Nicholas Stallinge or Stallenge (d. 1605) was an English courtier. He was a gentleman usher to Queen Elizabeth and King James. His lands were at Kenn and

Yatton Yatton is a village and civil parish within the unitary authority of North Somerset, which falls within the ceremonial county of Somerset, England. It is located south-west of Bristol. Its population in 2011 was 7,552. The parish includes Clav ...

in Somerset. In 1586 he visited

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 ...

at Chartley and

Fotheringhay Fotheringhay is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Northamptonshire, England, north-east of Oundle and around west of Peterborough. It is most noted for being the site of Fotheringhay Castle, Fotheringhay (or Fotheringay ...

and reported on her custody by

Amias Paulet Sir Amias Paulet (1532 – 26 September 1588) of Hinton St. George, Somerset, was an English diplomat, Governor of Jersey, and the gaoler for a period of Mary, Queen of Scots. Origins He was the son of Sir Hugh Paulet of Hinton St Georg ...

. Paulet was grateful for his help but attributed improvements in his allowance to

Francis Walsingham Sir Francis Walsingham ( – 6 April 1590) was principal secretary to Queen Elizabeth I of England from 20 December 1573 until his death and is popularly remembered as her "spymaster". Born to a well-connected family of gentry, Wals ...

. He died on 10 January 1605 and was buried at Kenn.

Marriage and children

He married Florence Stallinge (d. 1620), widow of Christopher Kenn of Kenn (d. 1593), and daughter of John Stallinge, on 14 September 1593. She was said to have been a gentlewoman and a servant to Kenn before her marriage. They had no children. Florence had two daughters by her marriage to Christopher Kenn, who became Nicholas Stallinge's wards: * Margaret Kenn, who married William Guise of Elmore in 1608. It was said that Kenn had disposed his estate to favour his unborn child, who he presumed would be a son. Her younger sister was considered to have the greater inheritance. A further legal complication was the complaint of Martha Stowell, a daughter of Kenn by his first marriage. This marriage had been declared invalid. * Elizabeth Kenn, born after her father's death. The much older Scottish courtier Sir Robert Stewart (brother of the

Earl of Orkney Earl of Orkney, historically Jarl of Orkney, is a title of nobility encompassing the archipelagoes of Orkney and Shetland, which comprise the Northern Isles of Scotland. Originally founded by Norse invaders, the status of the rulers of the Nort ...

) wished to marry her in 1605, when she was 11 years old. King James wrote in his favour to Stallinge. Her mother told Sir Robert Steward to renew his suit when her daughter was of marriageable age. Stewart came to Kenn Court soon after the death of Stallinge, and her mother wrote, "with her childish resolution at his being here, that she could not affect him nor any other". In 1606 a marriage to Walter Devereux, son of the

Earl of Essex Earl of Essex is a title in the Peerage of England which was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title has been recreated eight times from its original inception, beginning with a new first Earl upon each new cre ...

and

Elizabeth Southwell Lady Elizabeth Southwell ( née Cromwell), called Lady Cromwell (1674–1709) was an English noblewoman, the only daughter of Vere Essex Cromwell, 4th Earl of Ardglass and wife Catherine Hamilton. Title When her father died in 1687, she claimed ...

, was suggested and Lettice, Countess of Leicester, who acted as Devereux's guardian, was sceptical of her income and asked Cecil's opinion of the match. She married John Poulett, grandson of Amias Paulet, in 1614. There is a portrait of her at age 22 in 1616 by

Robert Peake the Elder Robert Peake the Elder (c. 1551–1619) was an English painter active in the later part of Elizabeth I's reign and for most of the reign of James I. In 1604, he was appointed picture maker to the heir to the throne, Prince Henry; and in 1607, ...

. Another portrait of a woman holding an image of the Magdalen with a squirrel on her arm and a lute on a table is sometimes said to depict her. Her second husband was Jack Ashburnham (1603-1671). Florence Stallinge erected a monument in the Church of St John the Evangelist at Kenn to Christopher Kenn and her two daughters. She also had a portrait of herself and her two daughters made which was kept at

Elmore Court Elmore Court is a grade II* listed mansion, located at Elmore in the Stroud district of Gloucestershire, England. The original building dates from between 1564 and 1588. History The house has been the family seat of the Guise Baronets for near ...

. Florence Stallinge rescued and fed her tenants and neighbours in the upper floors of Kenn Court during the great floods of 1607. Horses were stabled in the great hall, standing in floodwater.'Family of Kenn', ''Notes and Queries'', 6th Series, (20 December 1884), p. 501, quoting the 'addition' to ''More strange newes of wonderfull accidents hapning by the late overflowings in Somersetshire'' (London, 1607).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stallinge, Nicholas 1605 deaths Court of Elizabeth I Court of James VI and I People from Somerset