Sir William Cavendish MP (c. 150525 October 1557) was an English politician, knight and

courtier A courtier () is a person who attends the royal court of a monarch or other royalty. The earliest historical examples of courtiers were part of the retinues of rulers. Historically the court was the centre of government as well as the official r ...

. Cavendish held public office and accumulated a considerable fortune, and became one of

Thomas Cromwell Thomas Cromwell (; 1485 – 28 July 1540), briefly Earl of Essex, was an English lawyer and statesman who served as chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false charge ...

's "visitors of the monasteries" during the dissolution of the monasteries. He was MP for

Thirsk Thirsk is a market town and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England known for its racecourse; quirky yarnbomber displays, and depiction as local author James Herriot's fictional Darrowby. History Archeological fin ...

in 1547. In 1547 he married

Bess of Hardwick Elizabeth Cavendish, later Elizabeth Talbot, Countess of Shrewsbury ( Hardwick; c. 1527 13 February 1608), known as Bess of Hardwick, of Hardwick Hall, Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire, was a notable figure of Elizabethan English society. By a series ...

, and the couple began the construction of

Chatsworth House Chatsworth House is a stately home in the Derbyshire Dales, north-east of Bakewell and west of Chesterfield, Derbyshire, Chesterfield, England. The seat of the Duke of Devonshire, it has belonged to the House of Cavendish, Cavendish family sin ...

in 1552, a project which would not be completed until after his death. His second son William Cavendish (1552–1626) became the first

Earl of Devonshire The title of Earl of Devonshire has been created twice in the Peerage of England, firstly in 1603 for the Blount family and then recreated in 1618 for the Cavendish family, in whose possession the earldom remains. It is not to be confused with ...

, purchasing his title from the impecunious King

James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) *James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) *James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu *James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...

Early life

He was the younger son of Thomas Cavendish (1472–1524), who was a senior financial official, the "clerk of the pipe", in the Court of Exchequer, and his wife, Alice Smith of Padbrook Hall. He was the great-great-great-grandson of Sir John Cavendish from whom the

Dukes of Devonshire Duke of Devonshire is a title in the Peerage of England held by members of the Cavendish family. This (now the senior) branch of the Cavendish family has been one of the wealthiest British aristocratic families since the 16th century and has b ...

and the

Dukes of Newcastle Duke of Newcastle upon Tyne was a title that was created three times, once in the Peerage of England and twice in the Peerage of Great Britain. The first grant of the title was made in 1665 to William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle, Willi ...

inherited the family name of Cavendish.

Career

Cavendish became one of

's " visitors of the monasteries" when 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 disa ...

annexed the property of the Catholic Church at the end of the 1530s, in the dissolution of the monasteries. This followed from his successful career as a financial expert holding public office in the

Exchequer In the civil service of the United Kingdom, His Majesty’s Exchequer, or just the Exchequer, is the accounting process of central government and the government's ''current account'' (i.e., money held from taxation and other government reven ...

, which led to his wealth. He was accused of accumulating extra riches unfairly during the dissolution. After Cromwell's fall, he was sent to Ireland to survey and value lands which had fallen to the English during the

FitzGerald The FitzGerald/FitzMaurice Dynasty is a noble and aristocratic dynasty of Cambro-Norman, Anglo-Norman and later Hiberno-Norman origin. They have been peers of Ireland since at least the 13th century, and are described in the Annals of the ...

Rebellion. Chatsworth showing hunting tower

He was connected to the Seymour brothers Edward and Thomas, and via them to the family of

Jane Grey Lady Jane Grey ( 1537 – 12 February 1554), later known as Lady Jane Dudley (after her marriage) and as the "Nine Days' Queen", was an English noblewoman who claimed the throne of England and Ireland from 10 July until 19 July 1553. Jane was ...

, but he also took care to send tokens of goodwill to The Lady Mary. He was appointed

Treasurer of the Chamber The Treasurer of the Chamber was at various points a position in the British royal household. 13th century The post of Treasurer of the Chamber first arose in the early 13th century. As part of the evolutionary changes that saw the Treasurer of th ...

from 1546 to 1553 but, after an audit, was accused of embezzling a significant amount of money. Only his death saved the family from disgrace. During the reign of Mary I, a favourable biography of Thomas Cardinal Wolsey was first published, written from the perspective of one of his closest aides, the one who had taken King Henry news of Wolsey's death. Although for centuries Sir William was said to be its author, historians now attribute it to his older brother George Cavendish (1494–1562).

Family

William Cavendish had a total of 16 children by three different wives. His first wife was Margaret Bostock; they had five children, but only three daughters survived: * Catherine, who married Thomas Brooke, son of Lord Cobham * Mary (died after 1547) * Ann, who married Sir Henry Boynton in 1561. * Margaret, died in 1540. In 1542, he was married to Elizabeth Parker; she had three children, none of whom survived. She died after giving birth to a stillborn daughter in 1546. In 1547, he married

. He sold his property in

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

and moved to Bess's native county of Derbyshire. He purchased the Chatsworth estate in 1549 and the couple began to build

in 1552.Pearson, p. 18. In the ten years before he died, they had eight children, six of whom survived infancy: * Frances Cavendish, (1548–1632) married Henry Pierrepont. *

Henry Cavendish Henry Cavendish ( ; 10 October 1731 – 24 February 1810) was an English natural philosopher and scientist who was an important experimental and theoretical chemist and physicist. He is noted for his discovery of hydrogen, which he termed "infl ...

, (1550–1616), eldest son, Knight of the Shire and MP for

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

for over 20 years, eventually disinherited by his mother in favour of his younger brother William. * William Cavendish (1552–1626), the first Earl of Devonshire. * Charles Cavendish, (1553–1617) father of

William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle upon Tyne, KG, KB, PC (25 December 1676) was an English courtier and supporter of the arts. He was a renowned horse breeder, as well as being patron of the playwright Ben Jonson, and the intellectual gr ...

* Elizabeth Cavendish, (1555–1582) later entered into a controversial marriage with

Charles Stuart, 1st Earl of Lennox Charles Stuart, 5th Earl of Lennox (April or May 1557 – April 1576), was the fourth son of Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox and Margaret Douglas, daughter of Margaret Tudor and granddaughter of King Henry VII of England. His brother was Hen ...

, by whom she was the mother of

Arbella Stuart Lady Arbella Stuart (also Arabella, or Stewart; 1575 – 25 September 1615) was an English noblewoman who was considered a possible successor to Queen Elizabeth I of England. During the reign of King James VI and I (her first cousin), she marri ...

, claimant to the English throne. * Mary Cavendish, (1556–1632) married

Gilbert Talbot, 7th Earl of Shrewsbury Gilbert Talbot, 7th Earl of Shrewsbury, 7th Earl of Waterford, 13th Baron Talbot, KG (20 November 1552 – 8 May 1616), styled Lord Talbot from 1582 to 1590, was a peer in the peerage of England. He also held the subsidiary titles of 16th Baron ...

. Their daughter Alethea Talbot Howard is an ancestor of the 5th and later Dukes of Norfolk.

Notes

References

* Pearson, John, ''The Serpent and the Stag'', Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1983. * Brodhurst, F. (1907). "Sir William Cavendish 1557." Derbyshire Archaeological Journal, 29, pp. 81–102. Google Books * Cavendish, Sir William (c.1505-57), of Northaw, Herts. and Chatsworth, Derbys." HOP. * Cox, J.C. (1881). The Chronicles of the Collegiate Church Or Free Chapel of All Saints, Derby, pp. 130. Bemrose & Sons. Google Books * "Duke of Devonshire," (1790). The Peerage of England, Scotland and Ireland, I, pp. 51–52. London. Google Books * Lee, S. (1887). Cavendish, William (1505?-1557) (DNB00). WikiSource.org * Lewis, M. (n.d.). "Sir William Cavendish, Burgess of Thirsk, Treasurer of the Chamber of King Henry VIII #37832, b. circa 1505, d. 25 Oct 1557," citing Richardson; Cokayne; Burke. ORTNCA. Web. 0

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cavendish, William 1505 births 1557 deaths English civil servants William Cavendish English knights People associated with the Dissolution of the Monasteries English courtiers People from Derbyshire Dales (district) Court of Henry VIII