Stefan von Haschenperg
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Stefan von Haschenperg was a military engineer employed by
Henry VIII of England 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 ...
in the 1540s.


Career

Very little is known of Stefan's career, however he was mentioned as a gentleman of
Moravia Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The m ...
, and subject of Bohemia, in a letter from the Regent of the Netherlands to Henry VIII in 1544. He spoke in
Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
to sailors of a fleet of
Charles V Charles V may refer to: * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise * Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690) * Infa ...
in 1539. He seems to have first offered his services as armourer and architect to Henry VIII in 1535; giving a note to the
Duke of Suffolk Duke of Suffolk is a title that has been created three times in the peerage of England. The dukedom was first created for William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk, William de la Pole, who had already been elevated to the ranks of earl and marquess ...
to pass to
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 char ...
and the King. Stefan was part of the design team for the
Device Forts The Device Forts, also known as Henrician castles and blockhouses, were a series of artillery fortifications built to defend the coast of England and Wales by Henry VIII. Traditionally, the Crown had left coastal defences in the hands of local ...
at Sandgate and
Camber Castle Camber Castle, also known formerly as Winchelsea Castle, is a 16th-century Device Fort, built near Rye by King Henry VIII to protect the Sussex coast of England against French attack. The first fortification on the site was a small, round ...
s, and the gun emplacements made of earth on the Downs. In November 1540 he went to the
Pale of Calais The Pale of Calais was a territory in Northern France ruled by the monarchs of England for more than two hundred years from 1347 to 1558. The area, which was taken following the Battle of Crécy in 1346 and the subsequent siege of Calais, was ...
. The French ambassador in London,
Charles de Marillac Charles de Marillac (c.1510 – 2 December 1560) was a French prelate and diplomat. Career De Marillac was born in Riom and was, by the age of twenty-two, an advocate in parliament in Paris. Suspected, however, of sympathizing with the ref ...
, heard of this and reported to
Francis I of France Francis I (french: François Ier; frm, Francoys; 12 September 1494 – 31 March 1547) was King of France from 1515 until his death in 1547. He was the son of Charles, Count of Angoulême, and Louise of Savoy. He succeeded his first cousin on ...
that the "German" engineer had gone to design new bulwarks. Stefan "the Almain" crossed the border into
Ardres Ardres (; vls, Aarden, lang; pcd, Arde) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France. Geography Ardres is located 10.1 mi by rail (station is at Pont-d'Ardres, a few km from Ardres) S.S.E. of Calais, with which it is a ...
for a day to spy out the French fortification there for Henry VIII. However, Stefan was not fully trusted by the Privy Council, who instructed Henry FitzAlan, the Deputy of Calais, that "in no wise they should suffer him to view the town of Calais or to see the secrets of the same." In 1541, Stefan was directing work on new fortifications at Carlisle, and after a dispute with Thomas Gower, he was promoted to sole surveyor of the works. He was sacked by the Privy Council two years later for having, "lewdlye behaved himself," and spent a great treasure to no purpose. Stefan may have been the military engineer mentioned by
Eustace Chapuys Eustace Chapuys (; c. 1490/92 – 21 January 1556), the son of Louis Chapuys and Guigonne Dupuys, was a Savoyard diplomat who served Charles V as Imperial ambassador to England from 1529 until 1545 and is best known for his extensive and detaile ...
as returning to the Scottish border in January 1542 after having planned and commenced a line of defences. On 17 July 1543 Stefan came before the Privy Council at
Oatlands Palace Oatlands Palace is a former Tudor and Stuart royal palace which took the place of the former manor of the village of Oatlands near Weybridge, Surrey. Little remains of the original building, so excavations of the palace took place in 1964 to ...
and was reminded of his promise to make recompense for any faults. Stefan then went abroad. On 20 August 1544 Stefan contacted the English ambassador in
Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
, Sir Edward Carne. He offered information on Scottish recruiters who were looking for military experts for the war with England. Stefan said the Scots had made an offer to the uncle of Hans, a German plumber working at Hull, and he hoped Carne would write to Henry VIII in his favour if he found out more information. Stefan then went to Antwerp and
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, and wrote to Henry VIII in 1545, asking for his old job back. He suggested a scheme for bringing fresh water to
Nonsuch Palace Nonsuch Palace was a Tudor royal palace, built by Henry VIII in Surrey, England; it stood from 1538 to 1682–83. Its site lies in what is now Nonsuch Park on the boundaries of the borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey and the London Boro ...
. The last letter included a woodcut picture of a coin; and another of a combined horse and windmill, titled, "Eine wunderlicte roswintmulle, Emden, 1545". Stefan offered new chemical discoveries and the design of a water pumping mill; * the secret of smelting tin and lead ore with coal rather than charcoal, * making Roman vitriol, used in the manufacture of black cloth, in England, * making saltpetre in one place without fetching ingredients, * an art unknown to
Vitruvius Vitruvius (; c. 80–70 BC – after c. 15 BC) was a Roman architect and engineer during the 1st century BC, known for his multi-volume work entitled '' De architectura''. He originated the idea that all buildings should have three attribut ...
, Archimedes, and
Ctesibius Ctesibius or Ktesibios or Tesibius ( grc-gre, Κτησίβιος; fl. 285–222 BC) was a Greek inventor and mathematician in Alexandria, Ptolemaic Egypt. He wrote the first treatises on the science of compressed air and its uses in pumps (a ...
, a horse driven water pumping mill, a marvel fit for 'Non-Such' Palace. Stefan said he would have tried out the last idea at his own house in England. He probably meant St Thomas's Mills at Stratford, London, which Henry had given him, then taken away in 1544. Stefan seems not to have found work, but he did come back to England. On 9 January 1547, the Imperial ambassador in London, François van der Delft, wrote to Mary of Austria to ask what he should do about Haschenperg. Stefan and his wife had come to London thinking that Mary's letters would get his job back. Van der Delft suggested he should not intercede between Henry VIII and his servant. Stefan then became a steward of
Jan Dubravius Jo(h)annes Dubravius (c. 1486 in Plzeň – 9 September 1553 in Kroměříž) was a Czechs, Czech churchman, humanist and writer. He became the bishop of Olomouc. His name is given also as Jan Dubravius or Janus Dubravius, Jan Skála z Doubravky an ...
, Bishop of Olmütz, in Bohemia. The Bishop subsequently wrote a treatise on the construction of fish ponds. Despite the circumstances of Stefan's dismissal from English royal service, and the shortcomings of some his buildings, B. H. St. J. O'Neil found it likely that his presence in the royal works account for some of features of the Henrician forts that correspond most closely to models proposed by Albrecht Dürer.


Works

* Calais Marshes, November 1540. * Camber Castle, 1539–1540. * Sandgate Castle, 1539–1540 * The Downs bulwarks between
Sandown Sandown is a seaside resort and civil parish on the south-east coast of the Isle of Wight, United Kingdom with the resort of Shanklin to the south and the settlement of Lake in between. Together with Shanklin, Sandown forms a built-up area of ...
and
Walmer Castle Walmer Castle is an artillery fort originally constructed by Henry VIII in Walmer, Kent, between 1539 and 1540. It formed part of the King's Device programme to protect against invasion from France and the Holy Roman Empire, and defended the s ...
s; Great turf bulwark; Little turf bulwark; Great White bulwark; Walmer bulwark. * Carlisle Citadel, replaced medieval Botcher's gate with twin round bastions and blockhouse. * Carlisle Castle, lowered the Keep; new battery in front of the gatehouse. At Camber, Stefan appears in the accounts for the second phase of work in 1539 and 1540 as a frequent visitor; "Master Stevyn the devysour". There was accommodation for him on site in the "Devisour's Chamber". In these works Haschenperg used flammable pitch to seal basement floors and even some of the roofs. His additions were quickly altered by subsequent works.
Martin Biddle Martin Biddle, (born 4 June 1937) is a British archaeologist and academic. He is an emeritus fellow of Hertford College, Oxford. His work was important in the development of medieval and post-medieval archaeology in Great Britain. Early lif ...
characterised his work as, "horrifyingly over-complex in its internal circulation, the result presumably of a wish to divide the castle into self-contained sectors in the event of enemy penetration", and added that Camber phase II and Sandgate are naive in comparison with Walmer, Sandown, and
Deal Castle Deal Castle is an artillery fort constructed by Henry VIII in Deal, Kent, between 1539 and 1540. It formed part of the King's Device programme to protect against invasion from France and the Holy Roman Empire, and defended the strategically i ...
s. Haschenperg constructed the earthen gun emplacements on the Downs between the latter castles. Stefan worked at Sandgate Castle at the same time as Camber, and signed the accounts, though he was not always present. Haschenperg disagreed with other officials over the roofing materials. Stefan preferred tar and pitch for roofing rather than the more obvious choice of less flammable lead. In November 1540 Stefan was sent to help site artillery emplacements in the Calais marshes. As a foreigner he was not wholly trusted and his colleagues were asked not to let him view the secrets of the town. Stefan produced a map and subsequently six bulwarks were built as part of a larger project devised by Henry VIII. They were called; ''Hooke's'', ''Crabbar's'', ''Bootes'', '' Ballingham'', and ''Andren'' bulwarks. Stefan joined the work at Carlisle on 4 June 1541 in joint authority with Thomas Gower. He immediately complained to the Privy Council about the mismanagement of the works and the behaviour of Sir Thomas Wentworth, Captain of the Castle. The Council found for Stefan, and Gower was sent to Berwick. Over the next year and a half, £5000 was spent. Stefan lowered and strengthened the old castle keep to make it an artillery platform. New work included the half-moon battery which covered the inner bailey, and two small bulwarks or
caponier A caponier is a type of defensive structure in a fortification. Fire from this point could cover the ditch beyond the curtain wall to deter any attempt to storm the wall. The word originates from the French ', meaning "chicken coop" (a ''capon'' ...
s in the outer moat. Then the medieval Botcher gate in the town wall was replaced by the fortress called Carlisle Citadel. On 1 December 1542, Stefan was called to London and asked to bring the plans of next year's works. At the same time, Thomas Wharton and the Bishop of Carlisle were asked to view and report on his proceedings at Carlisle. With accusations of mismanagement, before the works were completed, on 17 July 1543, the Privy Council recalled his promise to recompense the king for any wasted resources and asked him to make sureties for payment;
"Steven, Allemaigne, having hadde charge long tyme off certeyne off the Kinges Highnes' buyldinges and fortifications, for as muche as itt appered he hadde lewedlye behaved himselff in the sayde charge, and hadde spent the King a great tresour, and all to no purpose, ... was this day called before the Cownsell."
By 17 November 1543, the Privy council ordered that Stefan was to be replaced by John Rogers and a new
Clerk of works A clerk of works or clerk of the works (CoW) is employed by an architect or a client on a construction site. The role is primarily to represent the interests of the client in regard to ensuring that the quality of both materials and workmanship are ...
. His English career was over. Stefan's design for the citadel at Carlisle was criticised by Francis Knollys in June 1569. He thought its three artillery platforms were vulnerable to attack because "it flanketh not itselffe very well, ... and the cownter skarffe serveth to cover the approach of the enemies." The platforms for mounting the guns were made of timber and decayed, so Knollys suggested filling the masonry walls with earth. He estimated the scrap value of the lead recovered from the platform would leave a profit of £200.


External links


Drawing by Stefan von Haschenperg for Carlisle Citadel, at the British Library


ref>The drawing is discussed as Carlisle in Colvin, ''HKW'', vol. 4 (1982), 670.
Facsimile of the Map of the Calais Marshes attributed to Stefan, ''Chronicle of Calais'', Camden Society (1846), between pp. xxviii & xxix, from BL Cotton Ms. Aug. 1 fol. 71

Carlisle Castle, history by English Heritage


Notes


References

* Colvin, Howard, ed., ''The History of the King's Works 1485–1660'', vol. 3 part 1 (HMSO London, 1975) * Colvin, Howard, ''The History of the King's Works 1485–1660'', vol. 4 part 2 (HMSO London, 1982) * Dürer, Albrecht, ''Entliche under-richt zu befestigung der Stett Schloss und flecken'' (Nürnberg, 1527) * O'Neill, B. H. St. J., 'Stefan von Haschenperg', ''Archaeologia'', vol. 91 (1945), pp. 137–155. {{DEFAULTSORT:Haschenperg, Stefan von German military engineers People from Moravia British military engineers 16th-century English military personnel 16th-century German military personnel 16th-century German engineers