Council of the North
Encyclopedia
Richard III of England
Richard III was King of England for two years, from 1483 until his death in 1485 during the Battle of Bosworth Field. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty...
, the third and last Yorkist
House of York
The House of York was a branch of the English royal House of Plantagenet, three members of which became English kings in the late 15th century. The House of York was descended in the paternal line from Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, the fourth surviving son of Edward III, but also represented...
monarch to hold the Crown of England; its intention was to improve government control and economic prosperity, to benefit the entire area of Northern England
Northern England
Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North or the North Country, is a cultural region of England. It is not an official government region, but rather an informal amalgamation of counties. The southern extent of the region is roughly the River Trent, while the North is bordered...
. Throughout its history, the council was always located within Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
, first at Sheriff Hutton
Sheriff Hutton
Sheriff Hutton is a village and civil parish in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire, England. It lies about ten miles north by north-east of York...
and then Sandal Castle
Sandal Castle
Sandal Castle is a ruined medieval castle in Sandal Magna, a suburb of the city of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, overlooking the River Calder. It was the site of royal intrigue, the opening of one of William Shakespeare's plays, and was the source for a common children's nursery rhyme.-The...
.
After the Wars of the Roses
Wars of the Roses
The Wars of the Roses were a series of dynastic civil wars for the throne of England fought between supporters of two rival branches of the royal House of Plantagenet: the houses of Lancaster and York...
and the emergence of the Tudor dynasty
Tudor dynasty
The Tudor dynasty or House of Tudor was a European royal house of Welsh origin that ruled the Kingdom of England and its realms, including the Lordship of Ireland, later the Kingdom of Ireland, from 1485 until 1603. Its first monarch was Henry Tudor, a descendant through his mother of a legitimised...
, there were some troubles in the area in relation to the English Reformation
English Reformation
The English Reformation was the series of events in 16th-century England by which the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church....
, the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
's split from Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
and the dissolution of the Monasteries
Dissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...
under Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
. In the North, most people remained staunch supporters of the Catholic faith
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
and were deeply unhappy with the changes; the people rose up in York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
creating a 30,000 strong rebel Catholic army carrying crosses and banners depicting the Holy Wounds
Holy Wounds
The Five Holy Wounds or Five Sacred Wounds refer to what are believed to be the five piercing wounds that was suffered during the crucifixion of Jesus....
; this became known as the Pilgrimage of Grace
Pilgrimage of Grace
The Pilgrimage of Grace was a popular rising in York, Yorkshire during 1536, in protest against Henry VIII's break with the Roman Catholic Church and the Dissolution of the Monasteries, as well as other specific political, social and economic grievances. It was done in action against Thomas Cromwell...
.
Henry VIII's army was not strong enough to fight them, and so Thomas Howard
Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk
Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, KG, Earl Marshal was a prominent Tudor politician. He was uncle to Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, two of the wives of King Henry VIII, and played a major role in the machinations behind these marriages...
was sent to negotiate peace with rebel leader Robert Aske
Robert Aske (political leader)
Robert Aske was an English lawyer who became the leader of rebellion in York. He led the Pilgrimage of Grace in 1536 and was executed by Henry VIII for treason in 1537.-Biography:...
. It was promised that the rebels would be pardoned and a parliament would be held in York to discuss their demands; the rebels convinced that the monasteries would be re-opened returned to their homes. However as soon as they returned to their homes, Henry had the rebel leaders arrested and executed 200 people involved, including Aske, Lady Bulmer and the Abbots of the four largest monasteries in the North.
In 1530, the Council of the North was re-instated in York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
as a means to govern the area at arms length. It had its own set of presidents who were generally earls, Church of England bishops and lords; some of whom were actually born in the North. By 1641 the Long Parliament
Long Parliament
The Long Parliament was made on 3 November 1640, following the Bishops' Wars. It received its name from the fact that through an Act of Parliament, it could only be dissolved with the agreement of the members, and those members did not agree to its dissolution until after the English Civil War and...
had the Council abolished due to reasons relating to the Reformation, the Council was the chief support for Catholic Recusants
Recusancy
In the history of England and Wales, the recusancy was the state of those who refused to attend Anglican services. The individuals were known as "recusants"...
and Anglicans.
Origins
The reason for doing so was the deteriorated state of Northern society since the Harrying of the NorthHarrying of the North
The Harrying of the North was a series of campaigns waged by William the Conqueror in the winter of 1069–1070 to subjugate Northern England, and is part of the Norman conquest of England...
under the Normans
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
. Richard was the first post-Norman King of England to legislate and conduct government in the English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, possibly because his experience among his subjects whilst at Middleham Castle
Middleham Castle
Middleham Castle in Wensleydale, in the county of North Yorkshire, was built by Robert Fitzrandolph, 3rd Lord of Middleham and Spennithorne, commencing in 1190. It was built near the site of an earlier motte and bailey castle...
had created a mutual respect between them. Die-hard Yorkists
House of York
The House of York was a branch of the English royal House of Plantagenet, three members of which became English kings in the late 15th century. The House of York was descended in the paternal line from Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, the fourth surviving son of Edward III, but also represented...
did not forget this when Perkin Warbeck
Perkin Warbeck
Perkin Warbeck was a pretender to the English throne during the reign of King Henry VII of England. By claiming to be Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York, the younger son of King Edward IV, one of the Princes in the Tower, Warbeck was a significant threat to the newly established Tudor Dynasty,...
and Lambert Simnel
Lambert Simnel
Lambert Simnel was a pretender to the throne of England. His claim to be the Earl of Warwick in 1487 threatened the newly established reign of King Henry VII .-Early life:...
appeared. This local loyalty did not save Richard from desertion, when the Earl of Richmond
Henry VII of England
Henry VII was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizing the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, as the first monarch of the House of Tudor....
rose against him. (Coincidentally, Richmond Castle
Richmond Castle
Richmond Castle in Richmond, North Yorkshire, England, stands in a commanding position above the River Swale, close to the centre of the town of Richmond. It was originally called Riche Mount, 'the strong hill'...
had seniority over Middleham Castle!)
Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
reorganised the Council. He placed it under his son; Henry Fitzroy, 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset
Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset
Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset was the son of King Henry VIII of England and his teenage mistress, Elizabeth Blount, the only illegitimate offspring whom Henry acknowledged.-Childhood:...
with its seat at Sheriff Hutton
Sheriff Hutton
Sheriff Hutton is a village and civil parish in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire, England. It lies about ten miles north by north-east of York...
. Following the suppression of the Pilgrimage of Grace
Pilgrimage of Grace
The Pilgrimage of Grace was a popular rising in York, Yorkshire during 1536, in protest against Henry VIII's break with the Roman Catholic Church and the Dissolution of the Monasteries, as well as other specific political, social and economic grievances. It was done in action against Thomas Cromwell...
, from 1539, it met at the former house of the Abbot of St. Mary's Abbey, York (founded by the Lord of Richmond
Honour of Richmond
The Honour of Richmond in north-west Yorkshire was granted to Count Alan Rufus by William the Conqueror in 1071AD. The honour, which was assessed for the service of 60 knights, was one of the most important fiefs in Norman England. - Territory :...
) in the centre of that city; after the dissolution of the abbey, the building had been retained by the king who formally allocated it to the Council. The building is nowadays called the King's Manor
King's Manor
The King's Manor is a Grade I listed building in York, England, and is part of the University of York.King's Manor was originally built to house the abbots of St Mary's Abbey, York. The Abbot's house probably occupied the site since the eleventh century, but the earliest remains date from the...
.
The Council was abolished by the Long Parliament
Long Parliament
The Long Parliament was made on 3 November 1640, following the Bishops' Wars. It received its name from the fact that through an Act of Parliament, it could only be dissolved with the agreement of the members, and those members did not agree to its dissolution until after the English Civil War and...
in 1641, because it was the chief support for Catholic Recusants
Recusancy
In the history of England and Wales, the recusancy was the state of those who refused to attend Anglican services. The individuals were known as "recusants"...
and Anglicans. After the English Restoration
English Restoration
The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...
, the Secretary of State for the Northern Department
Secretary of State for the Northern Department
The Secretary of State for the Northern Department was a position in the Cabinet of the government of Great Britain up to 1782. Before the Act of Union, 1707, the Secretary of State's responsibilities were in relation to the English government, not the British. Even after the Union, there was...
was formed and influenced industry
Industry
Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...
.
List of Presidents of the Council of the North
- Cuthbert TunstallCuthbert TunstallCuthbert Tunstall was an English Scholastic, church leader, diplomat, administrator and royal adviser...
, Bishop of Durham 1530–1533 - Henry Percy, 6th Earl of NorthumberlandHenry Percy, 6th Earl of NorthumberlandHenry Percy, 6th Earl of Northumberland, KG was an English nobleman, active as a military officer in the north. He is now primarily remembered as the betrothed of Anne Boleyn, whom he was forced to give up before she became involved with King Henry VIII.-Early life:He was eldest son of Henry...
1533–1536 - Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of NorfolkThomas Howard, 3rd Duke of NorfolkThomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, KG, Earl Marshal was a prominent Tudor politician. He was uncle to Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, two of the wives of King Henry VIII, and played a major role in the machinations behind these marriages...
, 1536–1537 - Cuthbert TunstallCuthbert TunstallCuthbert Tunstall was an English Scholastic, church leader, diplomat, administrator and royal adviser...
, Bishop of Durham 1537–1538 - Robert HolgateRobert HolgateRobert Holgate was Bishop of Llandaff and then Archbishop of York . He recognised Henry VIII as leader of the Church of England....
, Bishop of LlandaffBishop of LlandaffThe Bishop of Llandaff is the Ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of Llandaff.-Area of authority:The diocese covers most of the County of Glamorgan. The Bishop's seat is located in the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul , in the village of Llandaff, just north-west of the City of...
1538–1540 - Francis Talbot, 5th Earl of ShrewsburyFrancis Talbot, 5th Earl of ShrewsburyFrancis Talbot, 5th Earl of Shrewsbury, 5th Earl of Waterford, 11th Baron Talbot KG was the son of George Talbot, 4th Earl of Shrewsbury and Anne Hastings....
, 1549–1560 - Henry Manners, 2nd Earl of RutlandHenry Manners, 2nd Earl of RutlandHenry Manners, 2nd Earl of Rutland, 14th Baron de Ros of Helmsley, KG was the son of Thomas Manners, 1st Earl of Rutland. He also held the title of 14th Baron de Ros of Hamlake, a title to which he acceded in 1543....
, 1561–1563 - Ambrose Dudley, 3rd Earl of WarwickAmbrose Dudley, 3rd Earl of WarwickAmbrose Dudley, 3rd Earl of Warwick, KG was an English nobleman and general, and an elder brother of Queen Elizabeth I's favourite, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester...
, 1564 - Thomas YoungThomas Young (archbishop)Thomas Young was a Bishop of St David's and Archbishop of York .-Life:He was the son of John Young and Eleanor his wife, and was born at Hodgeston, Pembrokeshire, in 1507. He became a student at Broadgates Hall, Oxford, and graduated B. A. 14 June 1529, M. A. 19 March 1533, as secular chaplain,...
, Archbishop of YorkArchbishop of YorkThe Archbishop of York is a high-ranking cleric in the Church of England, second only to the Archbishop of Canterbury. He is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and metropolitan of the Province of York, which covers the northern portion of England as well as the Isle of Man...
, 1564–1568 - Thomas Radcliffe, 3rd Earl of Sussex, 1568–1572
- Henry Hastings, 3rd Earl of HuntingdonHenry Hastings, 3rd Earl of HuntingdonSir Henry Hastings, 3rd Earl of Huntingdon, KG KB was the eldest son of Francis Hastings, 2nd Earl of Huntingdon and Catherine Pole.-Ancestry:...
, 1572–1595 - Matthew HuttonMatthew Hutton (Archbishop of York)Matthew Hutton was archbishop of York from 1595 to 1606.-Life:Hutton, the son of Matthew Hutton of Priest Hutton, in the parish of Warton, Lancashire, was born in that parish in 1529. He became a sizar at Trinity College, Cambridge in 1546. Graduating B.A. 1551–2, he became a fellow of Trinity in...
, Bishop of Durham & Archbishop of York, 1596–1599 - Thomas Cecil, Lord BurghleyThomas Cecil, 1st Earl of ExeterThomas Cecil, 1st Earl of Exeter, KG , known as Lord Burghley from 1598 to 1605, was an English politician and soldier.-Life:...
1599–1603 - Edmund Sheffield, 3rd Baron SheffieldEdmund Sheffield, 1st Earl of MulgraveEdmund Sheffield, 1st Earl of Mulgrave KG was a British peer and Member of Parliament, who served as Lord Lieutenant of Yorkshire from 1603 to 1619 and Vice-Admiral of Yorkshire from 1604 to 1646...
1603–1619 - Emanuel Scrope, 1st Earl of SunderlandEmanuel Scrope, 1st Earl of SunderlandEmanuel Scrope, 1st Earl of Sunderland, 11th Baron Scrope of Bolton was an English nobleman. He was Lord President of the King's Council in the North.-Family:...
1619–1628 - Thomas Wentworth, Earl of Strafford 1628–1641