John Lumley, 1st Baron Lumley, KB (c. 1533 – 1609) was an English aristocrat, who is remembered as one of the greatest collectors of art and books of his age.

Early life

John Lumley, born about 1533, was the grandson and heir of John, Lord Lumley. He was the only son of George Lumley (who had been executed in the lifetime of his father for his role in 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 ...

), by Jane, second daughter and coheir of Sir Richard Knightley of Upton, Northamptonshire. In a petition to

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 ...

Lumley stated that he was a child at the death of his grandfather in 1544, to whose honours he did not succeed because of his own father's attainder, and in 1547 he obtained an Act of Parliament restoring him in blood, and enacting "that he, the said John Lumley and the heirs male of his body, should have hold, enjoy and bear the name, dignity, state and pre-eminence of a Baron of the Realm" whereby he became Baron Lumley (a new Barony being created of that name, in

tail male In English common law, fee tail or entail is a form of trust established by deed or settlement which restricts the sale or inheritance of an estate in real property and prevents the property from being sold, devised by will, or otherwise alien ...

) and he was summoned to Parliament accordingly from 5 October 1553 to 5 November 1605. He was made

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 29 November 1553, and attended at the subsequent 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. Sh ...

. He also served as a Commissioner of Claims at the coronations of

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

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 ...

. He was suspected of treasonable dealings with

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legitimate child of James V of Scot ...

, and was imprisoned in 1570 along with the Earl of Arundel, his father-in-law. In October 1586 he was one of the judges at the trial of Mary, Queen of Scots, and also in 1602 of the trial of

Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, KG, PC (; 10 November 1565 – 25 February 1601) was an English nobleman and a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I. Politically ambitious, and a committed general, he was placed under house arrest following a ...

Marriages

Lumley married firstly, before the end of 1550,

Jane Jane may refer to: * Jane (given name), a feminine given name * Jane (surname), related to the given name Film and television * ''Jane'' (1915 film), a silent comedy film directed by Frank Lloyd * ''Jane'' (2016 film), a South Korean drama fil ...

, the elder of the two daughters and coheirs of

Henry Fitzalan Earl of Arundel 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 Portuga ...

, by his first wife Catherine, daughter of

Thomas Grey, 2nd Marquess of Dorset Thomas Grey, 2nd Marquess of Dorset (22 June 1477 – 10 October 1530) was an English peer, courtier, soldier and landowner of the House of Grey. Early life Grey was the third son and heir of Thomas Grey, 1st Marquess of Dorset (1455–1501), ...

. Jane Lumley was one of the six principal ladies who sat in the third chariot of state at the coronation of

in 1553. She was buried 9 March 1576/77, at

Cheam Cheam () is a suburb of London, England, south-west of Charing Cross. It is divided into North Cheam, Cheam Village and South Cheam. Cheam Village contains the listed buildings Lumley Chapel and the 16th-century Whitehall. It is adjacent to ...

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. ...

(as were three of her children, all of whom died in infancy), near her father's estate,

Nonsuch Palace Nonsuch Palace was a Tudor royal palace, built by Henry VIII in Surrey, England; it stood from 1538 to 1682–83. Its site lies in what is now Nonsuch Park on the boundaries of the borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey and the London Borough ...

. Lumley married secondly, Elizabeth Darcy, daughter of Thomas Darcy, 2nd Baron Darcy of Chiche, by Frances, daughter of

Richard Rich, 1st Baron Rich Richard Rich, 1st Baron Rich (July 1496 – 12 June 1567), was Lord Chancellor during King Edward VI of England's reign, from 1547 until January 1552. He was the founder of Felsted School with its associated almshouses in Essex in 1564. He was ...

. Elizabeth survived her husband by 10 years and was buried 4 February 1616/7 at Cheam.

Custodian of Nonsuch Palace

Lumley's seat was

Lumley Castle Lumley Castle is a 14th-century quadrangular castle at Chester-le-Street in the North of England, near the city of Durham and a property of the Earl of Scarbrough. It is a Grade I listed building. It is currently a hotel. History It is named a ...

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

. However Queen Mary had sold the Palace of Nonsuch to

Henry FitzAlan, 19th Earl of Arundel Henry Fitzalan, 12th Earl of Arundel KG (23 April 151224 February 1580) was an English nobleman, who over his long life assumed a prominent place at the court of all the later Tudor sovereigns, probably the only person to do so. Court caree ...

in 1556, and Lumley inherited it from his father-in-law in 1580. During his tenure, Lumley developed a major garden at Nonsuch. In 1592 Lumley remitted to Queen Elizabeth possession of Nonsuch, and so after 36 years it again became a royal palace. When the palace passed to Queen Elizabeth, an inventory of Lumley's goods was prepared. Lumley stayed on at Nonsuch as Keeper of the Palace. On his death in 1609 he willed his library to Henry Stuart, the oldest son of

and it became a significant addition to the

Old Royal Library The Royal manuscripts are one of the "closed collections" of the British Library (i.e. historic collections to which new material is no longer added), consisting of some 2,000 manuscripts collected by the sovereigns of England in the "Old Royal ...

– which eventually became the basis of the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...

Lumleian Lectures

With

Richard Caldwell Richard Caldwell or Caldwall M.D.FRCP(1505?–1584) was an English physician, known for his part in founding the Lumleian Lectures, an annual series of anatomical demonstrations, delivered by the Royal College of Physicians, College of Physician ...

, Lord Lumley endowed a series of lectures, known as the

Lumleian Lectures The Lumleian Lectures are a series of annual lectures started in 1582 by the Royal College of Physicians and currently run by the Lumleian Trust. The name commemorates John Lumley, 1st Baron Lumley, who with Richard Caldwell of the College endowe ...

, starting in 1582 and still being given today. Initially they were about anatomy and surgery, with the purpose of "spreading light" and increasing the general knowledge of anatomy throughout England, but today they are on general medicine. Initially plans were for a full anatomy course based on weekly lectures, but by 1616 there were three lectures per year. The work of William Harvey on the circulation of the blood was first announced by Harvey in the Lumleian Lecture for 1616. Today the lecture is given once a year, organised by the Royal College of Physicians of London.

Death

John Lumley died 11 April 1609, aged 76, without any surviving children. At his death the Barony of Lumley (created 1547) became extinct. He was buried at Cheam with his first wife; a tomb and monument there at St. Dunstan's Church memorialize Lumley and his two wives. The composer

John Bull John Bull is a national personification of the United Kingdom in general and England in particular, especially in political cartoons and similar graphic works. He is usually depicted as a stout, middle-aged, country-dwelling, jolly and matter- ...

wrote one of his greatest works to Lumley's memory, contained in the

Fitzwilliam Virginal Book The ''Fitzwilliam Virginal Book'' is a primary source of keyboard music from the late Elizabethan and early Jacobean periods in England, i.e., the late Renaissance and very early Baroque. It takes its name from Viscount Fitzwilliam who beque ...

, (Pavan and Galliard Lord Lumley). In his will dated 28 January 1606 and probated in 1609, Lumley settled the bulk of his estate on his cousin and

heir male In inheritance, a hereditary successor is a person who inherits an indivisible title or office after the death of the previous title holder. The hereditary line of succession may be limited to heirs of the body, or may pass also to collateral l ...

Richard Lumley, 1st Viscount Lumley Richard Lumley, 1st Viscount Lumley (7 April 1589 – 12 March 1663) was an English royalist and military commander. He was the grandfather of Richard Lumley, 1st Earl of Scarbrough. Richard Lumley was baptized at Chester-le-Street, County D ...

External links

findagrave.com grave record

References

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lumley, John English art collectors English book and manuscript collectors Barons Lumley Peers of England created by Edward VI 1533 births 1609 deaths People of the Elizabethan era Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge 16th-century English nobility 17th-century English nobility Knights of the Bath