Francis Yaxley
Encyclopedia
Francis Yaxley was an English politician and conspirator.
. The family were settled at Yaxley Hall, near Eye, Suffolk
, where the descendants of Richard's uncle, John Yaxley, a serjeant-at-law
in the reign of Henry VII, lived until the eighteenth century. Richard Yaxley has been confused by David Elisha Davy with his physician half-brother, Robert Yaxley, M.D.
Francis owed his introduction at court to William Cecil
; about 1547 he obtained employment by the privy council, possibly in the signet office, and in September 1548 he was engaged in hiring Italian mercenaries for service in England. In 1550 he was sent to Italy to complete his diplomatic education, and was attached to the embassy of Peter Vannes
. He returned to England in November 1552, was returned to parliament for Dunwich
on 22 February 1553, and was admitted a student of Gray's Inn
; but in the following April he was sent to join Nicholas Wotton
, the English ambassador in France.
Yaxley returned to England early in Mary's
reign, and on 3 October 1555 was elected member of parliament for Stamford
. Before March 1557 he had become clerk of the signet, and in January 1558 he was returned to parliament for Saltash
. He retained his clerkship under Elizabeth I, and letters to him from prominent men (Sir Thomas Chaloner
, Viscount Montague
, Sir Thomas Wharton, the Earl of Huntingdon
), requesting his co-operation in their suits, indicate that he had some influence. He was, however, according to the Spanish ambassador, a good Catholic; who also states that in January 1561 he was in prison for talking about Elizabeth's proposed marriage with Lord Robert Dudley. In the same year he was said to be pushing a scheme for the queen's marriage with the king of Sweden. The Countess of Lennox
employed him to obtain information from the Spanish ambassador, and to further the project of marriage between the countess's son Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley and Mary Queen of Scots. On 14 February 1562 Yaxley wrote to Dudley from Ipswich
, asking for his assistance: he had been summoned to appear before the council, and before the 22nd he was in the Tower of London
. The articles against the Countess of Lennox were partly based on Yaxley's confession. Yaxley himself was examined by the privy council on 14 January 1563.
The date of Yaxley's release is uncertain; but in July 1565 the Spanish ambassador reported to Philip II
that he was going to Flanders
, and then to Scotland
. His stay in Flanders was short, and about 20 August he embarked for Scotland. On the way his vessel was chased and fired on by a slower English man-of-war. He landed at Edinburgh on the 25th, and at once became Darnley's confidant and secretary. Mary also told him all her secrets, and selected him to go to Philip II and place her cause at Philip's disposal and under his protection. Yaxley was, however, unable to control his tongue, and within a few days Thomas Randolph
was able to describe the objects of his mission to the English government.
Yaxley meanwhile sailed from Dumbarton on 16 September, and, travelling through Flanders, reached Segovia
on 20 October. He was well received by Philip, and lodged at the house of Gonsalo Perez. Five days later he set out on his return, with Philip's assurances of support and a sum of money. His vessel was wrecked in the North Sea
, and Yaxley's body was washed up on the coast of Northumberland
, the money on it being made the subject of a diplomatic dispute between Mary and Elizabeth. The body was removed for burial to Yaxley, to the poor and church of which he left bequests by his will, dated 3 July 1561.
, but apparently had no issue, and bequeathed his property and interest in Yaxley Hall to his father, who survived him.
Life
Yaxley was the eldest son of Richard Yaxley of Mellis, Suffolk, by his wife Anne, daughter of Roger Austin of Earlsham, SuffolkSuffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
. The family were settled at Yaxley Hall, near Eye, Suffolk
Eye, Suffolk
Eye is a small market town in the county of Suffolk, East Anglia, England, south of Diss, and on the River Dove.Eye is twinned with the town of Pouzauges in the Vendée Departement of France.-History:An island...
, where the descendants of Richard's uncle, John Yaxley, a serjeant-at-law
Serjeant-at-law
The Serjeants-at-Law was an order of barristers at the English bar. The position of Serjeant-at-Law , or Sergeant-Counter, was centuries old; there are writs dating to 1300 which identify them as descended from figures in France prior to the Norman Conquest...
in the reign of Henry VII, lived until the eighteenth century. Richard Yaxley has been confused by David Elisha Davy with his physician half-brother, Robert Yaxley, M.D.
Francis owed his introduction at court to William Cecil
William Cecil
William Cecil may refer to:* Lord William Cecil , British royal courtier* William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley , English politician and advisor to Elizabeth I* William Cecil, 2nd Earl of Exeter , Knight of the Garter...
; about 1547 he obtained employment by the privy council, possibly in the signet office, and in September 1548 he was engaged in hiring Italian mercenaries for service in England. In 1550 he was sent to Italy to complete his diplomatic education, and was attached to the embassy of Peter Vannes
Peter Vannes
Peter Vannes was an Italian Catholic churchman who became a royal official in England, and Dean of Salisbury.-Life:Born at Lucca in northern Italy, he was son of Stephen de Vannes of that city. In one of his letters Erasmus calls him Peter Ammonius; and he was related to Andrea Ammonio...
. He returned to England in November 1552, was returned to parliament for Dunwich
Dunwich (UK Parliament constituency)
Dunwich was a parliamentary borough in Suffolk, one of the most notorious of all the rotten boroughs. It elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons from 1298 until 1832, when the constituency was abolished by the Great Reform Act....
on 22 February 1553, and was admitted a student of Gray's Inn
Gray's Inn
The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these Inns...
; but in the following April he was sent to join Nicholas Wotton
Nicholas Wotton
Nicholas Wotton was an English diplomat-Life:He was a son of Sir Robert Wotton of Boughton Malherbe, Kent, and a descendant of Nicholas Wotton, lord mayor of London in 1415 and 1430, and member of parliament for the city from 1406 to 1429.He early became vicar of Boughton Malherbe and of Sutton...
, the English ambassador in France.
Yaxley returned to England early in Mary's
Mary I of England
Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
reign, and on 3 October 1555 was elected member of parliament for Stamford
Stamford (UK Parliament constituency)
Stamford was a constituency in the county of Lincolnshire of the House of Commons for the Parliament of England to 1706 then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1918...
. Before March 1557 he had become clerk of the signet, and in January 1558 he was returned to parliament for Saltash
Saltash (UK Parliament constituency)
Saltash, sometimes called Essa, was a "rotten borough" in Cornwall which returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons in the English and later British Parliament from 1552 to 1832, when it was abolished by the Great Reform Act.-History:...
. He retained his clerkship under Elizabeth I, and letters to him from prominent men (Sir Thomas Chaloner
Thomas Chaloner (statesman)
Sir Thomas Chaloner was an English statesman and poet.-Life:He was the son of Roger Chaloner, mercer of London, a descendant of the Denbighshire Chaloners...
, Viscount Montague
Anthony Browne, 1st Viscount Montagu
Anthony Browne, 1st Viscount Montagu KG PC was an English peer during the Tudor period.He was the eldest son of Sir Anthony Browne...
, Sir Thomas Wharton, the Earl of Huntingdon
Henry Hastings, 3rd Earl of Huntingdon
Sir Henry Hastings, 3rd Earl of Huntingdon, KG KB was the eldest son of Francis Hastings, 2nd Earl of Huntingdon and Catherine Pole.-Ancestry:...
), requesting his co-operation in their suits, indicate that he had some influence. He was, however, according to the Spanish ambassador, a good Catholic; who also states that in January 1561 he was in prison for talking about Elizabeth's proposed marriage with Lord Robert Dudley. In the same year he was said to be pushing a scheme for the queen's marriage with the king of Sweden. The Countess of Lennox
Margaret Douglas
Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox was the daughter of Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus, and Margaret Tudor, Queen Dowager of Scotland...
employed him to obtain information from the Spanish ambassador, and to further the project of marriage between the countess's son Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley and Mary Queen of Scots. On 14 February 1562 Yaxley wrote to Dudley from Ipswich
Ipswich
Ipswich is a large town and a non-metropolitan district. It is the county town of Suffolk, England. Ipswich is located on the estuary of the River Orwell...
, asking for his assistance: he had been summoned to appear before the council, and before the 22nd he was in the Tower of London
Tower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
. The articles against the Countess of Lennox were partly based on Yaxley's confession. Yaxley himself was examined by the privy council on 14 January 1563.
The date of Yaxley's release is uncertain; but in July 1565 the Spanish ambassador reported to Philip II
Philip II of Spain
Philip II was King of Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, while married to Mary I, King of England and Ireland. He was lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories such as duke or count....
that he was going to Flanders
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
, and then to Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. His stay in Flanders was short, and about 20 August he embarked for Scotland. On the way his vessel was chased and fired on by a slower English man-of-war. He landed at Edinburgh on the 25th, and at once became Darnley's confidant and secretary. Mary also told him all her secrets, and selected him to go to Philip II and place her cause at Philip's disposal and under his protection. Yaxley was, however, unable to control his tongue, and within a few days Thomas Randolph
Thomas Randolph (diplomat)
Thomas Randolph was an English ambassador serving Elizabeth I of England. Most of his professional life he spent in Scotland at the courts of Mary, Queen of Scots, and her son James VI. While in Scotland, he was embroiled in marriage projects and several upheavals...
was able to describe the objects of his mission to the English government.
Yaxley meanwhile sailed from Dumbarton on 16 September, and, travelling through Flanders, reached Segovia
Segovia
Segovia is a city in Spain, the capital of Segovia Province in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is situated north of Madrid, 30 minutes by high speed train. The municipality counts some 55,500 inhabitants.-Etymology:...
on 20 October. He was well received by Philip, and lodged at the house of Gonsalo Perez. Five days later he set out on his return, with Philip's assurances of support and a sum of money. His vessel was wrecked in the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
, and Yaxley's body was washed up on the coast of Northumberland
Northumberland
Northumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...
, the money on it being made the subject of a diplomatic dispute between Mary and Elizabeth. The body was removed for burial to Yaxley, to the poor and church of which he left bequests by his will, dated 3 July 1561.
Family
He married Margaret, third daughter of Sir Henry Hastings of Bramston, LeicestershireLeicestershire
Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...
, but apparently had no issue, and bequeathed his property and interest in Yaxley Hall to his father, who survived him.