John Lumley, 1st Baron Lumley, KB (c. 1533 – 1609) was an English aristocrat, who is remembered as one of the greatest collectors of art and books of his age.

Early life

John Lumley, born about 1533, was the grandson and heir of John, Lord Lumley. He was the only son of George Lumley (who had been executed in the lifetime of his father for his role in the

Pilgrimage of Grace The Pilgrimage of Grace was an English Catholic popular revolt beginning in Yorkshire in October 1536 before spreading to other parts of Northern England, including Cumberland, Northumberland, Durham and north Lancashire. The protests occurre ...

), by Jane, second daughter and coheir of Sir Richard Knightley of Upton, Northamptonshire. In a petition to

Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. The only surviving son of Henry VIII by his thi ...

Lumley stated that he was a child at the death of his grandfather in 1544, to whose honours he did not succeed because of his own father's attainder, and in 1547 he obtained an Act of Parliament restoring him in blood, and enacting "that he, the said John Lumley and the heirs male of his body, should have hold, enjoy and bear the name, dignity, state and pre-eminence of a Baron of the Realm" whereby he became Baron Lumley (a new Barony being created of that name, in

tail male In English common law, fee tail or entail is a form of trust, established by deed or settlement, that restricts the sale or inheritance of an estate in real property and prevents that property from being sold, devised by will, or otherwise ali ...

) and he was summoned to Parliament accordingly from 5 October 1553 to 5 November 1605. He was made

Knight of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...

on 29 November 1553, and attended at the subsequent coronation of

Mary I Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 and Queen of Spain as the wife of King Philip II from January 1556 until her death in 1558. She made vigorous a ...

. He also served as a Commissioner of Claims at the coronations of

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...

and

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� ...

. He was suspected of treasonable dealings with

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was List of Scottish monarchs, Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legit ...

, and was imprisoned in 1570 along with the Earl of Arundel, his father-in-law. In October 1586 he was one of the judges at the trial of Mary, Queen of Scots, and also in 1602 of the trial of

Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex (; 10 November 1565 – 25 February 1601) was an English nobleman and a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I. Politically ambitious, he was placed under house arrest following a poor campaign in Ireland during th ...

Marriages

Lumley married firstly, before the end of 1550, Lady Jane FitzAlan, the elder of the two daughters and co-heirs of

Henry FitzAlan, 19th Earl of Arundel Henry Fitzalan, 12th Earl of Arundel (23 April 151224 February 1580) was an English nobleman, who over his long life assumed a prominent place at the court of all the later Tudor sovereigns. Court career under Henry VIII He was the only s ...

, by his first wife Lady Catherine Grey, daughter of

Thomas Grey, 2nd Marquess of Dorset Thomas Grey, 2nd Marquess of Dorset (22 June 1477 – 10 October 1530) was an English peer, courtier, soldier and landowner of the House of Grey. Early life Grey was the third son and heir of Thomas Grey, 1st Marquess of Dorset (1455–1501) ...

. Jane Lumley was one of the six principal ladies who sat in the third chariot of state at the coronation of

in 1553. She was buried 9 March 1576/77, at Cheam,

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

(as were three of her children, all of whom died in infancy), near her father's estate,

Nonsuch Palace Nonsuch Palace was a Tudor architecture, Tudor royal family, royal palace, commissioned by Henry VIII of England, Henry VIII in Surrey, England, and on which work began in 1538. Its site lies in what is now Nonsuch Park on the boundary of the ...

. Lumley married secondly, Elizabeth Darcy, daughter of Thomas Darcy, 2nd Baron Darcy of Chiche, by Frances, daughter of

Richard Rich, 1st Baron Rich Richard Rich, 1st Baron Rich (July 1496 – 12 June 1567), was Lord Chancellor during King Edward VI of England's reign, from 1547 until January 1552. He was the founder of Felsted School with its associated almshouses in Essex in 1564. He was ...

. Elizabeth survived her husband by 10 years and was buried 4 February 1616/7 at Cheam.

Custodian of Nonsuch Palace

Lumley's seat was

Lumley Castle Lumley Castle is a 14th-century quadrangular castle at Chester-le-Street in the North of England, near the city of Durham, and a property of the Earl of Scarbrough. It is a Grade I listed building. It is currently a hotel. History It is name ...

County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...

. However Queen Mary had sold the Palace of Nonsuch to

in 1556, and Lumley inherited it from his father-in-law in 1580. During his tenure, Lumley developed a major garden at Nonsuch. Between 1590 and 1592, Lumley remitted to

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudor. Her eventful reign, and its effect on history ...

possession of Nonsuch, and so after 36 years, it again became a royal palace. When the palace passed to Queen Elizabeth, an inventory of Lumley's goods was prepared. Lumley stayed on at Nonsuch as Keeper of the Palace. On his death in 1609 he willed his library to Henry Stuart, the oldest son of

and it became a significant addition to the Old Royal Library – which eventually became the basis of the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...

Lumleian Lectures

With Richard Caldwell, Lord Lumley endowed a series of lectures, known as the Lumleian Lectures, starting in 1582 and still being given today. Initially they were about anatomy and surgery, with the purpose of "spreading light" and increasing the general knowledge of anatomy throughout England, but today they are on general medicine. Initially plans were for a full anatomy course based on weekly lectures, but by 1616 there were three lectures per year. The work of William Harvey on the circulation of the blood was first announced by Harvey in the Lumleian Lecture for 1616. Today the lecture is given once a year, organised by the Royal College of Physicians of London.

Death

John Lumley died 11 April 1609, aged 76, without any surviving children. He died at his house in London by St Olave's and was buried at Cheam.''The registers of St. Olave, Hart Street, London'' (London, 1916), p. 141. At his death the Barony of Lumley (created 1547) became extinct. He was buried at Cheam with his first wife; a tomb and monument there at St. Dunstan's Church memorialize Lumley and his two wives. The composer

John Bull John Bull is a national personification of England, especially in political cartoons and similar graphic works. He is usually depicted as a stout, middle-aged, country-dwelling, jolly and matter-of-fact man. He originated in satirical works of ...

wrote one of his greatest works to Lumley's memory, contained in the

Fitzwilliam Virginal Book The ''Fitzwilliam Virginal Book'' is a primary source of keyboard music from the late Elizabethan and early Jacobean periods in England, i.e., the late Renaissance and very early Baroque. It takes its name from Viscount Fitzwilliam who bequ ...

, (Pavan and Galliard Lord Lumley). In his will dated 28 January 1606 and probated in 1609, Lumley settled the bulk of his estate on his cousin and

heir male In inheritance, a hereditary successor is a person who inherits an indivisible title or office after the death of the previous title holder. The hereditary line of succession may be limited to heirs of the body, or may pass also to collateral ...

, Richard Lumley, 1st Viscount Lumley.

External links

findagrave.com grave record

References

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lumley, John English art collectors English book and manuscript collectors Barons Lumley Peers of England created by Edward VI 1530s births 1609 deaths People of the Elizabethan era Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge 16th-century English nobility 17th-century English nobility Knights of the Bath