Sir Anthony St Leger, KG (or Sellenger; 1496 – 16 March 1559), of Ulcombe and

Leeds Castle Leeds Castle is a castle in Kent, England, southeast of Maidstone. It is built on islands in a lake formed by the River Len to the east of the village of Leeds. A castle has existed on the site since 857. In the 13th century, it came into th ...

in Kent, was an English politician and Lord Deputy of Ireland during the

Tudor period The Tudor period occurred between 1485 and 1603 in England and Wales and includes the Elizabethan period during the reign of Elizabeth I until 1603. The Tudor period coincides with the dynasty of the House of Tudor in England that began wit ...

Origins

Anthony St Leger was the eldest son of Ralph II St Leger of Ulcombe in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, by his wife Isabel (or Elizabeth) Haute. She was the daughter of Richard Haute (d. 8 April 1487) by his wife Elizabeth Tyrrell, widow of Sir Robert Darcy (c.1420 - 2 November 1469) of Maldon, Essex, and daughter of Sir Thomas Tyrrell (d. 28 March 1477) of Heron in the parish of East Horndon,

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

(son of John Tyrrell).ii

Career

He was educated abroad and at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

. He quickly gained the favour of King Henry VIII (1509–1547), and in 1537 was appointed president of a commission of enquiry into the condition of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. In the course of this work, he obtained much useful knowledge of the country. In 1539, he was knighted and appointed Sheriff of Kent.

Lord Deputy of Ireland

On 7 July 1540, Sir Anthony was appointed Lord Deputy of Ireland and tasked with the repression of disorder. He moved against the MacMorrough-Kavanagh clan, who had long claimed the title of

King of Leinster The kings of Leinster ( ga, Rí Laighín), ruled from the establishment of Leinster during the Irish Iron Age, until the 17th century Early Modern Ireland. According to Gaelic traditional history, laid out in works such as the ''Book of Invasion ...

, permitting them to retain their lands only by accepting feudal tenure on the English model. By a similar policy, he exacted obedience from the O'Mores, O'Tooles and O'Conors in

Leix County Laois ( ; gle, Contae Laoise) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a med ...

and

Offaly County Offaly (; ga, Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in h ...

. Having conciliated the O'Briens in the west and the

Earl of Desmond Earl of Desmond is a title in the peerage of Ireland () created four times. When the powerful Earl of Desmond took arms against Queen Elizabeth Tudor, around 1578, along with the King of Spain and the Pope, he was confiscated from his estates ...

in the south, he obtained the passage of an act in the Irish Parliament in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

, which conferred the title of King of Ireland on King Henry VIII and his heirs. Conn O'Neill, who had remained sullenly hostile, was forced to submit. The policy was adopted and became known as "

Surrender and regrant During the Tudor conquest of Ireland (c.1540–1603), "surrender and regrant" was the legal mechanism by which Irish clans were to be converted from a power structure rooted in clan and kin loyalties, to a late-feudal system under the English l ...

". St Leger's policy was generally one of moderation and conciliation, more so than Henry VIII wished. He recommended the head of the House of O'Brien, when he gave token of a submissive disposition, for the title of Earl of Thomond. O'Neill was created

Earl of Tyrone The Earl of Tyrone is a title created three times in the Peerage of Ireland. It was first created as part of the Tudor attempt to establish a uniform social structure in Ireland by converting the Gaelic kings and chiefs into hereditary nobles of t ...

. At St Leger's urging, the King in 1541 created six new Irish

peerages A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted noble ranks. Peerages include: Australia * Australian peers Belgium * Bel ...

. St Leger argued that the loyalty of the Anglo-Irish nobility could be better achieved "by small gifts and honest persuasion than by rigor", which seems to be an implicit criticism of the savage manner in which the Rebellion of

Silken Thomas {{Infobox noble, type , name = Thomas FitzGerald , title = The Earl of Kildare , image = Thomas FitzGerald, 10th Earl of Kildare.jpg , caption = , alt = , CoA = , ...

had been suppressed. St Leger's policy of conciliation seems to have been successful: in particular, the Plunkett family, who received the title of Baron Louth, became steadfast loyalists to the English Crown, as did the Fitzpatrick family, who received the title of Baron Upper Ossory.

Barnaby Fitzpatrick, 2nd Baron Upper Ossory Sir Barnaby Fitzpatrick, 2nd Baron Upper Ossory (1535? – 11 September 1581), was educated at the court of Henry VIII of England with Edward VI of England, Edward, Prince of Wales. While he was in France, he corresponded regularly with King Ed ...

grew up at Henry VIII's court, and he was a beloved childhood friend of Henry's son,

Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. Edward was the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour and the first E ...

. An administrative council was instituted in the province of Munster, and in 1544, a levy of Irish soldiers was raised for service in Henry VIII's wars. St Leger's personal influence was proved by an outbreak of disturbance when he visited England in 1544, and the prompt restoration of order upon his return some months later. St Leger retained his office under King

(1547–1553), and again effectively quelled attempts at rebellion by the O'Conors and O'Byrnes. From 1548 to 1550, Sir Anthony was in England and returned to Ireland charged with the duty of introducing the reformed liturgy to that island. His conciliatory methods led to his recall in the summer of 1551. After the accession of Queen

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

(1553–1558), he was again appointed Lord Deputy in October 1553, but a charge of keeping false accounts caused him to be recalled for the third time in 1556. He died while the accusation was still under investigation, by which time, in 1559, he had been elected

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

for

Knight of the Garter

In 1544, he was nominated by King Henry VIII as a

Knight of the Garter The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. It is the most senior order of knighthood in the British honours system, outranked in precedence only by the Victoria Cross and the George ...

. His

Garter stall plate Garter stall plates are small enamelled brass plates located in St George's Chapel displaying the names and arms of the Knights of the Garter. Each knight is allotted a stall in St George's Chapel and the stall plate is affixed to his personal st ...

survives, affixed to his former stall in

St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle in England is a castle chapel built in the late-medieval Perpendicular Gothic style. It is both a Royal Peculiar (a church under the direct jurisdiction of the monarch) and the Chapel of the Order of the Gart ...

. It is inscribed above with the motto: ''SOMIENE DE MOY DIEN'' (apparently garbled French, possibly for ''souviens de mon dieu'', "I remember my God"?) and at the base in semi-illiterate French (i.e. with basic errors in gender):

''Du noble et vailant chevalier mesier Antonye Sentleger Deputie pour la roy en son royalme d'Ierlond et une de la estroiet chamber du roy NRE (n(ot)re?) souverain SHR frere et compaignon de la tres noble Ordre de la Jarretiere'' ("Of the noble and valiant knight Sir Anthony St Ledger, deputy for the king in his kingdom of Ireland and one of the privy chamber of the king (our?) sovereign SHR? brother and companion of the most noble Order of the Garter").

The heraldry shows an escutcheon circumscribed by the Garter displaying the arms quarterly 1 & 4: ''Azure fretty argent'' (St Ledger); 2 & 3: ''Argent, three barnacles gules tied sable'' (Donet of Sileham, Rainham, Kent). Sir Anthony's great-grandfather Sir John St Leger (d.1442) of Ulcombe, married Margery Donet (or Donnet), daughter and heiress of James Donet (d.1409) of Sileham. His crest is shown as: ''A griffin statant'' (Crest of St Leger family, Viscount Doneraile: ''A griffin passant or'' (Debrett's Peerage, 1968, p. 365)) and his supporters: ''Two griffins wings elevated'' (supporters of St Leger family, Viscount Doneraile: ''Two griffins or wings elevated azure fretty argent'' (Debrett's Peerage, 1968, p. 365)).

Character

St Leger seems to have been a quarrelsome and unpopular man; certainly, he was on very bad terms with other leading figures in the Dublin administration, particularly

John Alan Sir John Alan (also spelt Alen or Alleyn; c. 1500 – 1561) was a leading English-born statesman in sixteenth century Ireland. He was a member of the Irish House of Commons, and held the offices of Master of the Rolls in Ireland, Chancellor of the ...

, Lord Chancellor of Ireland, and George Browne, Archbishop of Dublin. Following complaints by St Leger, Alan was removed from office and although he was later reinstated, the two men found it impossible to work together. Archbishop Browne accused St. Leger of treasonable words, giving Alan as his source, but the charge came to nothing when Alan, surprisingly, refused to confirm the report. When St Leger gave high military command to James Butler, 9th Earl of Ormond, he was accused by allies of Alan's of deliberately doing this to endanger Ormond's life. Ormond's mysterious death from poisoning in London in 1546, with 16 of his household, when he went to dinner in the

Ely Palace Ely or ELY may refer to: Places Ireland * Éile, a medieval kingdom commonly anglicised Ely * Ely Place, Dublin, a street United Kingdom * Ely, Cambridgeshire, a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, England ** Ely Cathedral ** Ely Rural District, a ...

was, at the least, extremely convenient for St Leger, although there is no real evidence that he was responsible for it. To complicate matters there was no proper investigation of the death, despite Ormond's wealth and social standing.

Landholdings

As well as having inherited the paternal estate of Ulcombe, the St Leger family's seat from the 11th century, in 1552, he was granted possession of

in Kent, of which his grandfather Ralph I St Leger (d.1470) had been constable.

Marriage and progeny

St Leger married Agnes Warham, daughter of Sir Hugh Warham of

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

by Marion, daughter of Geoffrey Colle, and niece of

William Warham William Warham ( – 22 August 1532) was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1503 to his death. Early life and education Warham was the son of Robert Warham of Malshanger in Hampshire. He was educated at Winchester College and New College, Oxford ...

, Archbishop of Canterbury. By Agnes, he had at least five sons and two daughters, including: *William St Leger, who predeceased his father, albeit having left a son Sir Warham St Leger (d. 1600), whose own son was William St Leger (d. 1642), President of Munster. *

Warham St Leger Sir Warham St Leger PC (Ire) ( – 1597) was an English soldier, administrator, and politician, who sat in the Irish House of Commons in the Parliament of 1585–1586. Birth and origins Warham was probably born in 1525 in England, the second so ...

. * Anthony St Leger,

Master of the Rolls in Ireland The Master of the Rolls in Ireland was a senior judicial office in the Irish Chancery under English and British rule, and was equivalent to the Master of the Rolls in the English Chancery. Originally called the Keeper of the Rolls, he was respons ...

in 1593; some sources however describe him as a nephew rather than a son of Sir Anthony.Ball, F. Elrington ''The Judges in Ireland 1221-1921'' John Murray London 1926 Vol.1 p.225

References

Sources

Hasler, M.R.P. & P. W., Biography of St Leger (Sellenger), Sir Anthony (c.1496-1559), of Ulcombe and Leeds Castle, Kent, published in History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1558-1603, ed. P.W. Hasler, 1981
* * * * ;Attribution *

Notes

*A biography of Sir Anthony St Leger will be found in ''Athenae Cantabrigienses'', by Charles Henry Cooper and

Thompson Cooper Thompson Cooper (8 January 1837, Cambridge – 5 March 1904, London) was an English journalist, man of letters, and compiler of reference works. He became a specialist in biographical information, and is noted as the most prolific contributor to t ...

(Cambridge, 1858) According to the Irish Genealogical Office, Kildare Street, Dublin, Sir Anthony St Leger KG held office as the King's Deputy (Lord Deputy) in Ireland for five not three terms as commonly held. His terms of office were as follows : 1st term: 7 July 1540 to 10 February 1544 2nd term: 3 July 1544 to 1 April 1546 3rd term: 7 November 1546 to 21 May 1548 4th term: 4 August 1550 to 23 May 1551 5th term: 1 September 1553 to 26 May 1556 See also *''Calendar of State Papers relating to Ireland, Hen. VIII-Eliz.'' *''Calendar of Letters and Papers of the Reign of Henry VIII.'' *''Calendar of State Papers (Domestic Series), Edward VI-James I'' *''Calendar of Carew Manuscripts'' *J O'Donovan's edition of ''Annals of Ireland by the Four Masters'' (7 vols., Dublin, 1851) *Richard Bagwell, ''Ireland under the Tudors'' (3 Vols., London, 1885–1890) * JA Froude, ''History of England'' (12 vols., London, 1856–1870). For Sir William St Leger, see: *Strafford's ''Letters and Despatches'' (2 vols., London, 1739) *

Thomas Carte 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 ...

, ''History of the Life of James, Duke of Ormonde'' (6 vols., Oxford, 1851) *''History of the Irish Confederation and the War in Ireland'', edited by J. T. Gilbert (Dublin, 1882–1891).

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:St Leger, Anthony 1496 births 1559 deaths People from Ulcombe Alumni of the University of Cambridge Knights of the Garter 15th-century English people English knights English MPs 1559 Members of Gray's Inn

Anthony Anthony or Antony is a masculine given name, derived from the '' Antonii'', a ''gens'' ( Roman family name) to which Mark Antony (''Marcus Antonius'') belonged. According to Plutarch, the Antonii gens were Heracleidae, being descendants of Anton, ...

Lords Lieutenant of Ireland