Sir Arthur Gorges (c. 1569 – 10 October 1625), was an English sea captain, poet, translator 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 ...

from

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

Origins

He was the son of Sir William Gorges (d.1584) of Charlton, in the parish of Wraxall in Somerset, lord of the manor of Wraxall, by his wife Winifred Budockshed, heiress of the manor of Budockshed in the parish of

St Budeaux St Budeaux is an area and ward in the north west of Plymouth in the English county of Devon. Original settlement The name St Budeaux comes from Saint Budoc, the Bishop of Dol (Brittany). Around 480, Budoc is said to have founded a settlemen ...

, near Plymouth in Devon. Sir William Gorges was knighted in Ireland in 1579, was Vice Admiral of the Fleet in 1580, and

Constable of the Tower of London The Constable of the Tower is the most senior appointment at the Tower of London. In the Middle Ages a constable was the person in charge of a castle when the owner—the king or a nobleman—was not in residence. The Constable of the Tower had a ...

. He died in December 1584, in the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is sep ...

. Arthur Gorges' brother Tristram Gorges (circa 1562 - 8 May 1608) was entrusted by Sir Francis Drake with the custody of Don Pedro de Valdez who was captured in the fight with the Spanish Armada in 1588. He took Don Pedro to the Tower of London. The Gorges family in the Elizabethan era included Sir

Ferdinando Gorges Sir Ferdinando Gorges ( – 24 May 1647) was a naval and military commander and governor of the important port of Plymouth in England. He was involved in Essex's Rebellion against the Queen, but escaped punishment by testifying against the m ...

, founder of the

Province of Maine The Province of Maine refers to any of the various English colonies established in the 17th century along the northeast coast of North America, within portions of the present-day U.S. states of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont, and the Canadian ...

, and Arthur Gorges' uncle, Sir Thomas Gorges of

Longford Castle Longford Castle stands on the banks of the River Avon south of Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. It is the seat of the Earl of Radnor, and an example of the Elizabethan prodigy house. History In 1573 Thomas Gorges acquired the manor (at the t ...

, who married Helena, Marchioness of Northampton.

Life

A cousin of both

Walter Raleigh Sir Walter Raleigh (; – 29 October 1618) was an English statesman, soldier, writer and explorer. One of the most notable figures of the Elizabethan era, he played a leading part in English colonisation of North America, suppressed rebelli ...

and

Charles Arundell Sir Charles Arundell (died 9 December 1587), was an English gentleman, lord of the manor of South Petherton, Somerset, notable as an early Roman Catholic recusant and later as a leader of the English exiles in France. He has been suggested as the ...

, Arthur Gorges was a member of the Howard circle (the Oxford-Howard circle of Catholic courtiers in the late 1570s ) - Arundell claimed

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

had tried to have Gorges murdered on the

Richmond Green Richmond Green is a recreation area near the centre of Richmond, a town of about 20,000 inhabitants situated in south-west London. Owned by the Crown Estate, it is leased to the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. The Green, which has bee ...

. He was 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 ...

in 1584 for Yarmouth, IoW, in 1589 for

Camelford Camelford ( kw, Reskammel) is a town and civil parish in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, situated in the River Camel valley northwest of Bodmin Moor. The town is approximately ten miles (16 km) north of Bodmin and is governed ...

, in 1593 for

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...

and in 1601 for Rye. He fought in the campaign against the Spanish Armada. In 1597 he commanded the '' War-Spite'', in which Walter Ralegh sailed as Vice Admiral under the

Earl of Essex Earl of Essex is a title in the Peerage of England which was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title has been recreated eight times from its original inception, beginning with a new first Earl upon each new cre ...

, Robert Devereux, on the

Islands Voyage The Islands Voyage, also known as the Essex-Raleigh Expedition, was an ambitious, but unsuccessful naval campaign sent by Queen Elizabeth I of England, and supported by the United Provinces, against Spain during the Anglo–Spanish War (1585 ...

. He was one of nine who were knighted on 29 Oct 1597.

Family life

He lived at Gorges House (later named Milman House). His family possessed considerable property in

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, where he built "Brickills", later named Stanley House. In November 1599 when Queen Elizabeth passed the "fair new house in Chelsea", Gorges presented her with a fair jewel. In 1620, he sold the large house known as Chelsea Park (former home of

Thomas More Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535), venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, judge, social philosopher, author, statesman, and noted Renaissance humanist. He also served Henry VIII as Lord ...

and the future Beaufort House) to

Lionel Cranfield, 1st Earl of Middlesex Lionel Cranfield, 1st Earl of Middlesex (1575 – 6 August 1645) was an English merchant and politician. He sat in the House of Commons between 1614 and 1622 when he was raised to the peerage as Baron Cranfield. Life He was the second son ...

. Arthur Gorges married twice, first to Douglas Howard in 1584, with whom he had one daughter, Ambrosia (1588-1600). Douglas Howard was the daughter and heir of Henry Howard, 2nd Viscount Howard of Bindon. His father, Thomas Howard, 1st Viscount Howard of Bindon, was the second son of

Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, (1473 – 25 August 1554) was a prominent English politician and nobleman of the Tudor era. He was an uncle of two of the wives of King Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, both of whom were beheade ...

, uncle to

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 ...

and

Catherine Howard Catherine Howard ( – 13 February 1542), also spelled Katheryn Howard, was Queen of England from 1540 until 1542 as the fifth wife of Henry VIII. She was the daughter of Lord Edmund Howard and Joyce Culpeper, a cousin to Anne Boleyn (the se ...

, two wives of Henry VIII. Sir Robert Stanley, second son of William, sixth Earl of Derby, married Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Arthur Gorges, and Stanley then seems to have lived at Stanley House. Queen Elizabeth obtained the marriage rights of Ambrosia Gorges. Gorges contracted with the queen for the wardship, paying £1000, with a gift of a pearl bracelet with a clasp set diamonds and rubies which cost £500. He lost these investments on his daughter's death in 1600. Gorges' second marriage was to Elizabeth Clinton, daughter of

Henry Clinton, 2nd Earl of Lincoln Henry Clinton, 2nd Earl of Lincoln, KB (1539 – 29 September 1616) was an English peer, styled Baron Clinton from 1572 to 1585. Known for repeated accusations of extortion, abduction and arson, among other things, Henry was likely among the ...

, in 1597. They had twelve children. On the death of Arthur Gorges' first wife, Edmund Spenser wrote the poem Daphnaïda. In the poem Alcyon is Sir Arthur Gorges. ''Daphnaïda''
An elegie vpon the death of the noble and vertuous Dovglas Howard, daughter and heire of Henry Lord Howard, Viscount Byndon, and wife of Arthur Gorges Esquier. Dedicated to the Right honorable the Ladie Helena, Marquesse of Northampton. By Ed. Sp.http://www.britannica.com/bps/additionalcontent/17/20258/Edmund-Spensers-DaphnaidaRetrieved 15 March 2010. His monument is in

Chelsea Old Church Chelsea Old Church, also known as All Saints, is an Anglican church, on Old Church Street, Chelsea, London SW3, England, near Albert Bridge. It is the church for a parish in the Diocese of London, part of the Church of England. Inside the Grade ...

. A brass plate, now fixed to the north wall, is engraved with the kneeling effigies of Sir Arthur Gorges and his six sons on one side of a small table, and his wife and five daughters on the other.

Works

His works include "'' Lucans Pharsalia''" (with a preface in poetry by Walter Raleigh), and a translation into English of

Francis Bacon Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (; 22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626), also known as Lord Verulam, was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England. Bacon led the advancement of both ...

's ''The Wisedome of the Ancients'' s:The Wisdom of the Ancients from the original Latin. He is included in the ''Oxford Book of Sonnets'' (2000) published by the

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, along with Walter Ralegh, Edmund Spenser,

Michael Drayton Michael Drayton (1563 – 23 December 1631) was an English poet who came to prominence in the Elizabethan era. He died on 23 December 1631 in London. Early life Drayton was born at Hartshill, near Nuneaton, Warwickshire, England. Almost nothin ...

, and other poets of the time.

Books

*''Arthur Gorges, Spenser's Alcyon and Ralegh's friend''. Author: Helen Estabrook Sandison. Publisher: .p., 1928?*''Poems''. Author: Arthur Gorges, Sir; Helen Estabrook Sandison. Publisher: Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1953. *''The Story of a Family through Eleven Centuries, Illustrated by Portraits and Pedigrees: Being a History of the Family of Gorges''. by Raymond Gorges, Frederick Brown; Merrymount Press, 1944. 293 pgs.

Notes

References

* * * * * https://web.archive.org/web/20121015054347/http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/search/search_results.aspx?st=q&queryText=Gorges&aqgQueryText=Gorges&queryType=ALL has data about the Gorges family {{DEFAULTSORT:Gorges, Arthur 1569 births 1625 deaths People from North Somerset (district) 17th-century English poets 17th-century male writers English knights

Arthur Arthur is a common male given name of Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. Another theory, more wi ...

English translators 16th-century English translators 17th-century English translators 16th-century English poets English MPs 1584–1585 English MPs 1589 English MPs 1593 English MPs 1601 English male poets