Richard Topcliffe (14 November 1531 – late 1604)
[Richardson, William. "Topcliffe, Richard (1531–1604)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, « Oxford University Press, September 2004; online edn, January 2008. Accessed 26 July 2013.] was a
priest hunter
A priest hunter was a person who, acting on behalf of the English and later British government, spied on or captured Catholic priests during Penal Times. Priest hunters were effectively bounty hunters. Some were volunteers, experienced soldiers or ...
and practitioner of torture
during the reign of
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is ...
. A landowner and Member of Parliament, he became notorious as the government's chief enforcer of the penal laws against the practice of Catholicism.
Early life
Topcliffe was the eldest son of Robert Topcliffe of
Somerby, Lincolnshire, and his wife, Margaret, daughter of
Thomas Burgh, 1st Baron Burgh
Thomas Burgh, 1st Baron Burgh also spelt ''Borough'', KG (; ; pronounced: ''Borough''; c. 1488 – 28 February 1550), 1st Baron Borough of Gainsborough, also ''de jure'' 5th Baron Strabolgi and 7th Baron Cobham of Sterborough, was an English ...
of Gainsborough, who had been chamberlain of the household to queen
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 ...
. His uncle Edward Burgh was queen
Katherine Parr
Catherine Parr (sometimes alternatively spelled Katherine, Katheryn, Kateryn, or Katharine; 1512 – 5 September 1548) was Queen of England and Ireland as the last of the six wives of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 12 July 1543 until ...
's first husband — so Topcliffe was extremely well-connected. When his father died in 1544, the twelve-year-old Topcliffe became the ward of his uncle,
Sir Anthony Neville. In 1548, aged sixteen, like other well-to-do young Elizabethan gentlemen he entered
Gray's Inn
The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...
, though he never practised law. On coming of age in 1553, he entered upon a large property, over 4,000 acres.
Career
According to his own account, he entered the service of the Queen in 1557, a year before her
accession to the throne, when they were both in their mid-twenties, but he did not begin his service of the state until the
Northern Rebellion
The Rising of the North of 1569, also called the Revolt of the Northern Earls or Northern Rebellion, was an unsuccessful attempt by Catholic nobles from Northern England to depose Queen Elizabeth I of England and replace her with Mary, Queen of ...
of 1569, when he armed a troop of thirty horses at his own expense. In his early years, too, he had served the
6th Earl of Shrewsbury, but then became one of Leicester's men. There is no foundation for the frequently-repeated assertion that he worked for Burghley and Walsingham. As an independent, self-financed operator with his own squadron of "instruments" as he called them, he worked with both Burghley and Walsingham under commission from 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 ...
, and was on very good terms with them both, though he always considered himself the Queen's personal servant and friend.
He represented
Beverley
Beverley is a market town, market and minster (church), minster town and a civil parishes in England, civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, of which it is the county town. The town centre is located south-east of York's centre ...
in Parliament in 1572. He would later return to Parliament as MP for
Old Sarum
Old Sarum, in Wiltshire, South West England, is the now ruined and deserted site of the earliest settlement of Salisbury. Situated on a hill about north of modern Salisbury near the A345 road, the settlement appears in some of the earliest re ...
in 1584 and 1586.
Topcliffe was a tireless agent of the English government's determination to eradicate Catholicism from England. At the height of his power, from the late 1580s until 1595, he hunted, captured, arrested, and interrogated many prisoners - often with torture. Topcliffe's infamous interrogations took place either 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 ...
, in Bridewell prison, or even at his own house in Westminster, next to the Gatehouse prison. Exiled Catholic intelligencer
Richard Verstegan
Richard Rowlands, born Richard Verstegan (c. 1550 – 1640), was an Anglo-Dutch antiquary, publisher, humorist and translator. Verstegan was born in East London the son of a cooper; his grandfather, Theodore Roland Verstegen, was a refugee fro ...
regularly reported on Topcliffe's activities, condemning him "whose inhuman cruelty is so great, as he will not spare to extend any torture whatsoever". His favourite method (which he may have introduced) was to hang a prisoner by the hands in the gauntlets or manacles, a procedure which, though exquisitely painful, left no permanent injury if properly administered. Improperly administered, it caused permanent internal injury and even death. There is some evidence that he used psychological torture as well, keeping prisoners awake, for instance. Furthermore, Topcliffe frequently used rape as a method of extracting information.
Having seen his prisoners through to trial and condemnation, he would then attend the executions as a kind of master of the ceremonies, usually putting up a notice or ''titulus'' on the gallows indicating the sufferer's name and offence, and making sure that the full rigours of the sentence — hanging, drawing, and quartering while still alive for those convicted of treason — were carried out. Under the law after 1585, merely being a priest in England was treason. The British literary critic
Frank Kermode
Sir John Frank Kermode, FBA (29 November 1919 – 17 August 2010) was a British literary critic best known for his 1967 work '' The Sense of an Ending: Studies in the Theory of Fiction'' and for his extensive book-reviewing and editing.
He was ...
notes in ''The Age of Shakespeare'' that "Topcliffe's copy of a history of the Jesuit mission survives, with his gloating marginalia: beside the name of a missionary the words ‘I racked him,’ beside the name of someone hanged a little stick figure dangling from a gallows.” Unfortunately, Kermode's reference cannot be verified, though Topcliffe, whose official police career began with the searching out of Catholic books, was fond of annotating the books he confiscated and kept.
Topcliffe's victims included the Jesuits
Robert Southwell, and
Henry Walpole
Henry Walpole (1558 – 7 April 1595) was an English Jesuit martyr, executed at York for refusing to take the Oath of Supremacy.
Early life
Walpole was born at Docking, Norfolk, in 1558, the eldest son of Christopher Walpole, by Margery, heir ...
. Topcliffe features numerous times in
John Gerard
John Gerard (also John Gerarde, c. 1545–1612) was an English herbalist with a large garden in Holborn, now part of London. His 1,484-page illustrated ''Herball, or Generall Historie of Plantes'', first published in 1597, became a popular gard ...
, S.J.'s autobiography of his days as a hunted priest in Elizabethan England. In it, he is described as, "old and hoary and a veteran in evil". In early 1592, he or one of his men, Nicholas Jones, raped or seduced a prisoner in the Gatehouse prison, Anne Bellamy, and persuaded her to arrange the capture of the
Jesuit
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders ...
priest Robert Southwell at her family's house outside London. When Bellamy married Jones, Topcliffe tried to force her father to give the couple an estate. What became of them is unknown, but the Bellamy family was ruined. Anne Bellamy was the Queen's prisoner, and therefore entitled to her protection, yet no action was taken against Topcliffe over this affair, even though the Queen knew about the pregnancy, and knew that Topcliffe had spirited the woman away to his house in Lincolnshire.
In August 1597, the Council commissioned Topcliffe to investigate the play by
Ben Jonson
Benjamin "Ben" Jonson (c. 11 June 1572 – c. 16 August 1637) was an English playwright and poet. Jonson's artistry exerted a lasting influence upon English poetry and stage comedy. He popularised the comedy of humours; he is best known for t ...
and
Thomas Nashe
Thomas Nashe (baptised November 1567 – c. 1601; also Nash) was an Elizabethan playwright, poet, satirist and a significant pamphleteer. He is known for his novel ''The Unfortunate Traveller'', his pamphlets including ''Pierce Penniless,'' a ...
, ''
The Isle of Dogs'', which upset the authorities so badly. Fortunately for Jonson, by then Topcliffe's general commission had been withdrawn, and his power much curtailed, though he never lost favour with the Queen and the Cecils. It is possible, though unlikely, that he initiated the inquiry.
The Fitzherberts
Topcliffe, who was engaged in a long-running attempt to destroy the Catholic Fitzherberts of Derbyshire and Staffordshire, persuaded Sir Thomas Fitzherbert's heir, also Thomas, to assist him. He entered into a bond under which Thomas Fitzherbert would pay him £3,000 for bringing about the deaths of his uncle Sir Thomas, his father John, and a cousin, William Bassett. The uncle and the father died in prison, and the cousin remained alive. When Fitzherbert refused to pay up, Topcliffe sued him in Chancery for the money. Scandalised, the Privy Council intervened. Topcliffe insulted them, and they put him in prison. The Queen released him after a couple of weeks in response to his personal letters to her. He did not get the money, but he had succeeded in tricking Thomas into deeding an estate in Padley, Derbyshire, to him. Under
King James I
James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...
, though, the
7th Earl of Shrewsbury ejected him, and the Fitzherberts recovered the property.
Death
Topcliffe died in November or December 1604 at the age of about 73.
His heir, Charles, succeeded to a heavily encumbered estate. Like Walsingham, Topcliffe impoverished himself by his service to the crown.
Depictions
Richard Topcliffe was portrayed by
Brian Wilde
Brian George Wilde (13 June 1927 – 20 March 2008) was an English actor, best known for his roles in television comedy, most notably Mr Barrowclough in '' Porridge'' and Walter "Foggy" Dewhurst in ''Last of the Summer Wine''. His lugubrious ...
in the 1971 British television mini-series ''
Elizabeth R
''Elizabeth R'' is a BBC television drama serial of six 85-minute plays starring Glenda Jackson as Queen Elizabeth I of England. It was first broadcast on BBC2 from February to March 1971, through the ABC in Australia and broadcast in America ...
''. Topcliffe is featured in Rory Clements' "John Shakespeare" murder mystery novel series as a sadistic torturer. Topcliffe is also portrayed as a torturer and persecutor of Catholics in the Sir Robert Carey and James Enys novels by P.F. Chisholm/
Patricia Finney
Patricia Finney (born 1958) is an English author and journalist with Hungarian forebears. She is a graduate of Oxford University ( Wadham, 1977–80) with a degree in History. She has written under the pen names "P. F. Chisholm" and "Grace Cave ...
.
Topcliffe is portrayed by
Ewen Bremner
Ewen Bremner (born 23 January 1972) is a Scottish character actor. His roles have included Julien in ''Julien Donkey-Boy'' and Daniel "Spud" Murphy in ''Trainspotting'' and its 2017 sequel ''T2 Trainspotting''.
Early life
Bremner was born in ...
in the 2017 American television series ''
Will
Will may refer to:
Common meanings
* Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death
* Will (philosophy), or willpower
* Will (sociology)
* Will, volition (psychology)
* Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will
...
'', a fictional look at the life of young
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
. In the series, Shakespeare bases the scheming title character of ''
Richard III
Richard III (2 October 145222 August 1485) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat and death at the Battl ...
'' on Topcliffe.
Topcliffe is the master villain in the latter half of
Robert Hugh Benson
Robert Hugh Benson AFSC KC*SG KGCHS (18 November 1871 – 19 October 1914) was an English Catholic priest and writer. First an Anglican priest, he was received into the Catholic Church in 1903 and ordained therein the next year. He wa ...
's 1912 novel, ''
Come Rack! Come Rope!
''Come Rack! Come Rope!'' is a historical novel by the English priest and writer Robert Hugh Benson (1871–1914), a convert to Catholicism from Anglicanism. Set in Derbyshire at the time of the Elizabethan persecution of Catholics, when b ...
'', in which the Topcliffe character pursues and ultimately executes several priests, including Edmund Campion and the protagonist of the novel, Robin Audrey.
[Published by Burns & Oates & Hutchinson]
Topcliffe is fictionalised as the malevolent Pursuíveant Elias Creepe in
Liam Mac Cóil
Liam Mac Cóil is an Irish language novelist, a critic, and an essayist.
Career
Born in Dublin in 1952, Liam Mac Cóil lives in the Gaeltacht of Ráth Cairn, County Meath. Before becoming a full-time writer he worked for a time at An Coiste Téa ...
's 2014 prizewinning novel ''
I dTír Strainséartha'' (In a Strange Land).
Quote
The morrow after Simon and Jude's day I was hanged at the wall from the ground, my manacles fast locked into a staple as high as I could reach upon a stool: the stool taken away where I hanged from a little after 8 o'clock in the morning till after 4 in the afternoon, without any ease or comfort at all, saving that Topcliffe came in and told me that the Spaniards were come into Southwark
Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...
by our means: "For lo, do you not hear the drums" (for then the drums played in honour of the Lord Mayor). The next day after also I was hanged up an hour or two: such is the malicious minds of our adversaries.
—Saint
Eustace White
Eustace White (1559 - 1591) was a Catholic priest. Due to his service he was put on trial in December 1591 and subsequently hanged, drawn and quartered at Tyburn on 10 December 1591, along with another priest and three laymen. He is one of the ...
, S.J., written to Father
Henry Garnet
Henry Garnet (July 1555 – 3 May 1606), sometimes Henry Garnett, was an English Jesuit priest executed for his complicity in the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. Born in Heanor, Derbyshire, he was educated in Nottingham and later at Winchester Colle ...
from prison. 23 November 1591. Quoted in ''The Other Face; Catholic Life Under Elizabeth I,'' by Father Philip Caraman, pages 235–236.
The Chief Justice asked how old he was, seeming to scorn his youth. He answered that he was near about the age of our Saviour, Who lived upon the earth thirty-three years; and he himself was as he thought near about thirty-four years. Hereat Topcliffe seemed to make great acclamation, saying that he compared himself to Christ. Mr. Southwell answered, "No he was a humble worm created by Christ." "Yes", said Topcliffe, "you are Christ's fellow."
—Father Henry Garnet, "Account of the Trial of
Robert Southwell." Quoted in Caraman's ''The Other Face'', page 230.
References
Citations
Sources
* Richardson, William
"Topcliffe, Richard (1531–1604)" ''
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, September 2004; online edn, January 2008. Accessed 27 July 2013.
* “Tower of London.” The Map of Early Modern London. Ed. Janelle Jenstad. Victoria: University of Victoria. Web. 02 May 2017. <
http://mapoflondon.uvic.ca/TOWE5.htm>.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Topcliffe, Richard
1531 births
1604 deaths
17th-century English people
Anti-Catholicism in England
English executioners
English landowners
English rapists
English MPs 1572–1583
English MPs 1584–1585
English MPs 1586–1587
Members of Gray's Inn
People from West Lindsey District
Priest hunters