Sir Henry Isley was an English nobleman involved in Wyatt's Rebellion. The Isley family were established landowners of

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

county.Loades, p. 79. Henry Isley owned Sundridge manor estate in Brasted, his brother Thomas Isley (Jr.) in Vinters Park near

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the c ...

. He was appointed

sheriff of Kent The high sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown (prior to 1974 the office previously known as sheriff)."Sheriffs appointed for a county or Greater London shall be known as high sheriffs, and any reference in any enactment or instrum ...

for 1542 and 1550. Between 1547 and 1550

protestants Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

George Harper, Thomas Culpepper,

Thomas Wyatt the younger Sir Thomas Wyatt the Younger (152111 April 1554) was an English politician and rebel leader during the reign of Queen Mary I; his rising is traditionally called " Wyatt's rebellion". He was the son of the English poet and ambassador Sir Thom ...

and Henry Isley, all strongly associated with

King Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and King of Ireland, 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 ...

's regency council, had followed each other as sheriffs of Kent. Immediately after the accession of

Queen 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 ...

Isley was arrested, but managed to make peace with the new regime, accepting the changes in the established religion and was released.Loades, p. 86. On 22 January 1554 Henry Isley attended a meeting of thirty key conspirators at Wyatt's

Allington Castle Allington Castle is a stone castle in Allington, Kent, just north of Maidstone, in England. The first castle on the site was an unauthorised fortification, built during "The Anarchy" (1135–1153) and torn down later in the century when royal con ...

. On 25 January Wyatt took control of

in an open revolt; brothers Thomas and Henry Isley operated their own detachments separately from Wyatt's main forces. On 27 January 1554, when Wyatt occupied

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

, Henry Isley and his men stayed at

Sevenoaks Sevenoaks is a town in Kent with a population of 29,506 situated south-east of London, England. Also classified as a civil parishes in England, civil parish, Sevenoaks is served by a commuter South Eastern Main Line, main line railway into Lon ...

.Loades, p. 58. On the next day, however, Henry Isley and his five hundred men marched out of Sevenoaks to join Wyatt at Rochester.Loades, p. 59. Loyalist sheriff Robert Southwell intercepted Henry Isley at

Wrotham Wrotham ( ) is a village on the Pilgrims' Way in Kent, England, at the foot of the North Downs. It is north of Borough Green and approximately east of Sevenoaks. It is between the M20 and M26 motorways. History The name first occurs as ''U ...

and defeated the rebels, taking around sixty men prisoners. Isley himself fled to

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

. The Crown offered pardon to all rebels, ''excluding'' Isley, Wyatt, Harper and Rudstone, and offered a £100 bounty for the capture of each ringleader.Bounty was offered for four men only - Wyatt, Isley, Harper and Rudstone - Loades, p. 71. By the end of February all the rebels were apprehended and 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 ...

.Loades, p. 109. The trials began on 10 February and were largely over by 22 February. The case against the leaders was examined by the Westminster Commission. Henry Isley was sentenced to death and executed. The overwhelming majority of noble rebels were fined and set free, and some released without fine.Loades, p. 127.

Notes

References

* * Loades, D. M. (1965).
The Two Tudor Conspiracies
'. Cambridge University Press. * Zell, Michael (2000).
Early modern Kent, 1540-1640
'. Boydell & Brewer. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Isley, Henry 1554 deaths People from Brasted English rebels People from Sevenoaks District People executed under the Tudors for treason against England High Sheriffs of Kent Year of birth unknown Executed people from Kent People executed under Mary I of England