIII. Origins Percy was son of Henry Percy, 4th Earl of Northumberlan ...

and Catherine Spencer, daughter of Sir Robert Spencer of Spencer Combe, Devon. By Margaret Percy he had seven children, including: ** Henry Clifford, 2nd Earl of Cumberland, eldest son and heir, who married Lady Eleanor Brandon, a niece of King Henry VIII. **Catherine Clifford (1513-1598) a notable

recusant Recusancy (from la, recusare, translation=to refuse) was the state of those who remained loyal to the Catholic Church and refused to attend Church of England services after the English Reformation. The 1558 Recusancy Acts passed in the reign ...

, married

John Scrope, 8th Baron Scrope of Bolton John Scrope, 8th Baron Scrope of Bolton (c. 1510 – 22 June 1549) was the son of Henry Scrope, 7th Baron Scrope of Bolton and Mabel Dacre. Around 1530 he married Catherine Clifford, daughter of Henry Clifford, 1st Earl of Cumberland in Skipton, ...

, and secondly Sir Richard Cholmondely

Death and burial

He died in 1542 and was buried in Skipton church, where his monument survives.

References

External links

A listing of the Clifford family
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cumberland, Henry Clifford, 1st Earl Of 1493 births 1542 deaths 15th-century English nobility 16th-century English nobility 1 High Sheriffs of Yorkshire High Sheriffs of Westmorland Knights of the Garter

Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

Barons de Clifford