Sir Michael Hicks (21 October 1543 – 15 August 1612) was an English
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 officia ...
and politician who was secretary to
Lord Burghley during the reign of
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 ...
.
Early life
Michael Hicks (or Hickes) born 21 October 1543, was the eldest son of Robert Hicks of Bristol, Gloucestershire, at one time a London merchant. His mother was
Julian (or Juliana), daughter and heiress of William Arthur of Somerset. His younger brother,
Baptist
Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...
, was created
Viscount Campden. Michael matriculated at
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...
, in 1559 and was admitted to
Lincoln's Inn
The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...
in 1564.
Career
Joining the household of Sir William Cecil, the future Lord Burghley, he rose to become one of Burghley's two principal secretaries at the time he was the Queen's chief minister. Taking the same position with
Sir Robert Cecil
Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, (1 June 156324 May 1612) was an English statesman noted for his direction of the government during the Union of the Crowns, as Tudor England gave way to Stuart period, Stuart rule (1603). Lord Salisbury ser ...
after Burghley's death, Hicks became an influential figure at court and appears to have been popular. Kimber & Johnson (1771) state that he "by his ingenious education and good parts, became very polite and agreeable and was admitted into a society of learned and eminent persons, having the accomplishment of a facetious wit to recommend him", but also that "many persons, knowing what interest he had with Sir Robert ... made him their friend, at any rate, to solicit their causes with him, who was ever... ready to gratify Sir Michael, especially where the benefit was likely to accrue to him".
Hicks appeared to have possessed considerable financial abilities, and his personal friends sought his aid and counsel in their pecuniary difficulties. He lent
Francis Bacon
Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (; 22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626) was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England under King James I. Bacon argued for the importance of nat ...
money in 1593, and between that year and 1608 Bacon sent him several appeals for further loans. Hicks proved a very friendly creditor. Bacon invariably wrote to him in amicable terms and urged him to preserve good relations between himself and Sir Robert Cecil. To
Fulke Greville, another friend, Hicks also rendered similar services. He became wealthy enough to purchase two estates,
Beverstone in Gloucestershire and Ruckholt in
Leyton
Leyton ( ) is a town in East London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It borders Walthamstow to the north, Leytonstone to the east, and Stratford to the south, with Clapton, Hackney Wick and Homerton, across the Ri ...
,
Essex
Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...
. The latter, which he acquired of a stepson by 1597, he made his chief home.
In August 1597, Hicks was anticipating a visit by
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 ...
to his house at Ruckholt in Essex.
Henry Maynard, another of Burghley's secretaries, advised him to have his wife give the queen a gift of a fine waistcoat or ruff. Hicks's house at Ruckholt was demolished in 1757.
In June 1604, he was granted the site and demesne of the
priory of Lenton, Nottinghamshire. On 16 June 1604, Hicks entertained
James I at Ruckholt, and on 6 August the king
knighted
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity.
The concept of a knighthood ...
him at
Theobalds
Theobalds House (also known as Theobalds Palace) in the parish of Cheshunt in the England, English county of Hertfordshire, north of London, was a significant stately home and (later) royal palace of the 16th and early 17th centuries.
Set in ex ...
. He died at Ruckholt on 15 August 1612 and was buried in the chancel of the neighbouring church of
Leyton
Leyton ( ) is a town in East London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It borders Walthamstow to the north, Leytonstone to the east, and Stratford to the south, with Clapton, Hackney Wick and Homerton, across the Ri ...
, where an elaborate monument in alabaster, with recumbent figures of himself (in full armour) and of his widow, was erected to his memory.
Hicks was an
MP in every Parliament but one between 1585 and his death, representing
Truro
Truro (; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Cornwall, England; it is the southernmost city in the United Kingdom, just under west-south-west of Charing Cross in London. It is Cornwall's county town, s ...
(1584),
Shaftesbury
Shaftesbury () is a town and civil parish in Dorset, England. It is on the A30 road, west of Salisbury, Wiltshire, Salisbury and north-northeast of Dorchester, Dorset, Dorchester, near the border with Wiltshire. It is the only significant hi ...
(1588–89 and 1593),
Gatton (1597–98) and
Horsham
Horsham () is a market town on the upper reaches of the River Arun on the fringe of the Weald in West Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby to ...
(1601 and 1604–1611).
On 17 May 1603, Hicks became Receiver-General for the county of
Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...
but seems to have surrendered the post on 12 July 1604. According to Wotton, Hicks "was well skilled in philological learning, and had read over the polite Roman historians and moralists; out of which authors he made large collections, especially of the moral and wise sentences out of which he filled divers paper-books, remaining in the family".
Historian
A. L. Rowse
Alfred Leslie Rowse (4 December 1903 – 3 October 1997) was a British historian and writer, best known for his work on Elizabethan England and books relating to Cornwall.
Born in Cornwall and raised in modest circumstances, he was encourag ...
describes Hicks as a supporter of the
Puritans
The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...
and suggests he was the author (who to this day has not been conclusively identified) of the
Marprelate Tracts. Rowse's view is based on the observation that the tracts were "clearly written by someone in a position to know everybody who was anybody" and the opinion that Hicks had a "merry, facetious pen". However, Rowse himself admits that the secret of the author's identity "seems lost forever".
Personal life and death
In 1597, Hicks married Elizabeth Colston of
Forest House, widow of Henry Pervis or Parvish (said to be an Italian merchant) of Ruckholt. Their eldest son,
William
William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...
(1596–1680), was created a baronet in 1619. He also served as a member of parliament and was later imprisoned during the
Civil War
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
for his
Royalist
A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...
loyalties. The
Earls St Aldwyn were his descendants.
Their daughter Elizabeth Hicks married
Sir William Armine, 1st Baronet, and had issue.
Their daughter Sarah Hicks married Nathaniel Jeffries and had issue.
Hicks died at Ruckholt on 15 August 1612 of a "burning
ague". It was said his illness was caused by swimming during the hot summer.
[Elizabeth McClure Thomson, ''The Chamberlain Letters'' (London, 1966), p. 125.] He was buried at
St Mary's Church, Leyton, where his
sculptural monument survives, depicting him and his wife as semi-reclining figures.
Notes
References
*
*
*
*
*
;Attribution
* This entry cites:
**Wotton's ''Baronetage'', ed. Kimber and Johnstone, i. 158
**Spedding's ''Life of Bacon'', vols. i. ii. iii.
**''Cal. State Papers'', Dom. 1603–10, 17 May 1603, and 28 June 1604
**Nichols's ''Progresses of James I''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hicks, Michael
1543 births
1612 deaths
Members of the pre-1707 English Parliament for constituencies in Cornwall
Politicians from Bristol
17th-century English knights
English MPs 1584–1585
English MPs 1586–1587
English MPs 1589
English MPs 1593
English MPs 1597–1598
English MPs 1601
English MPs 1604–1611
Knights Bachelor
Members of the Parliament of England for Shaftesbury