William Newark (c. 1450–1509, sometimes spelt Newerk) was an English choirmaster and composer. He served at the

Chapel Royal The Chapel Royal is an establishment in the Royal Household serving the spiritual needs of the sovereign and the British Royal Family. Historically it was a body of priests and singers that travelled with the monarch. The term is now also applie ...

under five English kings.

Rank and income

Newark was born in

Newark-on-Trent Newark-on-Trent or Newark () is a market town and civil parish in the Newark and Sherwood district in Nottinghamshire, England. It is on the River Trent, and was historically a major inland port. The A1 road (Great Britain), A1 road bypasses th ...

about 1450. He was admitted in 1476 into the Fraternity of St Nicholas, a London-area organization of musicians,Retrieved 23 May 2019.
/ref> and appointed to the Gentlemen of the

in 1477, where he served until his death under five English kings (Edward IV, Edward V, Richard III, Henry VII and

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 ...

, see

List of English Monarchs This list of kings and reigning queens of the Kingdom of England begins with Alfred the Great, who initially ruled Kingdom of Wessex, Wessex, one of the heptarchy, seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms which later made up modern England. Alfred styled ...

). On 23 November 1480, Newark was confirmed in the benefice of St Mary's Priory, Thetford, granted to him in the previous year. He received a

corrody A corrody () was a lifetime allowance of food and clothing, and often shelter and care, granted by an abbey, monastery, or other religious house. While rarely granted in the modern era, corrodies were common in the Middle Ages. They were routinely ...

from there, and also from the Abbey of St Benet of Hulme, Norfolk (from 1487) and Gloucester Abbey (from 1492). Meanwhile, in 1485, Newark received a life grant of £20 from the King's manor at

Bletchingley Bletchingley (historically "Blechingley") is a village in Surrey, England. It is on the A25 road to the east of Redhill and to the west of Godstone, has a conservation area with medieval buildings and is mostly on a wide escarpment of the Gr ...

. In 1492, he was paid 20 shillings by the King "for making of a Song". In 1493, Henry VII formally appointed him

Master of the Children of the Chapel Royal The Master of the Children of the Chapel Royal was the choirmaster of the Chapel Royal of England. They were responsible for the musical direction of the choir, which consisted of the Gentlemen of the Chapel and Children of the Chapel. In some per ...

Songs

At least seven songs of his have survived in the Fayrfax manuscript (BL, Add. MS 5465), an early 16th-century songbook associated with the households of Henry VII or his son Arthur, Prince of Wales. One of them, for two voices, "The farther I go, the more behynde," sets an early 15th-century

rhyme royal Rhyme royal (or rime royal) is a rhyming stanza form that was introduced to English poetry by Geoffrey Chaucer. The form enjoyed significant success in the fifteenth century and into the sixteenth century. It has had a more subdued but continuing ...

stanza by Sir John Halsham (1357–1415).Recording with Isabel Alvarez and Sour Cream. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
/ref>

Death

Newark fell ill in the autumn of 1509 and died in the second week of November, some six months after his appointment as Master of the Children had been reconfirmed on the accession of King Henry VIII. He was buried in the porch of

St Alfege Church, Greenwich St Alfege Church is an Anglican church in the centre of Greenwich, part of the Royal Borough of Greenwich in London. It is of medieval origin and was rebuilt in 1712–1714 to the designs of Nicholas Hawksmoor. Early history The church is ded ...

References

External links

Compositions in the Fayrfax ManuscriptNewark, William at IMSLP
1509 deaths Renaissance composers English classical composers 15th-century English musicians 16th-century English composers Masters of the Children of the Chapel Royal 1450 births Gentlemen of the Chapel Royal {{england-bio-stub