Henry Berkeley, 7th Baron Berkeley
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Henry Berkeley, 7th Baron Berkeley, KB (26 November 1534 – 26 November 1613) was an English peer and politician. He was Lord Lieutenant and Vice-Admiral of
Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...
. He was the grandfather of
George Berkeley, 8th Baron Berkeley George Berkeley, 8th Baron Berkeley, KB (1601 – 10 August 1658) was a seventeenth-century English nobleman and a prominent patron of literature in his generation. Family George Berkeley, baptized 26 October 1601 at Low Leyton, Essex, was the on ...
.


Family

Henry Berkeley, sometimes called 'Henry the Harmlesse or Posthumous Henry', was born on 26 November 1534, nine weeks and four days after his father's death.. He was the son of Thomas Berkeley, 6th Baron Berkeley (c. 1505 – 19 September 1534), and his second wife, Anne Savage (died October 1564), the daughter of Sir John Savage of
Frodsham Frodsham is a market town, civil parish, and electoral ward in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. Its population was 8,982 in 2001, increasing to 9,077 at the 2011 Census. It is s ...
, Cheshire. The 16th Baron had earlier been married to Mary Hastings, the daughter of
George Hastings, 1st Earl of Huntingdon George Hastings, 1st Earl of Huntingdon, KB (148824 March 1544) was an English nobleman. Family George Hastings, born in 1488 at Ashby-de-la-Zouch, was the son of Edward Hastings, 2nd Baron Hastings, and Mary Hungerford, daughter and heiress o ...
, by Anne Stafford (d. March 1533), daughter of
Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, KG (4 September 1455 – 2 November 1483) was an English nobleman known as the namesake of Buckingham's rebellion, a failed but significant collection of uprisings in England and parts of Wales again ...
, but had no issue by her.


Career

Berkeley was made a
Knight of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as one ...
on 28 September 1553 at the coronation of
Mary I Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, and as "Bloody Mary" by her Protestant opponents, was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 and Queen of Spain from January 1556 until her death in 1558. She ...
. In the following year,
Berkeley Castle Berkeley Castle ( ; historically sometimes spelled as ''Berkley Castle'' or ''Barkley Castle'') is a castle in the town of Berkeley, Gloucestershire, United Kingdom. The castle's origins date back to the 11th century, and it has been desi ...
and other estates were restored to him when the line of male heirs of Henry VII was extinguished. As Simon Adams points out, "in 1487 William, Marquis Berkeley, had granted Berkeley Castle and its related manors to Henry VII and his heirs male. The crown's right having expired with
Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. Edward was the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour and the first E ...
, they were restored to Henry, the 7th Lord Berkeley in December 1554." On 13 May 1555, he had livery of his lands, although still underage. Berkeley is said to have rebuilt
Caludon Castle Caludon Castle is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and Grade I listed building in Coventry, in the West Midlands of England. A second moated site to the south is a Scheduled Ancient Monument in its own right. The castle is now a ruin, and all th ...
about 1580, which had fallen into disrepair after the banishment from England in 1398 of
Thomas Mowbray, 1st Duke of Norfolk Thomas de Mowbray, 1st Duke of Norfolk, KG (22 March 136622 September 1399) was an English peer. As a result of his involvement in the power struggles which led up to the fall of King Richard II, he was banished and died in exile in Venice. B ...
, by
Richard II Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward the Black Prince, Prince of Wales, and Joan, Countess of Kent. Richard's father died ...
. He was Lord Lieutenant of
Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...
from 1603 until his death. Berkeley died 26 November 1613, leaving a will dated 20 December 1612. He was succeeded by his grandson,
George Berkeley, 8th Baron Berkeley George Berkeley, 8th Baron Berkeley, KB (1601 – 10 August 1658) was a seventeenth-century English nobleman and a prominent patron of literature in his generation. Family George Berkeley, baptized 26 October 1601 at Low Leyton, Essex, was the on ...
. However, according to Andrew Warmington, the 8th Baron's inheritance was much diminished, as his grandfather had '"recently ended the 192-year legal feud over the estates with the Lisle family and their heirs, including the crown", and "due to this and Henry's extraordinary profligacy, the once vast estate had been reduced to twenty-five manors covering about 11,000 acres, mainly in Gloucestershire, with a rental value of some £1200 per year". Contemporaneous mention of this legal feud is made in ''
Leicester's Commonwealth ''Leicester's Commonwealth'' (originally titled ') (1584) is a scurrilous book that circulated in Elizabethan England and attacked Queen Elizabeth I's favourite, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. The work was read as Roman Catholic propaganda agai ...
'' where the anonymous author, alluding to
Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, (24 June 1532 – 4 September 1588) was an English statesman and the favourite of Elizabeth I from her accession until his death. He was a suitor for the queen's hand for many years. Dudley's youth was ov ...
, writes:
What shall I speak of others, whereof there would be no end? As of his dealing with Mr. Richard Lee for his manor of
Hook Norton Hook Norton is a village and civil parish in Oxfordshire, England. It lies northeast of Chipping Norton, close to the Cotswold Hills. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 2,117. The village is formed of four neighbourhoods: Ea ...
(if I fail not in the name); with Mr. Lodovick Greville, by seeking to bereave him of all his living at once if the drift had taken place; with George Whitney, in the behalf of
Sir Henry Lee Sir Henry Lee KG (March 1533 – 12 February 1611), of Ditchley, was Queen's Champion and Master of the Armouries under Queen Elizabeth I of England. Family Henry Lee, born in Kent in March 1533, was the grandson of Sir Robert Lee (d.1539 ...
, for enforcing him to forgo the Controllership of
Woodstock Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. ...
which he holdeth by patent from King Henry VII? With my Lord Berkeley, whom he enforced to yield up his lands to his brother
Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and Whi ...
which his ancestors had held quietly for almost two hundred years together?Peck, D.C., ed., ''Leicester's Commonwealth'' (Athens and London: Ohio University Press, 1985)
/ref>
As D.C. Peck explains:
Litigation over the Berkeley lands had been going on for two centuries; at this time it was pursued by the Dudleys against Henry (d. 1613), seventh Lord Berkeley, Lord Harry Howard's brother-in-law, from whom they were able to recover several manors. In August 1574, Leicester persuaded the Queen to leave her itinerary and be his guest at Berkeley Castle in its lord's absence, as if it were his own.


Marriages and issue

Berkeley first married, in September 1554, at
Kenninghall Kenninghall is a village and civil parish in Norfolk, England, with an area of and a population of 950 at the 2011 census. It falls within the local government district of Breckland. Home to the kings of East Anglia, after the Norman invasion ...
, Norfolk, Katherine Howard, third daughter of
Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey (1516/1517 – 19 January 1547), Order of the Garter, KG, was an English nobleman, politician and poet. He was one of the founders of English Renaissance poetry and was the last known person executed at the instan ...
, and
Frances de Vere Frances Howard, Countess of Surrey ( de Vere; c. 1517 – 30 June 1577) was the daughter of John de Vere, 15th Earl of Oxford, and Elizabeth Trussell. She married firstly, Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, son of Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, ...
, daughter of
John de Vere, 15th Earl of Oxford John de Vere, 15th Earl of Oxford, Lord Great Chamberlain KG PC (c. 1482 – 21 March 1540). was an English peer and courtier. Career John de Vere, born about 1482, was the son of John de Vere and Alice Kilrington (alias Colbroke), and the gr ...
, and Elizabeth Trussell: * Sir Thomas Berkeley(1575-1611) predeceased his father leaving a son,
George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presid ...
. *Mary (b. 1557) married John Zouche of
Codnor Codnor is a village and civil parish in the Amber Valley district of Derbyshire, England. Codnor is a former mining village and had a population of 3,766 (including Cross Hill) taken at the 2011 Census. It is approximately 12 miles from Derby an ...
, Derbyshire *Frances (1561-1595)married
George Shirley George Irving Shirley (born April 18, 1934) is an American operatic tenor, and was the first African-American tenor to perform a leading role at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. Early life Shirley was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, and r ...
of Staunton Harold, Leicestershire and was the mother of Sir Henry Shirley and the antiquary Thomas Shirley. Berkeley's first wife, Katherine, died of
dropsy Edema, also spelled oedema, and also known as fluid retention, dropsy, hydropsy and swelling, is the build-up of fluid in the body's tissue. Most commonly, the legs or arms are affected. Symptoms may include skin which feels tight, the area ma ...
at
Caludon Caludon Castle is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and Grade I listed building in Coventry, in the West Midlands of England. A second moated site to the south is a Scheduled Ancient Monument in its own right. The castle is now a ruin, and all th ...
on 7 April 1596, and was buried on 20 May near the
Drapers Draper was originally a term for a retailer or wholesaler of cloth that was mainly for clothing. A draper may additionally operate as a cloth merchant or a haberdasher. History Drapers were an important trade guild during the medieval period, ...
Chapel at St Michael's, Coventry. Katherine was fond of field sports, and said to be 'so good an
archer Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In mo ...
at butts with the
longbow A longbow (known as warbow in its time, in contrast to a hunting bow) is a type of tall bow that makes a fairly long draw possible. A longbow is not significantly recurved. Its limbs are relatively narrow and are circular or D-shaped in cross ...
, as her side, by her, was never the weaker'. She was also fond of
falconry Falconry is the hunting of wild animals in their natural state and habitat by means of a trained bird of prey. Small animals are hunted; squirrels and rabbits often fall prey to these birds. Two traditional terms are used to describe a person ...
, and 'kept commonly a cast or two of merlins, mewed in her own chamber, to the detriment of her gowns and
kirtle A kirtle (sometimes called cotte, cotehardie) is a garment that was worn by men and women in the Middle Ages. It eventually became a one-piece garment worn by women from the late Middle Ages into the Baroque period. The kirtle was typically worn ...
s'. Berkeley married for a second time, on 9 March 1598 at
St Giles, Cripplegate St Giles-without-Cripplegate is an Anglican church in the City of London, located on Fore Street within the modern Barbican complex. When built it stood without (that is, outside) the city wall, near the Cripplegate. The church is dedicated to S ...
, Jane Stanhope (c. 1547–1618), widow of Sir Roger Townshend (d. 1590), and daughter of Sir Michael Stanhope (d. 1552) of Shelford, Nottinghamshire, by his wife, Anne Rawson, daughter of Nicholas Rawson of
Aveley Aveley is a town and former civil parish in the unitary authority of Thurrock in Essex, England, and forms one of the traditional Church of England parishes. Aveley is 16 miles (26.2 km) east of Charing Cross. In the 2021 United Kingdom ...
, Essex. Berkeley's second wife, Jane, had two sons by her previous marriage, Sir John Townshend (1567/68–1603) and Sir Robert Townshend (b. 1580).. She died at her house in the
Barbican A barbican (from fro, barbacane) is a fortified outpost or fortified gateway, such as at an outer fortifications, defense perimeter of a city or castle, or any tower situated over a gate or bridge which was used for defensive purposes. Europe ...
on 3 January 1618, leaving a will dated 20 July 1617 which was proved by her grandson,
Sir Roger Townshend, 1st Baronet Sir Roger Townshend, 1st Baronet (c.1596 – 1 January 1637), was an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons in two parliaments between 1621 and 1629. Family Townshend was the son of Sir John Townshend (died 1603) of ...
, on 10 March 1618.


Notes


References

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External links


Stanhope, Michael (c. 1508 – 1552), History of Parliament
Retrieved 19 March 2013
Will of Henry, Lord Berkeley, National Archives
Retrieved 20 March 2013
Will of Lady Jane Berkeley, National Archives
Retrieved 19 March 2013 {{DEFAULTSORT:Berkeley, Henry Berkeley, 7th Baron 1534 births 1613 deaths 7 16th-century English nobility 17th-century English nobility
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, ...
Knights of the Bath Lord-Lieutenants of Gloucestershire