Thomas Lake
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Sir Thomas Lake PC (1567 – 17 September 1630) was Secretary of State to
James I of England 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 King of Ireland, Ireland as James I from the Union of the Crowns, union of the Scottish and Eng ...
. He was a Member of
Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
between 1593 and 1626. Thomas Lake was baptised in
Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
on 11 October 1567, the son of Almeric Lake, a minor customs official: his obscure birth was a source of much unkind comment by his enemies throughout his life. Arthur Lake,
Bishop of Bath and Wells The Bishop of Bath and Wells heads the Church of England Diocese of Bath and Wells in the Province of Canterbury in England. The present diocese covers the overwhelmingly greater part of the (ceremonial) county of Somerset and a small area of D ...
, was his older brother. He attended
King Edward VI School, Southampton King Edward VI School (also known as King Edward's, or KES) is a selective co-educational independent school founded in Southampton, United Kingdom, in 1553. The school was founded at the request of William Capon, who bequeathed money in hi ...
as a day boy. This meant that he did not have the level of
French language French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in Nor ...
tuition accorded to boarders by his
Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...
schoolmaster Adrian Saravia, which was a source of regret to him in later life. He did, however, gain excellent fluency in
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
.


Career

He was an MP for
Malmesbury Malmesbury () is a town and civil parish in north Wiltshire, England, which lies approximately west of Swindon, northeast of Bristol, and north of Chippenham. The older part of the town is on a hilltop which is almost surrounded by the upp ...
in 1593, New Romney in 1601, Launceston in 1604,
Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...
in 1614 and
Wootton Bassett Royal Wootton Bassett , formerly Wootton Bassett, is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, with a population of 11,043 in 2001, increasing to 11,385 in 2011. Situated in the north of the county, it lies to the west of the major ...
in 1626. He became the personal secretary of Sir
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 ...
, the Secretary of State, and was nicknamed 'Swiftsure' for his speed and accuracy. Walsingham brought Lake to the attention of
Queen 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 he was appointed
Clerk of the Signet The Clerks of the Signet were English officials who played an intermediate role in the passage of letters patent through the seals. For most of the history of the position, four clerks were in office simultaneously. Letters patent prepared by the ...
in 1600. As one of the Queen's favourites, he travelled with her reading Latin texts to her on her progresses around the country. On 28 March 1603, four days after the death 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 ...
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 ...
sent him to Scotland with George Carew to inform James I of the current state of affairs and reiterate their urgent desire that the King should come to England. He was a protégé of the Howard family and became a favourite of James, who appointed him
Secretary of the Latin Tongue A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a w ...
and Keeper of the Records and then
knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...
him in 1603. He acted as the King's travelling secretary just as he had for Walsingham. His brother Arthur was one of the translators of the
King James Bible The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an Bible translations into English, English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and publis ...
appointed in 1604—the year that the reversion of Great Stanmore Manor in Middlesex was granted to Lake, although it seems that he never took possession for the lordship remained in the name of the Burnell family until his son
Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...
assumed possession in 1631. At the adjoining manor of Little Stanmore he built a grand brick mansion called
Cannons A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder dur ...
to a design ascribed to
John Thorpe John Thorpe or Thorp (c.1565–1655?; fl.1570–1618) was an English architect. Life Little is known of his life, and his work is dubiously inferred, rather than accurately known, from a folio of drawings in the Sir John Soane's Museum, to whic ...
(the house was rebuilt in the 18th century by the Duke of Chandos).
Bribery Bribery is the Offer and acceptance, offering, Gift, giving, Offer and acceptance, receiving, or Solicitation, soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official, or other person, in charge of a public or legal duty. With reg ...
was endemic at the time and Lake's position with the King made him a target for many bribes (the
Bishop of Llandaff The Bishop of Llandaff is the ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of Llandaff. Area of authority The diocese covers most of the County of Glamorgan. The bishop's seat is in the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul (the site of a ...
offered Lake £80 for his help in securing a position) but he was not averse to bribery on his own behalf. When
Lord Salisbury Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (; 3 February 183022 August 1903) was a British statesman and Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom three times for a total of over thirteen y ...
, Walsingham's successor as Secretary of State, died in 1612, Lake desperately wanted the job and tried to bribe his way into it but James would not appoint Lake immediately and filled the post himself for a time. It was also in 1612 that Lake came to regret not having boarded at his school, which would have enabled him to profit from the headmaster's tutorials in French. The King's daughter, Princess
Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...
was betrothed to a German prince,
Frederick V of the Palatinate Frederick V (german: link=no, Friedrich; 26 August 1596 – 29 November 1632) was the Elector Palatine of the Rhine in the Holy Roman Empire from 1610 to 1623, and reigned as King of Bohemia from 1619 to 1620. He was forced to abdicate both r ...
, and Lake was chosen to read the marriage contract aloud. It was written in French and his accent was so bad and his translation into English so inept that he made a fool of himself. It did not do lasting harm to his career, however. On 29 March 1614/5 Lake was taken into 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 on 3 January 1615/6 James swore him in as one of the two principal royal secretaries so that both he and
Sir Ralph Winwood Sir Ralph Winwood (c. 1563 – 27 October 1617) was an English diplomat and statesman to the Jacobean court. Early life Ralph Winwood was born the son of Richard Winwood at Aynhoe in Northamptonshire, and was educated at St John's College, ...
were Secretary of State.


Scandal and the Secretary of State

Lake's discretion was not always to be relied on. In 1619 he relayed to the
Earl of Suffolk Earl of Suffolk is a title which has been created four times in the Peerage of England. The first creation, in tandem with the creation of the title of Earl of Norfolk, came before 1069 in favour of Ralph the Staller; but the title was forfe ...
remarks that the King had made to him privately about Suffolk's wife,
Katherine Knyvet Katherine (or Catherine) Knyvett, Countess of Suffolk (1564–1638) was an English court office holder who served as lady-in-waiting to the queen consort of England, Anne of Denmark. Private life She was born in Charlton Park, Wiltshire, the ...
. The King was gravely displeased, and Lake offered the
Marquess of Buckingham Marquess of Buckingham may refer to: * George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham (1592–1628) Marquess of Buckingham from 1618 until elevated to Duke of Buckingham in 1623 * George Nugent-Temple-Grenville, 1st Marquess of Buckingham (1753–1813), ...
, the King's favourite £15,000 to help him regain the King's friendship. Buckingham refused but later yielded to Lake's pleas.


The Roos affair

Ultimately, Lake's career was nearly ruined by his involvement in a bitter family quarrel. On 12 February 1616/17 Lake's eldest child Anne was married to
William Cecil, 16th Baron de Ros William Cecil, 16th Baron Ros of Helmsley (May 1590 – 27 June 1618) was an English peerage, peer, whose ill-advised marriage to Anne Lake resulted in a major scandal, which dragged on for years after his early death. He was born at Newark Castle ...
, but the marriage did not last. During the marriage, Cecil had mortgaged some of his land to Lake and following the
divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...
Lake claimed this for his daughter. Cecil's grandfather,
Thomas Cecil, 1st Earl of Exeter Thomas Cecil, 1st Earl of Exeter, KG (5 May 1542 – 8 February 1623), known as Lord Burghley from 1598 to 1605, was an English politician, courtier and soldier. Family Thomas Cecil was the elder son of William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley, b ...
, contested the request and a vicious dispute ensued. Lake's eldest son, Sir Arthur Lake violently attacked Cecil. Lake's wife and daughter then threatened to accuse Cecil of having an affair with his grandfather's young second wife. This charge was entirely false but when Cecil fled to
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
, Anne Lake forged incriminating letters. Lady Exeter charged Lake, his wife, his son and his daughter with defamation of character. Anne was accused of "
precontract A precontract is a legal contract that precedes another; in particular it can refer to an existing promise of marriage with another. Such a precontract would legally nullify any later marriages into which either party entered. The practice was comm ...
s,
adultery Adultery (from Latin ''adulterium'') is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal ...
,
incest Incest ( ) is human sexual activity between family members or close relatives. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by affinity (marriage or stepfamily), adoption ...
,
murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...
,
poison Poison is a chemical substance that has a detrimental effect to life. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figuratively, with a broa ...
" against her husband, Lord Roos. As part of the legal action, Lake and his wife submitted a bill to the Star Chamber, which was defended by Lord Roos who counter-sued with a bill submitted by his grandfather, the Earl of Exeter. On 14 February 1617/18, the King expressed his annoyance with Lake because of Lady Roos' slanders against Frances Brydges Smith Cecil, Countess of Exeter. On 22 February Lady Roos was committed into the
Bishop of London A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
's custody, her maid to the custody of
Edmund Doubleday Edmund Doubleday (died December 1620) was an English vintner, lawyer, office-holder and politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1614. He was jointly responsible for the capture of Guy Fawkes in the Gunpowder Plot. Doubleday was acting as a ...
, and Thomas Lake's attorney and Luke Hutton were imprisoned. Lady Roos was freed on 5 March. King James chose to judge the case in person, adjudicating the trial in the Star Chamber in two morning sessions on 3 and 5 February 1619/20. The King found them all guilty, although he found Lake himself guilty of less serious crimes than the others. The King and the Lords in the Star Chamber passed sentence on 13 February 1619/20. Huge fines exceeding £10,000 were imposed upon the family and two days later Lake, his wife, and Lady Roos his daughter were consigned to the Tower. The fines were almost all due to the Crown and little compensation was offered to Lady Exeter. Lake also had to surrender his seal and public documents. One of his duties, while confined to the tower, was the chopping of wood. On 21 April Lake's son and secretary William was put in custody because he attempted to pass secret letters to Lady Roos and tried to escape when accosted and on 3 June Arthur Lake was placed in custody having published a slanderous pamphlet. But the misbehaviour was not confined to the Lakes: Parker, Clerk of the Star Chamber, was also incarcerated on 3 June because he acted in bad faith in examining Lady Roos. On 19 June Lake was brought back to the Star Chamber and told that he must make a public confession that the sentence brought against him was just, and that he had inflicted an injury upon the Countess of Exeter. He pleaded not guilty; so too did his wife, even though their daughter had confessed that her slanders about incest with Lady Roos, poisoning, and requests for forgiveness for crimes were inventions written by Arthur Lake and copied by Hobbie, Lady Roos' maid, with her father and mother accomplices. The King considered this to be the height of contempt against his Royal Majesty but a month later he agreed to free Lake from prison and put him in the custody of his brother Arthur,
Bishop of Bath and Wells The Bishop of Bath and Wells heads the Church of England Diocese of Bath and Wells in the Province of Canterbury in England. The present diocese covers the overwhelmingly greater part of the (ceremonial) county of Somerset and a small area of D ...
. Lake's daughter was also freed. Lake did not leave the Tower immediately; he chose to stay there a while longer to arrange his private affairs. On 28 January 1620/21, back in the Star Chamber Lake read out an acknowledgement of the slanders by which he had done damage to the Countess of Exeter. This acknowledgement or act of submission was devised by the Lord Chancellor, Chief Justices, and Attorney General. In this,
for the defence and support of Lady Roos his daughter, he acknowledged that the sentence handed down against him on the preceding 13 February, was just, because his fault was disgraceful, hateful, and scandalous to the said Countess. But he was misled by his great credulilty, indulgence, and ignorance. Furthermore he acknowledged that he had erred in incarcerating Luke Hutton on 22 February 1618 and George Williams out of self-interest, and professed that it grieved him to his heart to have defended such a disgraceful, hateful, and scandalous case.possibly Lake's attorney or Sir George Williams, the Elizabethan courtier who reported on his audiences with Henry IV of France, MS British Library Cotton Caligula E. viii. Rymer's f. 170 Begging the Countess' forgiveness, he sincerely petitioned the Lords to intercede with the King for favour and mercy.
Intriguingly, on 22 February
William Camden William Camden (2 May 1551 – 9 November 1623) was an English antiquarian, historian, topographer, and herald, best known as author of ''Britannia'', the first chorographical survey of the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, and the ''Annal ...
notes in his diary that: "Peacock of Cambridge, who had claimed he had employed magical tricks to sway the King's mind from sound judgement in the case of Thomas Lake, is put to torture in the Tower of London. Some pronounced him a madman, others an impostor." On 10 March Lake's wife was temporarily freed from the Tower "because of her ill health, under the condition that at the beginning of term she be returned unless she has made her submission". Lake finally kissed the royal hand on 15 May but his wife stubbornly refused to make her submission and remained in the Tower after his release. She was still there on 27 September when Lake was struck by a vehicle and broke his arm and on 16 November when she was to be brought to the Star Chamber to acknowledge her offence against the Countess of Exeter, "she wrote a letter to her derogatory to the kingdom's justice, and, quoting verses from Psalm 136, summoned the Countess to Divine Judgement," and hence was returned to the Tower. A month later on 14 December, she was freed from prison without public explanation.


Later life

Lake did not return to his post as Secretary of State but he and the King were reconciled and he was readmitted to Court. In 1625 he was elected MP for Wells and in 1626 he became MP for Wooton, which position he until his death on 17 September 1630. He was survived by his widow, Mary (daughter of Sir William Ryder,
Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the mayor of the City of London and the leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded precedence over all individuals except the sovereign and retains various traditional powe ...
, and a first cousin of John Ryder, Anglican
Bishop of Killaloe The Bishop of Killaloe ( ) is an episcopal title which takes its name after the town of Killaloe in County Clare, Ireland. In the Roman Catholic Church it remains a separate title, but in the Church of Ireland it has been united with other bish ...
), three sons, Arthur (died 1633), Thomas (died 1653) and
Lancelot Lancelot du Lac (French for Lancelot of the Lake), also written as Launcelot and other variants (such as early German ''Lanzelet'', early French ''Lanselos'', early Welsh ''Lanslod Lak'', Italian ''Lancillotto'', Spanish ''Lanzarote del Lago' ...
(died 1680), and four daughters, including Lady Roos (who had remarried George Rodney) and Bridget, who married Sir
William Domville William Domville (or Domvile) (1609–1689) was a leading Irish politician, barrister and Constitutional writer of the Restoration (1660), Restoration era. Due to the great trust which the English Crown had in him, he served as Attorney General ...
,
Attorney General for Ireland The Attorney-General for Ireland was an Irish and then (from the Act of Union 1800) United Kingdom government office-holder. He was senior in rank to the Solicitor-General for Ireland: both advised the Crown on Irish legal matters. With the ...
, in 1637. Her mother, malicious and untruthful to the end, tried to make trouble between the couple by insisting that William was already married, a claim which had no basis in fact. It is inevitable that anyone who was so favoured by the King attracts envy. A fellow courtier described him as a 'mean fellow, of mean birth and meaner breeding'; but the King said of Lake: 'He was a Minister of State fit to serve the greatest prince in Europe'.


Arms


References


Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lake, Thomas 1560s births 1630 deaths Politicians from Southampton People educated at King Edward VI School, Southampton Secretaries of State of the Kingdom of England English MPs 1604–1611 English MPs 1614 English MPs 1625 English MPs 1626 Members of the Privy Council of England Knights Bachelor