Sir James Croft PC (c.1518 – 4 September 1590) was an English politician, who was

Lord Deputy of Ireland The Lord Deputy was the representative of the monarch and head of the Irish executive (government), executive under English rule, during the Lordship of Ireland and then the Kingdom of Ireland. He deputised prior to 1523 for the Viceroy of Ireland ...

, and MP for

Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthshire ...

in the

Parliament of England The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the great council of bishops and peers that advised t ...

Life

He was born the second but eldest surviving son of Sir Richard Croft of

Croft Castle Croft Castle is a country house in the village of Croft, Herefordshire, England. Owned by the Croft family since 1085, the castle and estate passed out of their hands in the 18th century, before being repurchased by the family in 1923. In 1957 ...

and his second wife Catherine Herbert, daughter of Sir Richard Herbert of

, inheriting the estate on his father's death in 1562. He was elected seven times as

knight of the shire Knight of the shire ( la, milites comitatus) was the formal title for a member of parliament (MP) representing a county constituency in the British House of Commons, from its origins in the medieval Parliament of England until the Redistributio ...

(MP) for Herefordshire (1542, 1563, 1571, 1572,1584, 1586 and 1589) and knighted in 1547. During the Anglo-Scottish war of the

Rough Wooing The Rough Wooing (December 1543 – March 1551), also known as the Eight Years' War, was part of the Anglo-Scottish Wars of the 16th century. Following its break with the Roman Catholic Church, England attacked Scotland, partly to break the ...

, Sir James was made commander of Haddington after

James Wilford Sir James Wilsford (about 1516–1550) was an English soldier and politician, who was commander at the Siege of Haddington in the war known as the Rough Wooing and also sat as Member of Parliament for Barnstaple. Origins James Wilsford was bo ...

was captured in 1549. He was appointed lord deputy of Ireland on 23 May 1551. There he effected little beyond gaining for himself the reputation of a conciliatory disposition. On 21 December 1551, he wrote from

Kilmainham Kilmainham (, meaning " St Maighneann's church") is a south inner suburb of Dublin, Ireland, south of the River Liffey and west of the city centre. It is in the city's Dublin 8 postal district. The area was once known as Kilmanum. History In th ...

to his former enemy

Mary of Guise Mary of Guise (french: Marie de Guise; 22 November 1515 – 11 June 1560), also called Mary of Lorraine, was a French noblewoman of the House of Guise, a cadet branch of the House of Lorraine and one of the most powerful families in France. She ...

in Scotland, negotiating an exchange of hostages;

"Consydering the peaxe betwext the king my master and your grace, with the honnour that I had of your highness when I was at Haddington, it hath made me the bolder to become an humble suiter to your grace."

In January 1552 he was commissioned to look into the state of mining in Ireland and a controversy between the miners Robert Recorde and Joachym Goodenfynger. He acquired

Tintern Abbey Tintern Abbey ( cy, Abaty Tyndyrn ) was founded on 9 May 1131 by Walter de Clare, Lord of Chepstow. It is situated adjacent to the village of Tintern in Monmouthshire, on the Welsh bank of the River Wye, which at this location forms the bor ...

which later passed to the

Colclough Baronets The Colclough Baronetcy, of Tintern Abbey, County Wexford, was created in the baronetage of Ireland on 21 July 1628 for Adam Colclough, High Sheriff of Wexford in 1630. The family seat was Tintern Abbey (County Wexford) __NOTOC__ Tintern ...

. Croft was all his life a double-dealer. He was imprisoned in the

Tower A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...

at the accession of

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 ...

, for his support of

Lady Jane Grey Lady Jane Grey ( 1537 – 12 February 1554), later known as Lady Jane Dudley (after her marriage) and as the "Nine Days' Queen", was an English noblewoman who claimed the throne of England and Ireland from 10 July until 19 July 1553. Jane was ...

. He had been arrested by an officer of the Council of Wales on 21 February 1553. On his release he joined with Wyatt's rebellion. He was pardoned, and subsequently treated with consideration by

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...

after her accession. He was made governor of

Berwick upon Tweed Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census reco ...

, where he was visited by

John Knox John Knox ( gd, Iain Cnocc) (born – 24 November 1572) was a Scottish minister, Reformed theologian, and writer who was a leader of the country's Reformation. He was the founder of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland. Born in Giffordgat ...

and James MacGill in 1559, and where he busied himself actively on behalf of the

Scottish Protestants Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

. Croft advised Knox and Master Robert Hamilton to return to Scotland, as the spies of Mary of Guise were active in England, and preachers so scarce in Scotland. As a commander of English forces at the

Siege of Leith The siege of Leith ended a twelve-year encampment of French troops at Leith, the port near Edinburgh, Scotland. The French troops arrived by invitation in 1548 and left in 1560 after an English force arrived to attempt to assist in removing the ...

in May 1560, he was suspected, probably with good reason, of treasonable correspondence with

, the Catholic regent of Scotland. The

Duke of Norfolk Duke of Norfolk is a title in the peerage of England. The seat of the Duke of Norfolk is Arundel Castle in Sussex, although the title refers to the county of Norfolk. The current duke is Edward Fitzalan-Howard, 18th Duke of Norfolk. The dukes ...

blamed him for a failed assault on 7 May 1560, later writing, "I thought a man could not have gone nigher a traitor than Sir James, I pray God make him a good man."HMC ''Manuscripts of the Marquis of Salisbury at Hatfield House'', vol. 1 (1883), 219–220, 241: cf. Haynes (1740). For ten years he was out of public employment but in 1570 Elizabeth, who showed the greatest forbearance and favour to Sir James Croft, made him a privy councillor and controller of her household. He was one of the commissioners for the trial of

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 Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legitimate child of James V of Scot ...

, and in 1588 was sent on a diplomatic mission to arrange peace with the duke of Parma. Croft established private relations with Parma, for which on his return he was sent to the

. He was released before the end of 1589, and died on 4 September 1590.

Family

Croft had married twice, firstly Alice, daughter of Richard Warnecombe of

Ivington Ivington () is a village in the county of Herefordshire, England, approximately 13 miles (21 km) north of Hereford. It is about 2 miles (3 km) south-west of its post town Leominster. The population as of the 2011 census was included wit ...

near Leominster and widow of William Wigmore of

Shobdon Shobdon is a village and civil parish in Herefordshire, England, about 15 miles north of Hereford, six miles west of Leominster, and 2 miles southwest of the Mortimer's Cross. According to the 2001 census, the parish population was 769, consisti ...

with whom he had three sons (including Edward and James) and four daughters and secondly Catherine, the daughter of Edward Blount. His eldest son, Edward, was put on trial in 1589 on the curious charge of having contrived the death of

Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, (24 June 1532 – 4 September 1588) was an English statesman and the favourite of Elizabeth I from her accession until his death. He was a suitor for the queen's hand for many years. Dudley's youth was ov ...

witchcraft Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have us ...

, in revenge for the earl's supposed hostility to Sir James Croft. A younger son of Edward was Sir Herbert Croft, whose son Herbert Croft was

Bishop of Hereford The Bishop of Hereford is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Hereford in the Province of Canterbury. The episcopal see is centred in the Hereford, City of Hereford where the bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is in the Hereford Cathedr ...

References

*
History of Parliament CROFT, Sir James (c.1518–90) of Croft Castle, Herefordshire
{{DEFAULTSORT:Croft, James Year of birth unknown 1590 deaths People from Herefordshire Members of the Privy Council of England 16th-century Anglo-Irish people English people of the Rough Wooing Scottish Reformation 16th-century English soldiers Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Year of birth uncertain English MPs 1542–1544 English MPs 1563–1567 English MPs 1571 English MPs 1572–1583 English MPs 1584–1585 English MPs 1586–1587 English MPs 1589 Lords Lieutenant of Ireland