Thomas Walsingham (literary patron)
Encyclopedia
Sir Thomas Walsingham was a courtier to Queen Elizabeth I
and literary patron
to such poets as Thomas Watson
, Thomas Nashe
, George Chapman
and Christopher Marlowe
. He was related to Elizabeth's spymaster Francis Walsingham
and the employer of Marlowe's murderer Ingram Frizer
. This connection is one of the reasons offered for suggesting that Marlowe's death may have been linked with intelligence work, and not a dispute over a bill for food and accommodation, as in the coroner's verdict.
, courtier to Henry VIII
and later lieutenant of the Tower of London
. He was first cousin once removed to Sir Francis Walsingham, Ambassador to France and head of secret intelligence. In November 1589, on the death of his older brother, Edmund, Thomas Walsingham inherited the manor
of Scadbury
, Kent; the first-born brother, Guldeford, had predeceased their father and the estate had passed in turn to the second son, Edmund, before descending to Thomas. The inheritance came as Thomas's debts were mounting but it was not in time to prevent a short spell in the Fleet
debtors' prison early in 1590, before he was able to take up residence at Scadbury. By 1593 he was settled in Scadbury and employing Ingram Frizer as his business agent, advancing money to needy heirs against the security of their inheritance. Frizer may have had a further role: he may have acted as a messenger between Walsingham and his former contacts in the intelligence world, entrusted with keeping them at arm's length from his employer's new life as landed gentleman and courtier. One of these agents was Robert Poley
, also present at Marlowe's death. Poley later became an important, secret intermediary in clandestine arrangements for installing Elizabeth's putative successor, King James
.
and he organised the local defences against the Armada
. He was knighted soon afterwards, on a royal progress
to Scadbury, a visit probably resulting from family connections at Court
of Audrey, his wife. Audrey became a favourite of the queen and the couple were thereafter regular attenders at Court. In the following year he was elected Member of Parliament for Rochester
.
In 1614 he was returned to parliament as knight of the shire for Kent.
succeeded Elizabeth. Indeed Audrey, who may have been a more influential figure at court than her husband, was in part instrumental in securing James's succession, and they were appointed "keepers of the queen's wardrobe" when Queen Anne
joined her husband in London. Wealth and royal honours rained on the family as a result of Anne's favour and, in defiance his unpromising beginnings as an impoverished third son, when Walsingham died at Scadbury on 11 August 1630 he was a wealthy landowner. He was buried in the family chapel at St Nicholas's Church, Chislehurst
. Audrey had predeceased him, in 1624.
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
and literary patron
Patronage
Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows to another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings or popes have provided to musicians, painters, and sculptors...
to such poets as Thomas Watson
Thomas Watson (poet)
Thomas Watson , English lyrical poet, was the son of William Watson and Anne Lee . He was educated at Winchester College and OxfordUniversity. He then spent 7 years in France and Italy before studying law in London...
, Thomas Nashe
Thomas Nashe
Thomas Nashe was an English Elizabethan pamphleteer, playwright, poet and satirist. He was the son of the minister William Nashe and his wife Margaret .-Early life:...
, George Chapman
George Chapman
George Chapman was an English dramatist, translator, and poet. He was a classical scholar, and his work shows the influence of Stoicism. Chapman has been identified as the Rival Poet of Shakespeare's Sonnets by William Minto, and as an anticipator of the Metaphysical Poets...
and Christopher Marlowe
Christopher Marlowe
Christopher Marlowe was an English dramatist, poet and translator of the Elizabethan era. As the foremost Elizabethan tragedian, next to William Shakespeare, he is known for his blank verse, his overreaching protagonists, and his mysterious death.A warrant was issued for Marlowe's arrest on 18 May...
. He was related to Elizabeth's spymaster Francis Walsingham
Francis Walsingham
Sir Francis Walsingham was Principal Secretary to Elizabeth I of England from 1573 until 1590, and is popularly remembered as her "spymaster". Walsingham is frequently cited as one of the earliest practitioners of modern intelligence methods both for espionage and for domestic security...
and the employer of Marlowe's murderer Ingram Frizer
Ingram Frizer
Ingram Frizer, died August 1627, was an English gentleman and businessman of the late 16th and early 17th centuries who is notable for killing playwright Christopher Marlowe in the home of Eleanor Bull on 30 May 1593...
. This connection is one of the reasons offered for suggesting that Marlowe's death may have been linked with intelligence work, and not a dispute over a bill for food and accommodation, as in the coroner's verdict.
Early life
Walsingham was the third son of Sir Thomas Walsingham, an important landowner in Kent, and grandson to Edmund WalsinghamEdmund Walsingham
Sir Edmund Walsingham was a politician in sixteenth-century England.During the reign of Henry VIII, he was lieutenant of the Tower of London. He later became the vice-chamberlain of King Henry's sixth wife, Katherine Parr.-References:...
, courtier to 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...
and later lieutenant of 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 first cousin once removed to Sir Francis Walsingham, Ambassador to France and head of secret intelligence. In November 1589, on the death of his older brother, Edmund, Thomas Walsingham inherited the manor
Manorialism
Manorialism, an essential element of feudal society, was the organizing principle of rural economy that originated in the villa system of the Late Roman Empire, was widely practiced in medieval western and parts of central Europe, and was slowly replaced by the advent of a money-based market...
of Scadbury
Scadbury Park
Scadbury Park is a Local Nature Reserve in Chislehurst in the London Borough of Bromley. It is a Site of Metropolitan Importance. It is over 300 acres, and is part of an extensive wildlife corridor together with Petts Wood and the Jubilee Country Park....
, Kent; the first-born brother, Guldeford, had predeceased their father and the estate had passed in turn to the second son, Edmund, before descending to Thomas. The inheritance came as Thomas's debts were mounting but it was not in time to prevent a short spell in the Fleet
Fleet Prison
Fleet Prison was a notorious London prison by the side of the Fleet River in London. The prison was built in 1197 and was in use until 1844. It was demolished in 1846.- History :...
debtors' prison early in 1590, before he was able to take up residence at Scadbury. By 1593 he was settled in Scadbury and employing Ingram Frizer as his business agent, advancing money to needy heirs against the security of their inheritance. Frizer may have had a further role: he may have acted as a messenger between Walsingham and his former contacts in the intelligence world, entrusted with keeping them at arm's length from his employer's new life as landed gentleman and courtier. One of these agents was Robert Poley
Robert Poley
Robert Poley was an agent employed in the secret service of Queen Elisabeth I, being principally employed by the so-called 'spymaster', Sir Francis Walsingham...
, also present at Marlowe's death. Poley later became an important, secret intermediary in clandestine arrangements for installing Elizabeth's putative successor, King James
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
.
Royal service
Francis Walsingham made use of his young relative as early as October 1580, when he appointed him as one of the trusted couriers between the English court and the queen's ambassador in France. In August 1581 Thomas accompanied Sir Francis to Paris on a delicate diplomatic mission connected with the proposed marriage between Elizabeth and the French king's brother, Francis, Duke of Anjou. In 1584, still only 20 or 22 years of age, he was given a trusted position in the state's intelligence operation against Catholic plots, operating from his own office in Sir Francis's house in Seething Lane, next door to the Tower. He was allowed to relinquish this post in 1590, when he came into his inheritance. In 1596 he was appointed Justice of the Peace for the Kent hundred of RokesleyRuxley (hundred)
Ruxley was an ancient hundred, a land division in the north west of the county of Kent, England. Its area has been mostly absorbed by the growth of London; with its name currently referring to the Ruxley district. Its former area now corresponds to a majority of the London Borough of Bromley, a...
and he organised the local defences against the Armada
Spanish Armada
This article refers to the Battle of Gravelines, for the modern navy of Spain, see Spanish NavyThe Spanish Armada was the Spanish fleet that sailed against England under the command of the Duke of Medina Sidonia in 1588, with the intention of overthrowing Elizabeth I of England to stop English...
. He was knighted soon afterwards, on a royal progress
Royal Entry
The Royal Entry, also known by various other names, including Triumphal Entry and Joyous Entry, embraced the ceremonial and festivities accompanying a formal entry by a ruler or his representative into a city in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Period in Europe...
to Scadbury, a visit probably resulting from family connections at Court
Noble court
The court of a monarch, or at some periods an important nobleman, is a term for the extended household and all those who regularly attended on the ruler or central figure...
of Audrey, his wife. Audrey became a favourite of the queen and the couple were thereafter regular attenders at Court. In the following year he was elected Member of Parliament for Rochester
Rochester (UK Parliament constituency)
Rochester was a parliamentary constituency in Kent. It returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of England from 1295 to 1707, then to the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1708 to 1800, and finally to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801...
.
In 1614 he was returned to parliament as knight of the shire for Kent.
Literary patronage
The first poet to seek Walsingham's patronage was Thomas Watson, an old acquaintance from the time when both men had been engaged on Sir Francis's secret business in France. His timely dedication to Thomas Walsingham, newly come into money through his inheritance, prefaced A Lament for Meliboeus, an elegy on the death of Sir Francis. Watson's venture was based on the family relationship between the dedicatee and the dead statesman, but Thomas Walsingham proved to be a genuine patron of literary endeavour and other poets followed the example. It is probable that Watson introduced Marlowe, a friend from the London literary circle with whom he was arrested for brawling in September 1589, to Thomas Walsingham (although their paths may have crossed earlier, during Marlowe's own service to the late Sir Francis). Walsingham appreciated the dedication, and the introduction, with Marlowe becoming a frequent house-guest at Scadbury. Later dedications from other poets imply familiarity and affection, rather than the subservience and duty more common at the time. Walsingham was a mourner at Marlowe's funeral.Later life and death
The Walsinghams continued in royal esteem when JamesJames I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
succeeded Elizabeth. Indeed Audrey, who may have been a more influential figure at court than her husband, was in part instrumental in securing James's succession, and they were appointed "keepers of the queen's wardrobe" when Queen Anne
Anne of Denmark
Anne of Denmark was queen consort of Scotland, England, and Ireland as the wife of King James VI and I.The second daughter of King Frederick II of Denmark, Anne married James in 1589 at the age of fourteen and bore him three children who survived infancy, including the future Charles I...
joined her husband in London. Wealth and royal honours rained on the family as a result of Anne's favour and, in defiance his unpromising beginnings as an impoverished third son, when Walsingham died at Scadbury on 11 August 1630 he was a wealthy landowner. He was buried in the family chapel at St Nicholas's Church, Chislehurst
Chislehurst
Chislehurst is a suburban district in south-east London, England, and an electoral ward of the London Borough of Bromley. It is south-east of Charing Cross.-Toponymy:...
. Audrey had predeceased him, in 1624.