Thomas Murray (1564 – 9 April 1623) was a Scottish courtier, at the end of his life
Provost of Eton
Provost may refer to:
People
* Provost (name), a surname
Officials Government
* Provost (civil), an officer of local government, including the equivalent of a mayor in Scotland
* Lord provost, the equivalent of a lord mayor in Scotland
Militar ...
.
Life
He was a son of Murray of Woodend, and uncle of
William Murray, 1st Earl of Dysart
William Murray, 1st Earl of Dysart (1600? – December, 1655), was the childhood whipping boy of Charles I of England and later, an adviser to the king.
Early life
Born about 1600, Murray was son of William Murray (1561?–1616), minister of D ...
. He was early attached to the court of
James VI of Scotland
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 hi ...
. In 1587 he presented a Latin poem to the King, which describes him as ruler of a northern British kingdom, both
North Star
Polaris is a star in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Minor. It is designated α Ursae Minoris ( Latinized to ''Alpha Ursae Minoris'') and is commonly called the North Star or Pole Star. With an apparent magnitude tha ...
and
Morning Star;
:Scote Britannaeae sidus Boreale coronae
:Pene sub Arctoo qui regis arva polo
::O Scot, O North Star of the Britannic Crown, you who rule the lands that lie almost under the Arctic sky.
Soon after James's accession to the English throne at the
Union of the Crowns
The Union of the Crowns ( gd, Aonadh nan Crùintean; sco, Union o the Crouns) was the accession of James VI of Scotland to the throne of the Kingdom of England as James I and the practical unification of some functions (such as overseas dipl ...
in 1603 he was appointed tutor to
Prince Charles
Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to a ...
, then duke of York. On 26 June 1605 he was granted a pension of two hundred
marks
Marks may refer to:
Business
* Mark's, a Canadian retail chain
* Marks & Spencer, a British retail chain
* Collective trade marks, trademarks owned by an organisation for the benefit of its members
* Marks & Co, the inspiration for the novel '' ...
for life, and in July was presented, through the intervention of the
Bishop of Durham
The Bishop of Durham is the Church of England, Anglican bishop responsible for the Diocese of Durham in the Province of York. The diocese is one of the oldest in England and its bishop is a member of the House of Lords. Paul Butler (bishop), Pau ...
, to the mastership of
Christ's Hospital, Sherburn, near
Durham. From that time he received numerous grants, and was in constant communication with
Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury
Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, (1 June 156324 May 1612), was an English statesman noted for his direction of the government during the Union of the Crowns, as Tudor England gave way to Stuart rule (1603). Lord Salisbury served as the ...
,
Sir Albertus Morton,
Sir Dudley Carleton, and others, many of his letters being preserved.
Andrew Melville
Andrew Melville (1 August 1545 – 1622) was a Scottish scholar, theologian, poet and religious reformer. His fame encouraged scholars from the European continent to study at Glasgow and St. Andrews.
He was born at Baldovie, on 1 August 15 ...
, when he sought his liberty in November 1610, placed the management of his case in the hands of Murray, to whom he refers as his special friend. In 1615
George Gladstanes,
Archbishop of St. Andrews, made an unsuccessful attempt to get Murray removed from the tutorship of Prince Charles as for his religious views. On 13 March 1617 Murray was appointed a collector of the reimposed duty on 'northern cloth,' and allowed one-third of the profits. In August of the same year the king promised him the provostship of Eton, but his appointment was opposed on suspicion of his
puritan
The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. ...
ism, and he received the post of secretary to Prince Charles instead.
In October 1621 he was confined to his house for opposing the
Spanish match
The Spanish match was a proposed marriage between Prince Charles, the son of King James I of Great Britain, and Infanta Maria Anna of Spain, the daughter of Philip III of Spain. Negotiations took place over the period 1614 to 1623, and during th ...
. In February 1622 he was elected provost of Eton, but fell seriously ill in February 1622-3, and died on 9 April, aged 59. He left behind him five sons and two daughters, one the writer
Anne Halkett
Anne Halkett (née Murray) (c. 1623 – 1699), also known as Lady Halkett, was a religious writer and autobiographer.
Early life
Halkett's father Thomas Murray was tutor to King James I's children. He later became Provost of Eton College. He ...
. His widow, Jean, and a son received a pension for their lives. Murray was author of some Latin poems, printed in ''Delitiae Poetarum Scotorum'', ed. 1637. He was eulogised by
John Leech in his ''Epigrammata'', ed. 1623, and by
Arthur Johnston in his ''Poemata'', ed. 1642.
One of his brothers was at court as a servant of Prince Charles in March 1625. He was involved in a duel with
Humfrey Tufton, after having an argument at a stage play. They went to
St George's Fields
St George's Fields was an area of Southwark in south London, England.
History
Originally the area was an undifferentiated part of the south side of the Thames, which was low-lying marshland unsuitable even for agricultural purposes. There ...
to fight. Tufton noted the presence of Gibson, a Scottish armourer, although they had agreed not to have "seconds" present. Tufton objected and left the field. The events offended Gibson's sense of honour, and he fought with Murray. Both were fatally injured.
Family
Secretary Murray married Jean Drummond, a daughter of George Drummond of Blair and Grissel Cargill, who had joined her cousin
Jean Drummond, Countess of Roxburghe at the court of
Anne of Denmark
Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I; as such, she was Queen of Scotland from their marriage on 20 August 1589 and Queen of England and Ireland from the union of the Scottish and Engl ...
. Several women of the Drummond family served the court and their identities can be confused.
The Countess of Roxburghe was later the governess of the children of
Charles I of England
Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. He was born into the House of Stuart as the second son of King James VI of Scotland, but after hi ...
. Two of her cousins, another Jean Drummond, the eldest daughter of the
Earl of Perth and later
Countess of Wigtown, and her sister Lilias Drummond, later
Countess of Tullibardine, assisted Roxburghe as royal nurse. Another woman "Joan Drummond" was seamstress to Prince Charles in Scotland and England.
Anne Murray, Lady Halkett wrote that her mother was "entrusted twice with the charge and honor of beeing Governese to the
Duke of Glocester and the
Princese Elizabeth; the first during the time that the Countese of Roxbery (who owned my mother for her cousin) went and continued in Holland with the
Princese Royall; and then again when my Lady Roxbery died".
[John Gough Nichols, ''The Autobiography of Anne Murray, Lady Halkett'' (London, 1875), p. 1.]
The children of Secretary Murray and Jean Drummond were brought up at
Berkhamsted Place
Berkhamsted Place was an English country house which was erected sometime around 1580 in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, England. It was built by Sir Edward Carey, the keeper of the Jewels to Queen Elizabeth I from stones removed from Berkhamsted C ...
and
Charlton House
Charlton House is a Jacobean building in Charlton, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich in south-east London. Originally it was a residence for a nobleman associated with the Stuart royal family. It later served as a wartime hospital, then ...
, included:
* Henry Murray, groom of the bedchamber to Charles I, who bought Lindsay House from
Sir David Cunningham, and married in November 1635 Anne Bayning, daughter of
Paul Bayning, 1st Viscount Bayning
Paul Bayning, 1st Viscount Bayning of Sudbury in Suffolk (1588 – 29 July 1629), previously known as Sir Paul Bayning and as Baron Bayning, was an English landed gentleman, created a peer in 1628.
Life
Bayning was the son of another Paul Bay ...
.
* Elizabeth Murray, who married Sir Henry Newton, son of Prince Henry's tutor
Adam Newton
Adam Lee Newton (born 4 December 1980) is a former professional association football, footballer who played for West Ham United F.C., West Ham United, Peterborough United F.C., Peterborough United, Brentford F.C., Brentford and Luton Town F.C., ...
, who adopted the name
Sir Henry Puckering
* Anne Murray, Lady Halkett (1622-1699), who married James Halkett at Charlton House in 1656.
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, Thomas
1564 births
1623 deaths
Provosts of Eton College
Place of birth missing