![BassetGrenvilleArms WatermouthCastle](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/73/BassetGrenvilleArms_WatermouthCastle.JPG)
Honor Grenville, Viscountess Lisle (c. 1493–1495
[Byrne, vol.1, p. 305, Honor's birthyear was estimated at 1493–95] – 1566) was a
Cornish lady whose domestic life from 1533 to 1540 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 disa ...
is exceptionally well-recorded, due to the survival of the
Lisle Papers The Lisle Papers are the correspondence received in Calais between 1533 and 1540 by Arthur Plantagenet, 1st Viscount Lisle (c.1480-1542), Lord Deputy of Calais, an illegitimate son of King Edward IV and an uncle of King Henry VIII, and by his wife, ...
in the
National Archives, the state archives of the UK.
Origins
Honor was a daughter of
Sir Thomas Grenville (died 1513) of
Stowe in the parish of
Kilkhampton, Cornwall, and
lord of the manor
Lord of the Manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England, referred to the landholder of a rural estate. The lord enjoyed manorial rights (the rights to establish and occupy a residence, known as the manor house and demesne) as well as seig ...
of
Bideford in North Devon, by his wife Isabella Gilbert, a daughter of Otes Gilbert (1417–1492) of
Compton
Compton may refer to:
Places
Canada
* Compton (electoral district), a former Quebec federal electoral district
* Compton (provincial electoral district), a former Quebec provincial electoral district now part of Mégantic-Compton
* Compton, Que ...
[Vivian, p.405] in the parish of
Marldon
Marldon is a village in the South Hams in Devon, United Kingdom, to the north-west of Paignton. It is the most northeasterly Civil Parish in the South Hams and includes the village of Compton with Compton Castle. Beacon Hill transmitting station ...
, Devon (whose effigy survives in Marldon Church).
Marriages and children
She married twice:
*Firstly to Sir
John Basset (1462–1528) of
Umberleigh in the parish of
Atherington in Devon. At her father's death in 1492 Honor was his only daughter by his first wife (the heiress Alicia Mules/Moels
) who was still unmarried, and in his will, Sir Thomas Grenville requested: "I will that my sonne Roger shall mary my doughter Onor and to give her in marriage CCC markes in money to be levied of my lands and goods". His son Roger duly followed his father's instructions, and on 15 December 1515, he signed a deed of
marriage settlement with his fellow North-Devonian, Sir John Basset of Umberleigh, for the marriage of his sister Honor, then aged about 20 or 22.
Basset was a widower aged 53, and still lacking a son and heir. By John Basset she had children as follows, depicted as a row of small kneeling figures below her
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 ...
in Atherington Church, Devon:
**
John Basset (1518–1541), eldest son and heir.
**George Basset, born between 1522 and 1525;
**James Basset (c. 1526 – 1558)
**Philippa Basset, born 1516;
**
Katherine Basset
Katharine Basset (c. 1522 – after 1558, occasionally misnamed "Elizabeth") was an English gentlewoman who served at the court of King Henry VIII, namely in the household of Queen Anne of Cleves, and was briefly jailed for speaking against him. ...
, born 1517;
**
Anne Bassett
Anne Basset (1520 – before 1558) was an English lady-in-waiting of the Tudor period, reputed to have been the mistress of King Henry VIII.
Biography
Anne was born in 1520, the fourth child of Sir John Basset and Honor Grenville (daughter of ...
, born 1521, reputedly a
mistress
Mistress is the feminine form of the English word "master" (''master'' + ''-ess'') and may refer to:
Romance and relationships
* Mistress (lover), a term for a woman who is in a sexual and romantic relationship with a man who is married to a d ...
of King Henry VIII.
**Mary Basset, born between 1522 and 1525;
*Secondly (as his second wife) she married
Arthur Plantagenet, 1st Viscount Lisle (died 1542), later
Lord deputy of Calais
The town of Calais, now part of France, was in English hands from 1347 to 1558, and this page lists the commanders of Calais, holding office from the English Crown, called at different times Captain of Calais, King's Lieutenant of Calais (Castle ...
, an illegitimate son 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 England ...
and thus a half-brother of Queen
Elizabeth of York and uncle of King Henry VIII.
In Calais
Honor was one of the ladies who attended
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 ...
when she travelled to
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 ...
with Henry VIII in 1532. She moved permanently to Calais with her second husband in 1533 when he was appointed
Lord Deputy of Calais
The town of Calais, now part of France, was in English hands from 1347 to 1558, and this page lists the commanders of Calais, holding office from the English Crown, called at different times Captain of Calais, King's Lieutenant of Calais (Castle ...
. They lived together at the Staple Inn in Calais until 1540, during which time she succeeded in forwarding her children's careers, much assisted by her husband's agent in England
John Husee
John Husee (died November 1548) (''alias'' Hussey) was a London merchant, and the business agent in England of Arthur Plantagenet, 1st Viscount Lisle (d.1542), during Lisle's absence abroad whilst serving as Governor of Calais during the years 1 ...
.
Her husband was arrested in 1540 whilst on recall to England, for alleged involvement in a plot to betray Calais, Henry VIII's cherished personal possession, to the French, and was imprisoned in the
Tower of London
The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...
. Although no evidence was ultimately found to implicate him and in 1542 he was due for release and pardon, he died in the Tower "at the sudden rapture", having heard the good news but before regaining his freedom. During this time Honor had been under
house arrest
In justice and law, house arrest (also called home confinement, home detention, or, in modern times, electronic monitoring) is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to their residence. Travel is usually restricted, if all ...
in Calais with her daughters Mary and Philippa.
[Byrne, vol.6, p.149] The contemporary chronicler
Elis Gruffydd described the event of 20 May 1540 thus:
That afternoon in the twilight Lord Sussex and the Council went to the Staple Inn where Lady Lisle kept house. She, after the Council had conversed a little with her, was put in prison in a room of the palace and the girls were taken from her and put in prison in various places throughout the town.
Lady Lisle was then taken on 1 June 1540 to the house of Francis Hall a Spear of Calais, where she remained under house arrest for two years.
[Byrne, vol.6, p.139] The Lisle household was broken up on 2 June
and the
Treasurer of Calais took possession of all the treasure and clothes of Lord and Lady Lisle in the King's name. It was at this time and place that the surviving
Lisle Papers The Lisle Papers are the correspondence received in Calais between 1533 and 1540 by Arthur Plantagenet, 1st Viscount Lisle (c.1480-1542), Lord Deputy of Calais, an illegitimate son of King Edward IV and an uncle of King Henry VIII, and by his wife, ...
(see below) were seized by the state. The contents of the Staple Inn were minutely catalogued on their removal, with headings for gilt plate, plate parcel gilt, white plate, gold, jewels, and with goods (i.e. furnishings) listed for every room in the house.
Rumours circulated that Honor herself was the real traitor who brought about her husband's downfall. It was said in the highly insular and Protestant fortress of Calais that she was planning to marry one of her daughters to a Catholic Frenchman, "a
Picard squire", thus to an enemy of King Henry VIII, who at that time was convinced that the French were planning an assault on Calais. It was due to one of the Lisle's servants having travelled, secretly and without official permission, from Calais to Rome, to see the Pope supposedly in order to betray Calais to the French, that Lord Lisle was suspected of involvement in treason. This servant was a mischievous domestic chaplain named
Gregory Botolf, like Honor of popish sympathy, nicknamed "Sir Gregory Sweet-Lips", who was said by evil rumour to be Honor's lover.
Honor's daughter Mary Basset was in fact in receipt of love letters from a young French aristocrat,
Gabriel de Montmorency
In Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam), Gabriel (); Greek: grc, Γαβριήλ, translit=Gabriḗl, label=none; Latin: ''Gabriel''; Coptic: cop, Ⲅⲁⲃⲣⲓⲏⲗ, translit=Gabriêl, label=none; Amharic: am, ገብ ...
, Seigneur de
Bours, who had proposed marriage to her, and these she disposed of in the cess-pit.
When they were found by Lord Sussex they added further to evidence of suspicious activity.
Her husband's arrest was a great shock to her, and
John Foxe
John Foxe (1516/1517 – 18 April 1587), an English historian and martyrologist, was the author of '' Actes and Monuments'' (otherwise ''Foxe's Book of Martyrs''), telling of Christian martyrs throughout Western history, but particularly the su ...
, the Protestant
martyrologist
A martyrology is a catalogue or list of martyrs and other saints and beati arranged in the calendar order of their anniversaries or feasts. Local martyrologies record exclusively the custom of a particular Church. Local lists were enriched by na ...
, stated in his ''
Actes and Monuments'' that immediately on hearing the news she "fell distraught of mind and so continued many years after". Foxe had a dislike for Honor, whom he suspected as being a determined Catholic.
Elis Gruffydd however reported that she lost her senses whilst imprisoned in Francis Hall's house at Calais and that he never heard if she ever completely recovered them.
Return to England
On 9 March 1542 the
Privy Council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...
ordered her release and this news, together with the news of her husband's release, is said by Elis Gruffydd to have reached her before the news of his death, which "was the last ironic twist of the tragic screw" (Byrne). She lived out the remaining 24 years of her life in retirement and obscurity, probably latterly at the Basset manor of
Tehidy
Tehidy Country Park is a country park in Illogan in Cornwall, England which incorporates of the parkland and estate around Tehidy House, a former manor house of the Tehidy manor . The park's facilities include an events field, barbecue hire ...
in the parish of
Illogan in Cornwall, which in 1558 her grandson
Arthur Basset (died 1586) conveyed to her for her life.
She died at Tehidy and was buried in Illogan Church on 30 April 1566.
Character
Foxe disliked Honor, and stated of her: "The Lord Lisly albeit...himselfe of a most gentle nature, beeing fiercelie set on, and incessantlie intised by the wicked Lady Honor his wife, who was an utter enemie to God's honour, and in Idolatrie, hypocrisie and pride incomparably evill, since beeing dailie and hourelie thereunto incited and provoked by Sir Thomas Palmer Knight, and John Rookewood Esquire, too enemies to God's word, beginning nowe to flourish at Calice".
[Fox, Book of Martyrs, quoted b]
Granville, Roger, (Rector of Bideford), History of the Granville Family Traced Back to Rollo, First Duke of the Normans, With Pedigrees etc., Exeter, 1895
p.66
Lisle Letters
Honor is notable for her surviving letters describing sixteenth-century court life, published as the ''
Lisle Letters The Lisle Papers are the correspondence received in Calais between 1533 and 1540 by Arthur Plantagenet, 1st Viscount Lisle (c.1480-1542), Lord Deputy of Calais, an illegitimate son of King Edward IV and an uncle of King Henry VIII, and by his wife, ...
''. These letters show her forceful personality and the influence she had over her husband, which was such that
Thomas Cromwell
Thomas Cromwell (; 1485 – 28 July 1540), briefly Earl of Essex, was an English lawyer and statesman who served as chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false charge ...
himself felt obliged to write tactfully to Viscount Lisle pointing out that in matters of state a crown official could not simply do what his wife told him to. They also give insights into the administration of the manor of Umberleigh, and the negotiations with the
Court of Augmentations, which led to the purchase by the Lisles of the former lands of the
dissolved Frithelstock Priory
Frithelstock Priory was founded in about 1220 at Frithelstock, Devon, England, by Sir Robert de Beauchamp for Augustinian Canons Regular, as an indulgence to ensure intercessions for the repose of his soul. Walter de Stapledon, Bishop of Exete ...
.
Notes
References
Sources
*Byrne, Muriel St. Clare, (ed.) The Lisle Letters, 6 vols, University of Chicago Press, Chicago & London, 1981
*David Grummitt, ''Plantagenet, Arthur, Viscount Lisle (b. before 1472, d. 1542)'',
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...
,
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...
, Sept 2004; online edn, Jan 200
accessed 29 Oct 2009
Further reading
*Holt, Mrs, ''Isoult Barry of Wynscote''. ("A most interesting book respecting the Lisles from the Lisle Papers and other unpublished MSS. in the British Museum and State Paper Office" (Granville, Roger, History of Granville Family, Exeter, 1895, p. 67))
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lisle, Honor Grenville, Viscountess
English viscountesses
Wives of knights
16th-century English women writers
16th-century English nobility
Honor
Household of Anne Boleyn
16th-century letter writers