Ursula Pole, Baroness Stafford (c. 1504 – 12 August 1570) was an English noblewoman; the wife of
Henry Stafford, 1st Baron Stafford; a wealthy heiress and the only daughter of
Margaret Pole, 8th Countess of Salisbury. Her mother was the last surviving member of the
Plantagenet
The House of Plantagenet () was a royal house which originated from the lands of Anjou in France. The family held the English throne from 1154 (with the accession of Henry II at the end of the Anarchy) to 1485, when Richard III died in batt ...
dynasty and was executed for treason at the age of 67 in 1541 by the command of
King Henry VIII
Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disag ...
.
Family
Lady Ursula was born in about 1504, the only daughter of
Sir Richard Pole
Sir Richard Pole, KG (1462 – October 1504) was a supporter and first cousin of King Henry VII of England. He was created a Knight of the Garter and was married to Margaret Plantagenet, Countess of Salisbury, a member of the Plantagenet dynast ...
and Margaret Pole, ''suo jure'' 8th Countess of Salisbury, who, as the daughter of
George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence and
Isabella Neville
Lady Isabel Neville (5 September 1451 – 22 December 1476) was the elder daughter and co-heiress of Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick (the ''Kingmaker'' of the Wars of the Roses), and Anne de Beauchamp, suo jure 16th Countess of Warwick ...
, was the last surviving member of the Plantagenet dynasty.
Ursula's father died in 1505 when she was a baby. The Poles' chief residence was
Warblington Castle in
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 ...
. Ursula's mother would stand as
godmother to the
Princess Mary, and later hold the post of Royal Governess.
Ursula had four older brothers,
Henry Pole, 1st Baron Montagu,
Reginald Pole
Reginald Pole (12 March 1500 – 17 November 1558) was an English cardinal of the Catholic Church and the last Catholic archbishop of Canterbury, holding the office from 1556 to 1558, during the Counter-Reformation.
Early life
Pole was born a ...
, Cardinal and last
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
Archbishop of Canterbury
The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...
, Sir
Geoffrey Pole
Sir Geoffrey Pole of Lordington, Sussex (c. 1501 or 1502 – November 1558) was an English knight who supported the Catholic Church in England and Wales when Henry VIII of England was establishing the alternative Church of England with him ...
, and Sir
Arthur Pole. Her eldest brother Henry, who was one of the peers at the trial of 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 ...
, was executed for treason in 1539; two years later her mother followed him to the block, and her titles and honours were forfeited to the Crown. Geoffrey was suspected of treason and went into exile on the Continent.
Marriage and issue
On 16 February 1518/1519, Lady Ursula married
Henry Stafford, 1st Baron Stafford (18 September 1501 – 30 April 1563), the only son of
Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham
Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham (3 February 1478 – 17 May 1521) was an English nobleman. He was the son of Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, and Katherine Woodville, and nephew of Elizabeth Woodville and King Edward IV. Thu ...
and
Lady Alianore Percy. She was about 15 years old, and he was not yet 18. His eldest sister,
Elizabeth Stafford was married to
Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk. The marriage had been arranged by the Duke of Buckingham, at the suggestion of Cardinal
Thomas Wolsey. Ursula's
dowry
A dowry is a payment, such as property or money, paid by the bride's family to the groom or his family at the time of marriage. Dowry contrasts with the related concepts of bride price and dower. While bride price or bride service is a payment b ...
was 3,000
marks, which would be increased by 1,000 marks "if the Countess (of Salisbury) get back certain lands from the King". The Countess settled lands in
Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
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, coordinates =
, region = South West England
, established_date = Ancient
, established_by =
, preceded_by =
, origin =
, lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
, lord_ ...
and
Devon
Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...
worth 700 marks on the couple and their children. In return, the Duke of Buckingham was required to set aside lands worth £500 as Ursula's
jointure
Jointure is, in law, a provision for a wife after the death of her husband. As defined by Sir Edward Coke, it is "a competent livelihood of freehold for the wife, of lands or tenements, to take effect presently in possession or profit after the dea ...
. He also paid for the wedding expenses, apart from Ursula's wedding clothes which were provided by her mother.
Following their marriage, Ursula and Henry made their home in the household of her father-in-law, the Duke of Buckingham, where they had guardians to watch over them.
In November 1520, Ursula gave birth to her first child; she would have a total of seven sons and seven daughters. The Duke paid a midwife 10
shillings
The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 12 pence or ...
to attend Ursula following the birth of the child.
Five months earlier, Ursula had been in France at the
Field of the Cloth of Gold despite being in her fourth month of pregnancy. The following year, 1521, her father-in-law was beheaded for treason and posthumously attainted by an
Act of Parliament
Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...
, with his title and estates being forfeited to the Crown. Ursula's husband was created 1st Baron Stafford by King Henry's son and successor,
Edward VI in 1547. From that time onward, Ursula was styled Baroness Stafford.
Henry and Ursula had a total of about fourteen children of whom twelve names are known:
* Henry Stafford (born November 1520 – died in early infancy)
*
Dorothy Stafford
Dorothy Stafford, Lady Stafford (1 October 1526 – 22 September 1604) was an English noblewoman, and an influential person at the court of Queen Elizabeth I of England, to whom she served as Mistress of the Robes. Dorothy Stafford was the second ...
(1 October 1526 – 22 September 1604), married Sir
William Stafford, by whom she had six children. Dorothy was an influential person at the court 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 ...
to whom she served in the capacity of
Mistress of the Robes.
*
Henry Stafford, 2nd Baron Stafford (died 1565), married Elizabeth Davy.
*
Thomas Stafford (c. 1533 – 28 May 1557), executed for High Treason.
*
Edward Stafford Edward Stafford may refer to:
People
* Edward Stafford, 2nd Earl of Wiltshire (1470–1498)
*Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham (1478–1521), executed for treason
*Edward Stafford, 3rd Baron Stafford (1535–1603)
*Sir Edward Stafford (diplo ...
, 3rd Baron Stafford (17 January 1535 – 18 October 1603), married Maria Stanley, daughter of
Edward Stanley, 3rd Earl of Derby
Edward Stanley, 3rd Earl of Derby KG (c. 10 May 1509 – 24 October 1572) was an English nobleman and politician. He reigned over the Isle of Mann until his death, and then was succeeded by his son.
Early life
At the age of thirteen, Edwa ...
, by whom he had issue.
* Richard Stafford, married Mary Corbet, by whom he had issue, including
Roger Stafford, 6th Baron Stafford
Roger Stafford, 6th Baron Stafford, was the son of Richard Stafford, a younger son of Henry Stafford, 1st Baron Stafford, and Ursula Pole. He was forced to give up the Stafford barony in 1637 on the grounds of poverty.
Roger was born about 1572, ...
.
* Walter Stafford (c. 1539 – after 1571)
* William Stafford
* Elizabeth Stafford, married Sir William Neville.
* Anne Stafford, married Sir Henry Williams.
* Susan Stafford
* Jane Stafford
Ursula appeared to have had a cordial relationship with her sister-in-law Elizabeth Stafford, Duchess of Norfolk, with whom Ursula's husband had quarrelled. Upon her death in 1558, the Duchess bequeathed to Ursula, whom she affectionately described as her "suster Stafford", all her apparel and jewellery, as well as a French hood and a velvet-covered saddle.
[Harris, p. 73]
Death
Ursula died on 12 August 1570 at the age of about 66. At the time of her death, her oldest daughter, Dorothy was one of the most influential ladies at the court of Queen Elizabeth I. Ursula's husband had died in 1563, and was succeeded by their eldest surviving son, Henry as 2nd Baron Stafford, who himself died two years later.
References
* ''Debrett's Complete Peerage of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland'', p. 256, retrieved on 3-12-09
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pole, Ursula, Baroness Stafford
1504 births
1570 deaths
Ursula
Daughters of British earls
Stafford
Stafford () is a market town and the county town of Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It lies about north of Wolverhampton, south of Stoke-on-Trent and northwest of Birmingham. The town had a population of 70,145 in t ...
Ursula
16th-century English women