Henry Pole, 1st Baron Montagu
Encyclopedia
Henry Pole, 1st Baron Montagu (also written Montague or Montacute) (c. 1492 - 9 January 1539), the only holder of the title Baron Montagu
under its 1514 creation, was most famous as one of the peers
in the trial of Anne Boleyn
.
(godmother to Mary I of England
) and Sir Richard Pole
. His brother, Cardinal
Reginald Pole, became the last Catholic Archbishop of Canterbury
under Queen Mary I.
He was invested as a Knight
by Henry VIII
in 1513 and summoned to Parliament
as 1st Baron Montagu in the Peerage of England
on 12 October 1514. He was appointed Steward
of Manors
belonging to the Tewkesbury Abbey
in 1526 and from 1530 on he became Justice of the Peace
for Somerset
, Dorset
, Hampshire
and Sussex
.
and Margaret Fenne. They had the following children:
and other relatives were arrested on a charge of treason
by King Henry VIII
, though Thomas Cromwell
had previously written that they had "little offended save that he is of their kin." Reginald Pole was not among them, as he was in exile at the time, due to his opposition of King Henry's divorce from Catherine of Aragon
. They were committed to the Tower of London
, he was attainted and all his honours were forfeited on 2 December 1538, and on 9 January 1539 with the exception of Sir Geoffrey Pole, Henry's brother, they were beheaded (Neville had been beheaded earlier on 8 December 1538). Henry Courtenay, 1st Marquess of Exeter
was also arrested along with his wife and 11-year old son (his wife would be released two years later while their son spent 15 years in the Tower until his release by Queen Mary I on 3 August 1553). Ten days after Henry's arrest, his mother, the Countess Margaret of Salisbury, was also arrested and questioned by William Fitzwilliam, 1st Earl of Southampton
, and Thomas Goodrich, Bishop of Ely
. They reported to Thomas Cromwell that although they had "travailed with her" for many hours she would "nothing utter", and they were forced to conclude that either her sons had not made her a sharer in their "treason", or else she was "the most arrant traitress that ever lived." She was not to live long. On 27 May 1541 she too was beheaded in the Tower of London. Henry Pole, son and heir of Lord Montagu, was committed to the Tower at the same time as his father. It was expected that he would follow his grandmother to the block but Henry VIII did not want to risk the unfavorable public opinion. He was deprived of a tutor and remained imprisoned in the Tower until his death, possibly by starvation, in 1542 or later.
In essence the execution of the Pole family was the continuation by Henry VIII
of his father's
programme of eliminating possible contenders for the throne. Margaret Pole was the last Plantagenet remaining alive after the battles and aftermath of the Wars of the Roses
: this direct female-line descent from the previous ruling dynasty, combined with the family's firm Catholic allegiance, made her and her sons a grave potential threat to Tudor rule.
Baron Montagu
The titles Baron Montacute or Baron Montagu were created three and two times respectively in the Peerage of England.-Montacute:The first creation was for John de Montacute who was summoned to parliament on 29 December 1299. The third baron was created Earl of Salisbury in 1337. On the death of the...
under its 1514 creation, was most famous as one of the peers
Peerage of England
The Peerage of England comprises all peerages created in the Kingdom of England before the Act of Union in 1707. In that year, the Peerages of England and Scotland were replaced by one Peerage of Great Britain....
in the trial of Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn ;c.1501/1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536 as the second wife of Henry VIII of England and Marquess of Pembroke in her own right. Henry's marriage to Anne, and her subsequent execution, made her a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that was the...
.
Life
He was the oldest son of Margaret Pole, 8th Countess of SalisburyMargaret Pole, 8th Countess of Salisbury
Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury was an English peeress, one of two women in sixteenth-century England to be a peeress in her own right with no titled husband, the daughter of George of Clarence, the brother of King Edward IV and King Richard III...
(godmother to Mary I of England
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...
) and Sir Richard Pole
Sir Richard Pole
Sir Richard Pole, KG was a Welsh supporter of King Henry VII created Knight of the Garter and married to Margaret Pole, 8th Countess of Salisbury, a member of the Plantagenet dynasty, to reinforce the Tudor alliance between the houses of Lancaster and York.-Family:A descendant of an ancient Welsh...
. His brother, Cardinal
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
Reginald Pole, became the last Catholic Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
under Queen Mary I.
He was invested as a Knight
Knight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
by 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 1513 and summoned to Parliament
Parliament of England
The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England. In 1066, William of Normandy introduced a feudal system, by which he sought the advice of a council of tenants-in-chief and ecclesiastics before making laws...
as 1st Baron Montagu in the Peerage of England
Peerage of England
The Peerage of England comprises all peerages created in the Kingdom of England before the Act of Union in 1707. In that year, the Peerages of England and Scotland were replaced by one Peerage of Great Britain....
on 12 October 1514. He was appointed Steward
Steward
The term steward may refer to:- Titles and positions :* Arch-Steward, a seneschal, prince elector of the Holy Roman Empire* Steward, a flight attendant* Wine steward, a sommelier* Butler, the steward of a household...
of Manors
Manor house
A manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...
belonging to the Tewkesbury Abbey
Tewkesbury Abbey
The Abbey of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Tewkesbury in the English county of Gloucestershire is the second largest parish church in the country and a former Benedictine monastery.-History:...
in 1526 and from 1530 on he became Justice of the Peace
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
for Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
, Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
and Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
.
Marriage and issue
In May 1510 or before May 1520, Henry married Jane Nevill, daughter of George Nevill, 4th Baron BergavennyGeorge Nevill, 4th Baron Bergavenny
Sir George Nevill, 4th and de jure 2nd Baron Bergavenny was an English nobleman.George was the son of Edward Nevill, 3rd Baron Bergavenny and Elizabeth de Beauchamp, Lady of Abergavenny. He was knighted by Edward IV on 9 May 1471, after fighting for the King at the Battle of Tewkesbury...
and Margaret Fenne. They had the following children:
- Catherine Pole (1511 - 23 September 1576) married Francis Hastings, 2nd Earl of HuntingdonFrancis Hastings, 2nd Earl of HuntingdonFrancis Hastings, 2nd Earl of Huntingdon, KG was the eldest son of George Hastings, 1st Earl of Huntingdon and Anne Stafford, Countess of Huntingdon, the ex-mistress of Henry VIII....
. - Lucy Pole, married Anthony Browne.
- Thomas Pole (d. 1526), married Elizabeth Wingfield. Without issue.
- Henry Pole (aft. 1520 or in 1521 - aft. September 1542), married Margaret Neville. According to Alison WeirAlison WeirAlison Weir is a British writer of history books, and latterly historical novels, mostly in the form of biographies about British royalty.-Personal life:...
he was born in 1527. He was imprisoned from an early age at the Tower of London. - Winifred Pole (b. aft. 1521 or in 1525), married firstly Sir Thomas Hastings (1515 - 1558, bur. Stoke PogesStoke PogesStoke Poges is a village and civil parish in the South Buckinghamshire district of Buckinghamshire, England. It is in the south of the county, about three miles north of Slough and a mile east of Farnham Common....
, BuckinghamshireBuckinghamshireBuckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
, the brother of her sister Catherine's husband), son of George Hastings, 1st Earl of HuntingdonGeorge Hastings, 1st Earl of HuntingdonGeorge Hastings, 1st Earl of Huntingdon was born in Ashby-de-la-Zouch, the son of Edward Hastings, 2nd Baron Hastings and Mary Hungerford. George Hastings was created the first Earl of Huntingdon by Henry VIII of England on 3 November 1529. On the same day his son Francis gained a seat at the...
, without issue, and secondly, Sir Thomas Barrington of Barrington HallBarrington HallBarrington Hall was a student housing cooperative in the University Students' Cooperative Association system in Berkeley, California, from 1935 to 1990. It is currently privately operated student housing.-History:...
, Hatfield Broadoak, EssexEssexEssex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
(died 1586). By the second Sir Thomas, Winifred had the following children: Catherine Barrington, married in 1584 to William Bourchier, great-grandson of John Bourchier, 2nd Baron BernersJohn Bourchier, 2nd Baron BernersJohn Bourchier, 2nd Baron Berners was a statesman and translator, born at Sherfield, Hertfordshire, England, to Sir Humphrey Bourchier and Elizabeth Tilney, and educated at Oxford University. He held various Offices of State, including that of Chancellor of the Exchequer to King Henry VIII, and...
(a son of Catherine and William was Sir John Bourchier a regicide of King Charles I of EnglandCharles I of EnglandCharles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
); Sir Francis Barrington, 1st BaronetSir Francis Barrington, 1st BaronetSir Francis Barrington, 1st Baronet was an English politician, barrister and baronet.-Life:Francis Barrington was the eldest son of Sir Thomas Barrington of Barrington Hall, Hatfield Broadoak, Essex and as her second husband Winifred Pole , youngest daughter of the 1st Baron Montagu...
; John Barrington.
Imprisonment and execution
On 4 November 1538, Henry along with his wife, his wife's brother Edward NevilleSir Edward Neville
Sir Edward Neville was a nobleman born at Abergavenny, Monmouthshire. He was the son of Sir George Neville, 2nd Lord Abergavenny and Margaret Fenne. He married Eleanor Windsor, daughter of Sir Andrew Windsor, 1st Baron Windsor and Elizabeth Blount, before 6 April 1529...
and other relatives were arrested on a charge of treason
Treason
In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...
by King 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...
, though Thomas Cromwell
Thomas Cromwell, 1st Earl of Essex
Thomas Cromwell, 1st Earl of Essex, , was an English statesman who served as chief minister of King Henry VIII of England from 1532 to 1540....
had previously written that they had "little offended save that he is of their kin." Reginald Pole was not among them, as he was in exile at the time, due to his opposition of King Henry's divorce from Catherine of Aragon
Catherine of Aragon
Catherine of Aragon , also known as Katherine or Katharine, was Queen consort of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII of England and Princess of Wales as the wife to Arthur, Prince of Wales...
. They were committed to 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...
, he was attainted and all his honours were forfeited on 2 December 1538, and on 9 January 1539 with the exception of Sir Geoffrey Pole, Henry's brother, they were beheaded (Neville had been beheaded earlier on 8 December 1538). Henry Courtenay, 1st Marquess of Exeter
Henry Courtenay, 1st Marquess of Exeter
Henry Courtenay, 1st Marquess of Exeter, KG, PC was the eldest son of William Courtenay, 1st Earl of Devon and Catherine of York, and grandson of King Edward IV of England.He was an older brother of Margaret Courtenay...
was also arrested along with his wife and 11-year old son (his wife would be released two years later while their son spent 15 years in the Tower until his release by Queen Mary I on 3 August 1553). Ten days after Henry's arrest, his mother, the Countess Margaret of Salisbury, was also arrested and questioned by William Fitzwilliam, 1st Earl of Southampton
William Fitzwilliam, 1st Earl of Southampton
William FitzWilliam, 1st Earl of Southampton, KG , English courtier, was the third son of Sir Thomas FitzWilliam of Aldwark and Lady Lucy Neville .His father died while FitzWilliam was in his infancy, and his mother remarried Sir Anthony Browne, the elder, so that...
, and Thomas Goodrich, Bishop of Ely
Thomas Goodrich
Thomas Goodrich was an English ecclesiastic and statesman.-Life:He was a son of Edward Goodrich of East Kirkby, Lincolnshire and brother of Henry Goodricke of Ribston Hall, North Yorkshire....
. They reported to Thomas Cromwell that although they had "travailed with her" for many hours she would "nothing utter", and they were forced to conclude that either her sons had not made her a sharer in their "treason", or else she was "the most arrant traitress that ever lived." She was not to live long. On 27 May 1541 she too was beheaded in the Tower of London. Henry Pole, son and heir of Lord Montagu, was committed to the Tower at the same time as his father. It was expected that he would follow his grandmother to the block but Henry VIII did not want to risk the unfavorable public opinion. He was deprived of a tutor and remained imprisoned in the Tower until his death, possibly by starvation, in 1542 or later.
In essence the execution of the Pole family was the continuation by 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...
of his father's
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....
programme of eliminating possible contenders for the throne. Margaret Pole was the last Plantagenet remaining alive after the battles and aftermath of 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...
: this direct female-line descent from the previous ruling dynasty, combined with the family's firm Catholic allegiance, made her and her sons a grave potential threat to Tudor rule.