Walter Mildmay
Encyclopedia
Sir Walter Mildmay was an English
statesman who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer of England under Queen Elizabeth I
, and was founder of Emmanuel College, Cambridge
.
Mildmay was the fourth and the youngest son of Thomas Mildmay of Chelmsford, by his wife, Agnes Read. As the Commissioner for receiving the surrender of the monasteries, his father Thomas had made a large fortune and in 1540 granted the manor of Moulsham
, near Chelmsford
, and here built a fine mansion.
Mildmay was educated at Christ's College, Cambridge
, but apparently failed to take his degree. He later became a student of law at Gray's Inn
(1546), and there obtained some employment under his father in the Court of Augmentation
.
's arrest he was ordered by the Privy Council
on 12 November 1549, to examine the royal palace at Westminster, which had been in the Duke's custody, and on 8 March 1550-1 to take charge of the Duke's property at Syon House
.
For his services he received many grants of land in Gloucestershire
and Berkshire
, some of which he exchanged for manors in Oxfordshire
and Northamptonshire
; other grants of land in Cornwall
, Essex
and London soon followed. He fixed his country residence at Apethorpe Hall
, Northamptonshire, which was granted to him in 1552, and was confirmed to him in 1556. When in London he lived in the parish of Great St. Bartholomew's
.
Mildmay soon proved himself a skilful financier. In 1550 he was directed, together with the Earl of Warwick
and Sir William Herbert, to examine the accounts of the King's mints
, and in 1551 superintended the establishment of a new mint at York. In December 1551 he was a Commissioner to inspect the Courts which controlled the Crown lands.
Mildmay was elected MP for Lostwithiel
in 1545, for Lewes
in 1547 and Maldon
on 1 March 1553, and then for Peterborough
on 5 October 1553. Although he was a convinced Calvinist, Queen Mary's accession did not appreciably depress his fortunes, and before her death he was employed on Government business. On 9 January 1558 he was appointed treasurer of the forces sent to the relief of Calais
and was chosen as knight of the shire to represent Northamptonshire
in the parliament meeting in January 1557; after this he represented that constituency eight times until his death.
Under Queen Elizabeth, with whom he regularly exchanged New-Year's gifts, his influence steadily grew. On her accession he was at once made treasurer of her household, and was appointed a member of a small committee of ways and means to supply the empty exchequer. He was soon busily employed in preparing a census of the farms of the royal revenues (22 December 1558), in examining Queen Mary's grants of land, in compounding with those who refused knighthood (28 March 1559), in directing the issue of a new coinage (29 October 1560), and in selling crown lands (May 1563).
On 21 April 1566 Sir Richard Sackville
, the then-chancellor of the exchequer, died, and Mildmay was appointed as his replacement; he was also made auditor of the Duchy of Lancaster
. Busily occupied in the duties of his offices until his death, he concerned himself little with general politics. As the brother-in-law of Francis Walsingham
and the friend of Lord Burghley
, he was, however, always heard with attention in the Privy Council, the Star Chamber
, and in Parliament. He used what influence he possessed to shield the Puritans from the attacks of the bishops, and often urged the Queen to intervene on behalf of the Protestants in the Low Countries
In his speeches in Parliament he argued that a liberal grant of subsidies placed the government under an obligation to redress grievances, and thus identified himself with the popular party in the commons.
In 1572 he helped to prepare evidence against Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk
, who, nevertheless, after his condemnation gave him some rich jewels. The affairs of Mary, Queen of Scots also occasionally occupied his attention. When she arrived in England in 1567 he strongly advised her detention. In October 1577 he and Cecil visited her at Chatsworth
, after she had announced that she had important secrets to reveal to Elizabeth. In 1586 he went to Fotheringay Castle and informed her of her forthcoming trial, in which he took part as one of the special commissioners. In March 1587 he urged the condemnation of William Davison in the Star Chamber. Although four times nominated an ambassador to Scotland, in 1565, 1580, 1582, and 1583, he was on each occasion detained at home, but when his name was suggested for the office in 1589, James VI expressed great readiness to receive him. Mildmay's illness, however, brought the suggestion to nothing.
Mildmay died at Hackney
on 31 May 1589, and is buried beside his wife in the church of St Bartholomew the Great in London, where an elaborate monument still exists to his memory. The decorations are heraldic, but the Latin epitaph merely records names and dates. The tomb was restored in 1865 by Henry Bingham Mildmay, Esq. Epitaphs on Mildmay and Sir John Calthrop were licensed by the Stationers' Company on 29 July 1589. They are not known to be extant.
of the dissolved house of the Dominicans or Black Friars, which was situated in what was then called Preachers Street, but is now known as St. Andrews Street. Here, on 11 January 1583-1584 he obtained the Queen's licence to set up Emmanuel College
.
The architect was Ralph Symons, and in 1588 the new building was opened with a dedication festival, which Mildmay attended. He installed in the college a master, Laurence Chaderton
, three fellows, and four scholars; but subsequent benefactions soon increased the fellowships to fourteen and the scholarships to fifty. According to Fuller
, Mildmay, on coming to court, after the college was opened was addressed by the Queen with the words: "Sir Walter, I hear you have erected a puritan foundation", to which Mildmay replied: "No, madam; far be it from me to countenance anything contrary to your established laws; but I have set an acorn, which when it becomes an oak, God alone knows what will be the fruit thereof".
His statutes for the government of Emmanuel College are dated 1 October 1585 and are attested by his sons, Anthony and Humphrey, John Hammond, LL.D., William Lewyn, LL.D., Thomas Byng
, LL.D., Timothy Bright, M.D., and Edward Downing. Mildmay deprecated perpetual fellowships, and warned the fellows against regarding the college as "a perpetual abode" — they were to look forward to spreading outside the knowledge they acquired within its walls.
Mildmay otherwise showed his interest in education by acting as an original governor of Chelmsford School
, founded in 1550-1; by giving an annuity of 52s. to Christ's Hospital
(10 April 1556); and by bestowing £20 a year on Christ's College, Cambridge (10 March 1568-1569), to be expended on a Greek lectureship, six scholarships and a preachership to be filled by a fellow of the college. He also contributed stone for completing the tower of Great St. Mary's Church, Cambridge, and he helped to found the free-school at Middleton, Lancashire
.
There are three portraits of Mildmay at Emmanuel College; one with his wife. A fourth painting was at Moulsham Hall demolished in 1809, near Chelmsford, and a fifth at Knole Park, Sevenoaks
. There are also engravings by J. Faber and E. Harding, and an unsigned plate is known.
, dean of Ely
, was directed by the Star Chamber to retract a report that he had circulated to the effect that Mildmay had endeavoured to see by conjuration the person of Cardinal Pole after his death.
Henry Roberts, in his Fames Trumpet Soundinge, 1589, mentions a book by Mildmay, and describes it as "in print now extant". It was entitled A Note to know a Good Man. Sir John Harington, in his Orlando Furioso, bk. xxii, p. 175, gives a stanza in Latin with an English translation; the former he says he derived from Mildmay's Latin poems, which are not otherwise known. A "memorial" by Mildmay, written for his son Anthony in 1570, consisting of sensible moral precepts, was printed from a manuscript at Apethorpe by the Rev. Arundell St. John Mildmay in 1893. Many of his official letters and papers are at Hatfield or in the state paper office.
by that title. Benjamin's two sons, Charles (d. 1728) and Benjamin, were in succession Lords Fitz-walter, the latter being further created Viscount Harwich
and Earl Fitz-walter
in 1730. On his death, in 1756, the earldom became extinct and the barony fell into abeyance.
Mildmay married Mary, daughter of William Walsingham, by Joyce, daughter of Edmund Denny
, baron of exchequer, and sister of Sir Francis Walsingham
. She died 16 March 1576. His children were Sir Anthony; Humphrey of Danbury Place, Essex, father of Sir Henry Mildmay; Winifred, wife of Sir William Fitzwilliam of Gains Park, Essex; Martha, wife of Sir William Brouncker; and Christian, wife successively of Charles Barrett of Aveley
in Essex, and Sir John Leveson of Kent, Knight.
The eldest son, Sir Anthony Mildmay
(d. 1617), who inherited the family estate of Apethorpe
, was an ambassador in Paris. He married Grace Sharington
and had one daughter, Mary.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
statesman who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer of England under Queen Elizabeth I
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 was founder of Emmanuel College, Cambridge
Emmanuel College, Cambridge
Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay on the site of a Dominican friary...
.
Early life
Moulsham
Moulsham is a suburb of Chelmsford, Essex, England. It is located to the south of the town centre and has two distinct areas: Old Moulsham and Moulsham Lodge.-History:...
, near Chelmsford
Chelmsford
Chelmsford is the county town of Essex, England and the principal settlement of the borough of Chelmsford. It is located in the London commuter belt, approximately northeast of Charing Cross, London, and approximately the same distance from the once provincial Roman capital at Colchester...
, and here built a fine mansion.
Mildmay was educated at Christ's College, Cambridge
Christ's College, Cambridge
Christ's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.With a reputation for high academic standards, Christ's College averaged top place in the Tompkins Table from 1980-2000 . In 2011, Christ's was placed sixth.-College history:...
, but apparently failed to take his degree. He later became a student of law at 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...
(1546), and there obtained some employment under his father in the Court of Augmentation
Augmentation of Honour
In heraldry, an augmentation is a modification or addition to a coat of arms, typically given by a monarch as either a mere mark of favour, or a reward or recognition for some meritorious act...
.
Career
When the Court of Augmentation was reconstituted, about 1545, Mildmay was made one of its two surveyors-general. During Edward VI's reign, Mildmay extended his official connection. On 22 February 1546-7 he was knighted, and on 14 September prepared, along with three others, an inventory of the late King's wardrobe. Sixteen days later he was appointed a Commissioner to report upon the Crown revenues. In 1548 he acted on commissions for the sale of lands (March) and for the maintenance of such grammar schools as had belonged to the dissolved chantries. After the Duke of SomersetDuke of Somerset
Duke of Somerset is a title in the peerage of England that has been created several times. Derived from Somerset, it is particularly associated with two families; the Beauforts who held the title from the creation of 1448 and the Seymours, from the creation of 1547 and in whose name the title is...
's arrest he was ordered by the Privy Council
Privy council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the monarch's closest advisors to give confidential advice on...
on 12 November 1549, to examine the royal palace at Westminster, which had been in the Duke's custody, and on 8 March 1550-1 to take charge of the Duke's property at Syon House
Syon House
Syon House, with its 200-acre park, is situated in west London, England. It belongs to the Duke of Northumberland and is now his family's London residence...
.
For his services he received many grants of land in Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
and Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
, some of which he exchanged for manors in Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
and Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
; other grants of land in Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, Essex
Essex
Essex 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...
and London soon followed. He fixed his country residence at Apethorpe Hall
Apethorpe Hall
Apethorpe Hall in Apethorpe, Northamptonshire, England is a Grade I listed country house, dating back to the 15th century.The house is built around three courtyards lying on an east-west axis and is approximately by in area...
, Northamptonshire, which was granted to him in 1552, and was confirmed to him in 1556. When in London he lived in the parish of Great St. Bartholomew's
St Bartholomew-the-Great
The Priory Church of St Bartholomew the Great is an Anglican church located at West Smithfield in the City of London, founded as an Augustinian priory in 1123 -History:...
.
Mildmay soon proved himself a skilful financier. In 1550 he was directed, together with the Earl of Warwick
John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland
John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland, KG was an English general, admiral, and politician, who led the government of the young King Edward VI from 1550 until 1553, and unsuccessfully tried to install Lady Jane Grey on the English throne after the King's death...
and Sir William Herbert, to examine the accounts of the King's mints
Mint (coin)
A mint is an industrial facility which manufactures coins for currency.The history of mints correlates closely with the history of coins. One difference is that the history of the mint is usually closely tied to the political situation of an era...
, and in 1551 superintended the establishment of a new mint at York. In December 1551 he was a Commissioner to inspect the Courts which controlled the Crown lands.
- On 2 January 1552 he was commissioned to levy the King's debts;
- On 21 November to settle with the Crown accountants the effect of a fall in the value of money;
- In December to audit the funds belonging to the king's officers; and
- In that and the next year he superintended the receipt by the crown of plate, jewels, bells, and the like surrendered by dissolved monasteries or chantries.
Mildmay was elected MP for Lostwithiel
Lostwithiel (UK Parliament constituency)
Lostwithiel 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 1304 to 1832, when it was abolished by the Great Reform Act.-History:...
in 1545, for Lewes
Lewes (UK Parliament constituency)
Lewes is a constituency located in East Sussex and centred on the town of Lewes. It is represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was a safe Conservative seat until 1997, but the Liberal Democrats have gained a strong foothold.-Boundaries:The constituency is...
in 1547 and Maldon
Maldon (UK Parliament constituency)
Maldon is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...
on 1 March 1553, and then for Peterborough
Peterborough (UK Parliament constituency)
Peterborough is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, formally styled The Honourable the Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Parliament assembled. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past...
on 5 October 1553. Although he was a convinced Calvinist, Queen Mary's accession did not appreciably depress his fortunes, and before her death he was employed on Government business. On 9 January 1558 he was appointed treasurer of the forces sent to the relief of Calais
Calais
Calais is a town in Northern France in the department of Pas-de-Calais, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's capital is its third-largest city of Arras....
and was chosen as knight of the shire to represent Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire (UK Parliament constituency)
The county constituency of Northamptonshire, in the East Midlands of England was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England, then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832 and was represented in...
in the parliament meeting in January 1557; after this he represented that constituency eight times until his death.
Under Queen Elizabeth, with whom he regularly exchanged New-Year's gifts, his influence steadily grew. On her accession he was at once made treasurer of her household, and was appointed a member of a small committee of ways and means to supply the empty exchequer. He was soon busily employed in preparing a census of the farms of the royal revenues (22 December 1558), in examining Queen Mary's grants of land, in compounding with those who refused knighthood (28 March 1559), in directing the issue of a new coinage (29 October 1560), and in selling crown lands (May 1563).
On 21 April 1566 Sir Richard Sackville
Richard Sackville (escheator)
Sir Richard Sackville of Ashburnham and Buckhurst in Sussex and Westenhanger in Kent; was an English administrator and Member of Parliament.-Career:...
, the then-chancellor of the exchequer, died, and Mildmay was appointed as his replacement; he was also made auditor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Duchy of Lancaster
The Duchy of Lancaster is one of the two royal duchies in England, the other being the Duchy of Cornwall. It is held in trust for the Sovereign, and is used to provide income for the use of the British monarch...
. Busily occupied in the duties of his offices until his death, he concerned himself little with general politics. As the brother-in-law of 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 friend of Lord Burghley
William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley
William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley , KG was an English statesman, the chief advisor of Queen Elizabeth I for most of her reign, twice Secretary of State and Lord High Treasurer from 1572...
, he was, however, always heard with attention in the Privy Council, the Star Chamber
Star Chamber
The Star Chamber was an English court of law that sat at the royal Palace of Westminster until 1641. It was made up of Privy Counsellors, as well as common-law judges and supplemented the activities of the common-law and equity courts in both civil and criminal matters...
, and in Parliament. He used what influence he possessed to shield the Puritans from the attacks of the bishops, and often urged the Queen to intervene on behalf of the Protestants in the Low Countries
Low Countries
The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....
In his speeches in Parliament he argued that a liberal grant of subsidies placed the government under an obligation to redress grievances, and thus identified himself with the popular party in the commons.
In 1572 he helped to prepare evidence against Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk
Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk
Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, KG, Earl Marshal was an English nobleman.Norfolk was the son of the poet Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey. He was taught as a child by John Foxe, the Protestant martyrologist, who remained a lifelong recipient of Norfolk's patronage...
, who, nevertheless, after his condemnation gave him some rich jewels. The affairs of Mary, Queen of Scots also occasionally occupied his attention. When she arrived in England in 1567 he strongly advised her detention. In October 1577 he and Cecil visited her at Chatsworth
Chatsworth House
Chatsworth House is a stately home in North Derbyshire, England, northeast of Bakewell and west of Chesterfield . It is the seat of the Duke of Devonshire, and has been home to his family, the Cavendish family, since Bess of Hardwick settled at Chatsworth in 1549.Standing on the east bank of the...
, after she had announced that she had important secrets to reveal to Elizabeth. In 1586 he went to Fotheringay Castle and informed her of her forthcoming trial, in which he took part as one of the special commissioners. In March 1587 he urged the condemnation of William Davison in the Star Chamber. Although four times nominated an ambassador to Scotland, in 1565, 1580, 1582, and 1583, he was on each occasion detained at home, but when his name was suggested for the office in 1589, James VI expressed great readiness to receive him. Mildmay's illness, however, brought the suggestion to nothing.
Mildmay died at Hackney
Hackney Central
Hackney Central is the central district of the London Borough of Hackney in London, England. It comprises the area roughly surrounding, and extending north from Mare Street. It is situated north east of Charing Cross...
on 31 May 1589, and is buried beside his wife in the church of St Bartholomew the Great in London, where an elaborate monument still exists to his memory. The decorations are heraldic, but the Latin epitaph merely records names and dates. The tomb was restored in 1865 by Henry Bingham Mildmay, Esq. Epitaphs on Mildmay and Sir John Calthrop were licensed by the Stationers' Company on 29 July 1589. They are not known to be extant.
Founding Emmanuel College
Mildmay displayed his interest in education with much effect. On 23 November 1583 he purchased for £550 the site at CambridgeCambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
of the dissolved house of the Dominicans or Black Friars, which was situated in what was then called Preachers Street, but is now known as St. Andrews Street. Here, on 11 January 1583-1584 he obtained the Queen's licence to set up Emmanuel College
Emmanuel College, Cambridge
Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay on the site of a Dominican friary...
.
The architect was Ralph Symons, and in 1588 the new building was opened with a dedication festival, which Mildmay attended. He installed in the college a master, Laurence Chaderton
Laurence Chaderton
Laurence Chaderton was an English Puritan divine, and one of the translators of the King James Version of the Bible.-Life:...
, three fellows, and four scholars; but subsequent benefactions soon increased the fellowships to fourteen and the scholarships to fifty. According to Fuller
Thomas Fuller
Thomas Fuller was an English churchman and historian. He is now remembered for his writings, particularly his Worthies of England, published after his death...
, Mildmay, on coming to court, after the college was opened was addressed by the Queen with the words: "Sir Walter, I hear you have erected a puritan foundation", to which Mildmay replied: "No, madam; far be it from me to countenance anything contrary to your established laws; but I have set an acorn, which when it becomes an oak, God alone knows what will be the fruit thereof".
His statutes for the government of Emmanuel College are dated 1 October 1585 and are attested by his sons, Anthony and Humphrey, John Hammond, LL.D., William Lewyn, LL.D., Thomas Byng
Thomas Byng
Thomas Byng was an English academic and lawyer, Master of Clare Hall, Cambridge from 1571.-Life:He matriculated as a sizar at Peterhouse in May 1552, and proceeded B.A. in 1556. He was admitted fellow of his college 7 February 1558, and commenced M.A. 1559, and LL.D. 1570...
, LL.D., Timothy Bright, M.D., and Edward Downing. Mildmay deprecated perpetual fellowships, and warned the fellows against regarding the college as "a perpetual abode" — they were to look forward to spreading outside the knowledge they acquired within its walls.
Mildmay otherwise showed his interest in education by acting as an original governor of Chelmsford School
King Edward VI Grammar School (Chelmsford)
King Edward VI Grammar School, or KEGS, is a British grammar school located in the town of Chelmsford, Essex, England. It takes pupils between the ages of 11 and 18 — from Year 7 to 11 the pupils are exclusively male, although it becomes mixed in the sixth form .The present headteacher is Thomas...
, founded in 1550-1; by giving an annuity of 52s. to Christ's Hospital
Christ's Hospital
Christ's Hospital is an English coeducational independent day and boarding school with Royal Charter located in the Sussex countryside just south of Horsham in Horsham District, West Sussex, England...
(10 April 1556); and by bestowing £20 a year on Christ's College, Cambridge (10 March 1568-1569), to be expended on a Greek lectureship, six scholarships and a preachership to be filled by a fellow of the college. He also contributed stone for completing the tower of Great St. Mary's Church, Cambridge, and he helped to found the free-school at Middleton, Lancashire
Middleton, Lancashire
Middleton is a village and civil parish within the City of Lancaster in Lancashire, England, between Heysham and Overton. It had a population of 521 recorded in the 2001 census....
.
There are three portraits of Mildmay at Emmanuel College; one with his wife. A fourth painting was at Moulsham Hall demolished in 1809, near Chelmsford, and a fifth at Knole Park, Sevenoaks
Sevenoaks
Sevenoaks is a commuter town situated on the London fringe of west Kent, England, some 20 miles south-east of Charing Cross, on one of the principal commuter rail lines from the capital...
. There are also engravings by J. Faber and E. Harding, and an unsigned plate is known.
Character and publications
Sidney Lee wrote that Mildmay was a man of cultivation and of great piety, with some popular reputation as a believer in second sight. Henry CaesarHenry Caesar
Henry Caesar was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1660.Caesar was the son of Sir Charles Caesar and succeeded to the estate of Bennington, Hertfordshire in 1642...
, dean of Ely
Ely
-People:* See Ely , for people with the surname Ely or names that refer to Ely* Also see Elias-In Ireland:* Éile, a medieval kingdom commonly anglicised Ely* Ely Place , a street in Dublin just off St...
, was directed by the Star Chamber to retract a report that he had circulated to the effect that Mildmay had endeavoured to see by conjuration the person of Cardinal Pole after his death.
Henry Roberts, in his Fames Trumpet Soundinge, 1589, mentions a book by Mildmay, and describes it as "in print now extant". It was entitled A Note to know a Good Man. Sir John Harington, in his Orlando Furioso, bk. xxii, p. 175, gives a stanza in Latin with an English translation; the former he says he derived from Mildmay's Latin poems, which are not otherwise known. A "memorial" by Mildmay, written for his son Anthony in 1570, consisting of sensible moral precepts, was printed from a manuscript at Apethorpe by the Rev. Arundell St. John Mildmay in 1893. Many of his official letters and papers are at Hatfield or in the state paper office.
Family
Mildmay's older brother Sir Thomas (d. 1566), was an auditor of the Court of Augmentation (which had been established in 1537 for controlling the property taken by the Crown from the monasteries), and was the grandfather of Thomas (d. 1626), who was created a baronet in 1611, and of Henry (d. 1645), who was knighted. The latter claimed, in right of his mother Frances Ratcliffe, daughter of Henry, third baron Fitz-walter, and second earl of Sussex, the barony of Fitz-walter, and his grandson Benjamin (d. 1679), on 10 February 1670, was summoned to the House of LordsHouse of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
by that title. Benjamin's two sons, Charles (d. 1728) and Benjamin, were in succession Lords Fitz-walter, the latter being further created Viscount Harwich
Baron FitzWalter
Baron FitzWalter is an ancient title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1295 for Robert FitzWalter. The title was created by writ, which means that it can descend through both male and female lines. His great-grandson, the fourth Baron, was an Admiral of the Fleet. His grandson, the...
and Earl Fitz-walter
Baron FitzWalter
Baron FitzWalter is an ancient title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1295 for Robert FitzWalter. The title was created by writ, which means that it can descend through both male and female lines. His great-grandson, the fourth Baron, was an Admiral of the Fleet. His grandson, the...
in 1730. On his death, in 1756, the earldom became extinct and the barony fell into abeyance.
Mildmay married Mary, daughter of William Walsingham, by Joyce, daughter of Edmund Denny
Edmund Denny
Sir Edmund Denny, of Cheshunt was a Tudor courtier and politician. He was the chief Baron of the Exchequer during the reign of Henry VIII of England....
, baron of exchequer, and sister of Sir 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...
. She died 16 March 1576. His children were Sir Anthony; Humphrey of Danbury Place, Essex, father of Sir Henry Mildmay; Winifred, wife of Sir William Fitzwilliam of Gains Park, Essex; Martha, wife of Sir William Brouncker; and Christian, wife successively of Charles Barrett of Aveley
Aveley
Aveley is a place in the Thurrock unitary authority in Essex, England and one of the traditional parishes in Thurrock. It is a suburban development located 16.3 miles east of Charing Cross in London and within the eastern bounds of the M25 motorway.-Location:Aveley is roughly bounded to the north...
in Essex, and Sir John Leveson of Kent, Knight.
The eldest son, Sir Anthony Mildmay
Anthony Mildmay
Sir Anthony Mildmay was a country gentleman from Northamptonshire, England, who served as Member of Parliament for Wiltshire from 1584 to 1586 and as English ambassador in Paris in 1597.-Early life:...
(d. 1617), who inherited the family estate of Apethorpe
Apethorpe Hall
Apethorpe Hall in Apethorpe, Northamptonshire, England is a Grade I listed country house, dating back to the 15th century.The house is built around three courtyards lying on an east-west axis and is approximately by in area...
, was an ambassador in Paris. He married Grace Sharington
Grace Mildmay
Grace Mildmay was an English noblewoman, diarist and medical practitioner. Her autobiography is one of the earliest existing autobiographies of an English woman. Originally from Wiltshire, she married Sir Anthony Mildmay in 1567 and moved to Apethorpe Hall, his father's home in Northamptonshire...
and had one daughter, Mary.
Further reading
- 'Lady Mildmay's Journal: A Study in Autobiography and Meditation in Reformation England', by Retha M. Warnicke in the Sixteenth Century Journal, Vol. 20, No. 1 (Spring, 1989), pp. 55–68.