William Honnyng
Encyclopedia
William Honnyng was an English Member of Parliament
and Tudor
Court official who served as Clerk of the Signet
and Clerk of the Privy Council
under Henry VIII
and Edward VI
.
, with houses and shops in Oldefisshestrete in the City of London
.
. Honnyng owed this appointment to the influence of Thomas Wriothesley
. When Bonner was recalled to London, Honnyng also returned, during the summer of 1540.
On his return to London, Honnyng was appointed a clerk of the Signet, and took up the office some time after October 1541, when he was granted the next vacancy. He had, by 1542, become the servant of Thomas Wriothesley .
On 23 April 1543 Honnyng was appointed one of the two clerks of the Privy Council . The Council at that time included Thomas Cranmer
, Thomas Howard
, John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford
, Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford
, Stephen Gardiner
, Sir Anthony Wingfield, Thomas Wriothesley
, John Dudley, Viscount Lisle
and William Paget
.
Honnyng was elected to the first Parliament of the young king Edward VI
, convened on 4 November 1547, as MP for Winchester. He may have owed this appointment to the influence of Wriothesley. Honnyng was also elected as MP for Orford, Suffolk
, in Edward VI's second and last parliament, in March 1553.
Half way through the reign of Edward VI, competition for power between the leading Councillors, as "Protestant" and "Catholic" factions vied for control over the boy king. Honnyng played a peripheral role in these clashes, for example helping with the arrest and subsequent prosecution of Bishop Gardiner, and acting as the Privy Council's messenger during the coup that toppled the Lord Protector Somerset in October 1549. For a brief period, after Somerset's fall, Wriothesley filled the power vacuum until he too was out-manoevered by John Dudley, by then earl of Warwick.
With the fall of Wriothesley, Honnyng was unprotected, and was arrested by Sir Anthony Wingfield on 30 January 1550 for seeking to embezzle away the judicial papers relating to Gardiner's case. Honnyng was imprisoned in the Marshalsea
prison, but eventually released, at the end of June 1550, on £200 bail. But a month later his old patron Wriothesley was dead, "amidst rumours of suicide", and Honnyng had lost his job on the Privy Council. He retained his clerkship of the Signet, and even remained in office during the transition to the reign of Mary in July 1553 and into the reign of Elizabeth I.
By the Summer of 1560, in addition to remaining clerk of the Signet, Honnyng was taken on by Thomas Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Sussex
, 3rd earl of Sussex, as his Court Correspondent, while Radclyffe was on campaign in Ireland.
in 1561 Honnyng entered Gray's Inn
, in the same intake as Thomas Radcliffe, Roger, Lord North, and Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk
. At that time Gray's Inn was a fashionable place for noblemen and country gentlemen to send their sons, even though some 90% would not actually be called to the Bar. Along with legal training, the Inn provided a good venue for 'masques and revels'. The following year, in 1562, Honnyng was appointed a Justice of the Peace
for Suffolk, and by 1564 was 'of the Quorum'. In 1566 Honnyng was appointed to the Suffolk Commission of Sewers (responsible for sea and river defences, and maintaining the Fennland drainage system).
and a first cousin of Thomas Wriothesley). They had fourteen children:
. In his 1566 will, Honnyng left extensive lands in Suffolk, London and Gloucestershire . Most of the property went to his heir, Edward, who left it to his son Wingfield Honning. A lengthy court battle arose, as Edward Honning had left no will, and his son Wingfield Honning was mentally disabled; most of the wealth was gradually lost as the family fought moves by the unscrupulous lawyer John Cusacke and Baron Sotherton.
On either side of the central inscription are the circular memorials to William and Frances:
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
and Tudor
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...
Court official who served as Clerk of the Signet
Clerk of the Signet
The Clerks of the Signet were English officials who played an intermediate role in the passage of letters patent through the seals. For most of the history of the position, four clerks were in office simultaneously....
and Clerk of the Privy Council
Clerk of the Privy Council (United Kingdom)
The Clerk of the Privy Council is a civil servant in the government of the United Kingdom. He or she is the most senior civil servant in the Privy Council Office....
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...
and Edward VI
Edward VI of England
Edward VI was the King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death. He was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine. The son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Edward was the third monarch of the Tudor dynasty and England's first monarch who was raised as a Protestant...
.
Early life
The Honnyng (or Honing, Honning, Hunnings) family came originally from the Holland district of South Lincolnshire. The eldest child of Roger Honnyng and Margaret née Owle, William was born in 1520, most probably in London. Roger was a member of the Fishmongers' CompanyWorshipful Company of Fishmongers
The Worshipful Company of Fishmongers is one of the 108 Livery Companies of the City of London, being a guild of the sellers of fish and seafood in the City...
, with houses and shops in Oldefisshestrete in the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
.
Career
In 1538 William Honnyng obtained the post of secretary to Bishop Edmund Bonner on his appointment as Ambassador to ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. Honnyng owed this appointment to the influence of Thomas Wriothesley
Thomas Wriothesley, 1st Earl of Southampton
Thomas Wriothesley, 1st Earl of Southampton, KG , known as The Lord Wriothesley between 1544 and 1547, was a politician of the Tudor period born in London to William Wrythe and Agnes Drayton....
. When Bonner was recalled to London, Honnyng also returned, during the summer of 1540.
On his return to London, Honnyng was appointed a clerk of the Signet, and took up the office some time after October 1541, when he was granted the next vacancy. He had, by 1542, become the servant of Thomas Wriothesley .
On 23 April 1543 Honnyng was appointed one of the two clerks of the Privy Council . The Council at that time included Thomas Cranmer
Thomas Cranmer
Thomas Cranmer was a leader of the English Reformation and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI and, for a short time, Mary I. He helped build a favourable case for Henry's divorce from Catherine of Aragon which resulted in the separation of the English Church from...
, 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...
, John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford
John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford
John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford, KG, PC, JP was an English royal minister in the Tudor era. He served variously as Lord High Admiral and Lord Privy Seal....
, Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford
Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset
Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, 1st Earl of Hertford, 1st Viscount Beauchamp of Hache, KG, Earl Marshal was Lord Protector of England in the period between the death of Henry VIII in 1547 and his own indictment in 1549....
, Stephen Gardiner
Stephen Gardiner
Stephen Gardiner was an English Roman Catholic bishop and politician during the English Reformation period who served as Lord Chancellor during the reign of Queen Mary I of England.-Early life:...
, Sir Anthony Wingfield, Thomas Wriothesley
Thomas Wriothesley, 1st Earl of Southampton
Thomas Wriothesley, 1st Earl of Southampton, KG , known as The Lord Wriothesley between 1544 and 1547, was a politician of the Tudor period born in London to William Wrythe and Agnes Drayton....
, John Dudley, Viscount Lisle
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 William Paget
William Paget, 1st Baron Paget
William Paget, 1st Baron Paget of Beaudesert , was an English statesman and accountant who held prominent positions in the service of Henry VIII, Edward VI and Mary I.-Early life:...
.
Honnyng was elected to the first Parliament of the young king Edward VI
Edward VI of England
Edward VI was the King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death. He was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine. The son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Edward was the third monarch of the Tudor dynasty and England's first monarch who was raised as a Protestant...
, convened on 4 November 1547, as MP for Winchester. He may have owed this appointment to the influence of Wriothesley. Honnyng was also elected as MP for Orford, Suffolk
Orford (UK Parliament constituency)
Orford was a constituency of the House of Commons. Consisting of the town of Orford in Suffolk, it elected two Members of Parliament by the bloc vote version of the first past the post system of election until it was disenfranchised in 1832.-History:...
, in Edward VI's second and last parliament, in March 1553.
Half way through the reign of Edward VI, competition for power between the leading Councillors, as "Protestant" and "Catholic" factions vied for control over the boy king. Honnyng played a peripheral role in these clashes, for example helping with the arrest and subsequent prosecution of Bishop Gardiner, and acting as the Privy Council's messenger during the coup that toppled the Lord Protector Somerset in October 1549. For a brief period, after Somerset's fall, Wriothesley filled the power vacuum until he too was out-manoevered by John Dudley, by then earl of Warwick.
With the fall of Wriothesley, Honnyng was unprotected, and was arrested by Sir Anthony Wingfield on 30 January 1550 for seeking to embezzle away the judicial papers relating to Gardiner's case. Honnyng was imprisoned in the Marshalsea
Marshalsea
The Marshalsea was a prison on the south bank of the River Thames in Southwark, now part of London. From the 14th century until it closed in 1842, it housed men under court martial for crimes at sea, including those accused of "unnatural crimes", political figures and intellectuals accused of...
prison, but eventually released, at the end of June 1550, on £200 bail. But a month later his old patron Wriothesley was dead, "amidst rumours of suicide", and Honnyng had lost his job on the Privy Council. He retained his clerkship of the Signet, and even remained in office during the transition to the reign of Mary in July 1553 and into the reign of Elizabeth I.
By the Summer of 1560, in addition to remaining clerk of the Signet, Honnyng was taken on by Thomas Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Sussex
Thomas Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Sussex
Thomas Radclyffe 3rd Earl of Sussex was Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland during the Tudor period of English history, and a leading courtier during the reign of Elizabeth I.- Family:...
, 3rd earl of Sussex, as his Court Correspondent, while Radclyffe was on campaign in Ireland.
in 1561 Honnyng entered 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...
, in the same intake as Thomas Radcliffe, Roger, Lord North, and 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...
. At that time Gray's Inn was a fashionable place for noblemen and country gentlemen to send their sons, even though some 90% would not actually be called to the Bar. Along with legal training, the Inn provided a good venue for 'masques and revels'. The following year, in 1562, Honnyng was appointed a 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 Suffolk, and by 1564 was 'of the Quorum'. In 1566 Honnyng was appointed to the Suffolk Commission of Sewers (responsible for sea and river defences, and maintaining the Fennland drainage system).
Marriage and children
Honnyng married Frances Cutler, the daughter of Nicholas Cutler, MP, by Eleanor Mynne (daughter of John MynneJohn Mynne
John Mynne was an English officer of arms. He was the son of Henry Mynne of Gloucestershire, and son-in-law of John Writhe, the Garter King of Arms from 1478 to 1504.-Heraldic career:...
and a first cousin of Thomas Wriothesley). They had fourteen children:
- Jane (1542 - 1557)
- Elzabethe
- Frannces
- Catterin
- Anne (born 1548)
- Edward (21 May 1550 - 1609), heir, and MP for Dunwich, Suffolk in 1589, and MP for EyeEye (UK Parliament constituency)Eye was a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected two Members of Parliament by the bloc vote system of election...
in 1593 - 1604. Edward married Ursula Wingfield, a granddaughter of Sir Anthony Wingfield PC KG. - William (1552 - c.1610), clerk of the Office of the Revels during the time William Shakespeare was putting on plays at Court.
- Henry (11 February 1553 - 22 January 1635) a leading participant in the Jacobean PlantationPlantation of UlsterThe Plantation of Ulster was the organised colonisation of Ulster—a province of Ireland—by people from Great Britain. Private plantation by wealthy landowners began in 1606, while official plantation controlled by King James I of England and VI of Scotland began in 1609...
of FermanaghCounty FermanaghFermanagh District Council is the only one of the 26 district councils in Northern Ireland that contains all of the county it is named after. The district council also contains a small section of County Tyrone in the Dromore and Kilskeery road areas....
. - Nicholas (born 13 May 1555)
- Joan (born 8 August 1556)
- John (19 January 1558 (ns) - 1585) a sea captain who served in Elizabeth's war against Spain in the Netherlands, dying at the Battle of ArnhemArnhemArnhem is a city and municipality, situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland and located near the river Nederrijn as well as near the St. Jansbeek, which was the source of the city's development. Arnhem has 146,095 residents as one of the...
in 1558. Four portraits of John survive, at the V&A, at the Wellcome Library, at Queens' College Cambridge, and one in a private collection. - Thomas
- Franccis, Receiver of Crown Rents for Suffolk and Cambridgeshire.
- James (born 1562) servant of Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of SouthamptonHenry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of SouthamptonHenry Wriothesley , 3rd Earl of Southampton , was the second son of Henry Wriothesley, 2nd Earl of Southampton, and his wife Mary Browne, Countess of Southampton, daughter of the 1st Viscount Montagu...
whom James accompanied to IrelandEssex in IrelandEssex in Ireland refers to the military campaign pursued in Ireland in 1599 by Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, during the Nine Years War and the Anglo-Spanish War....
in 1599. - Charles, captain in the expeditionary forces of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester in December 1585, and Lord Willoughby's campaign into France in September 1589, during which he died.
- Roger
- Robert
Death
Honnyng died on 11 November 1569 and was buried in an 'alter tomb' within the parish church of Eye, SuffolkEye, 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...
. In his 1566 will, Honnyng left extensive lands in Suffolk, London and Gloucestershire . Most of the property went to his heir, Edward, who left it to his son Wingfield Honning. A lengthy court battle arose, as Edward Honning had left no will, and his son Wingfield Honning was mentally disabled; most of the wealth was gradually lost as the family fought moves by the unscrupulous lawyer John Cusacke and Baron Sotherton.
Tomb
The 'Alter Tomb' of William Honnyng and his wife Frances survives in the parish church at Eye. Although badly damaged, with its shields and other decoration removed, the inscription remains visible:-- Qui fuit eximio virtutu robore septus
- Prudentisq viri noie notus erat
- Qui patriæ charus cuctis dilect, et avlæ
- Gratus erat sumo clarveratq loco
- Consilii decreta sua qui scripserat arte
- Regiaq emisit signa notata manu
- Quinq ferens decies ferme natalib, anos
- Hic Honyngus iam Gulielm, inest:
- Homo humana humo: virtus: post: funera.
-
- "Here lies William Honyngs who was surrounded by the noble strength of virtues and was known by the name of a prudent man, who was dear to his native land, and beloved by all and held in favour at Court who had written his council decrees with his clear and true art at the highest level and who put forth Royal decrees written by hand, having lived almost fifty years from his birth. Man goes to the earth; human virtue lasts after the funeral."
On either side of the central inscription are the circular memorials to William and Frances:
- Guli: Obiit 11 die Novembris Anno D’ni 1569 (William: Died 11th day of November Anno Domini 1 569)
- Fran, Obiit ... die A .... Anno D’ni ..... (Frances: Died ... day of A ... Anno Domini ... ...)