John Fortescue of Salden
Sir John Fortescue (ca. 1531 or 1533 – 23 December 1607) of Salden Manor, near Mursley, Buckinghamshire, was the seventh Chancellor of the Exchequer of England, serving from 1589 until 1603.
Origins
Fortescue was the son of
Career
Fortescue acquired early a considerable reputation as a scholar and was chosen to direct the Princess Elizabeth's classical studies in
By means of his lucrative employments he amassed great wealth, with which he bought large estates in Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire, and kept up a large household. He took a prominent part in public business, was a member of the court of the Star Chamber and an ecclesiastical commissioner, sat on various important commissions, and as chancellor of the exchequer explained the queen's financial needs and proposed subsidies in parliament.[3]
When
Fortescue advocated restrictions on the King's power, in part in order to limit the appointment of Scottish people. These reforms were not implemented, and as a result, James dismissed him from his position as Chancellor of the Exchequer.[8] He retained, however, his position in Parliament and as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, as well as the keeper of the great wardrobe.[3]
As keeper of the Great Wardrobe, in 1603 he issued some fabrics for Anne of Denmark's closet, for the use of her and her household in chapel. These included two palls of cloth of gold for two communion tables, fine linen diaper cloth for four communion tables or desks, fine Holland linen cloth for four other tables, linen for communion towels and four surplices, two bibles, two service books, and other items.[9]
Death and burial
Fortescue was buried in Mursley's parish church in Buckinghamshire, where a monument was erected in his honour.[10]
Family
Fortescue had six children with his first wife Cecilia Ashfield (d. 1571), daughter of Sir Edmund Ashfield of Ewelme.[11] Including:
- Francis Fortescue (1563-1624), who married in 1589 Grace Manners (d. 1624), daughter of Sir John Manners of Haddon Hall, second son of Thomas Earl of Rutland, and of Dorothy Vernon daughter and co-heir of Sir George Vernon. A daughter, Dorothy Vernon (d. 1650), married Sir Robert Throckmorton of Weston-Underwood and Coughton Court.
- William Fortescue of Salden (1562-1629).[12]
- Eleanor Fortescue (1579-1605), who married (1) in 1585, Valentine Piggot (2) Edward Hobart.
He had a daughter with seventh with his second wife, Alice Smith, daughter of Christopher Smith of Annables, Hertfordshire, and widow of Richard Robson:
- Margery Fortescue (d. 1613), who married Sir John Pulteney of Misterton, Leicestershire (1585-1617).[13]
Many of his children followed his path in politics, holding positions in Parliament.[10] In 1621 Alice Fortescue, the widow of John Fortescue, sold Tickford Priory in Newport Pagnell to the royal physician, Dr Henry Atkins for £4,500.[14]
The house he built at Salden was demolished. A chair carved with the Fortescue and Ashfield heraldry, presumably from the house, was found in an antique shop in Aylesbury in 1873 and bought by a descendant, Thomas Fortescue, 1st Baron Clermont.[15]
References
- ^ a b http://www.tudorplace.com.ar/FORTESCUE.htm#Adrian FORTESCUE of Salden (Sir Knight)
- ^ Vivian, Lt.Col. J.L., (Ed.) The Visitations of the County of Devon: Comprising the Heralds' Visitations of 1531, 1564 & 1620, Exeter, 1895, pp. 352-353.
- ^ a b c d e public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Fortescue, Sir John". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 10 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 678. One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the
- ^ Elrington, C R. "Parishes: Great Washbourne Pages 232-237 A History of the County of Gloucester: Volume 6. Originally published by Victoria County History, London, 1965". British History Online. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
- ^ John Nichols, Progresses of James the First, vol. 1 (London, 1828), p. 165.
- ^ HMC Salisbury Hatfield, vol. 15 (London, 1930), p. 170.
- ^ HMC Salisbury Hatfield, vol. 15 (London, 1930), p. 171.
- ^ Neil Cuddy, 'Revival of the Entourage, The English Court from the Wars of the Roses to the Civil War (London, 1987), p. 175.
- ^ Mary Anne Everett Green, Calendar State Papers Domestic, 1603-1610 (London, 1857), p. 12: See TNA SP 14/1 f.250.
- ^ a b Sir John Fortescue of Salden by Jorge H. Castelli, accessed 16 July 2006
- ^ Virginia C.D. Moseley & Rosemary Sgroi, 'FORTESCUE, Sir John (c.1533-1607), of Salden House, Mursley, Bucks.', The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1604-1629, ed. Andrew Thrush and John P. Ferris, 2010.
- ^ Virginia C.D. Moseley & Rosemary Sgroi, 'FORTESCUE, Sir William (c.1562-1629), of Salden House, Mursley, Bucks.; Westminster and Clerkenwell', The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1604-1629, ed. Andrew Thrush and John P. Ferris, 2010.
- ^ Rosemary Sgroi, 'PULTENEY, Sir John (1585-1617), of Misterton, Leics.', The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1604-1629, ed. Andrew Thrush and John P. Ferris, 2010.
- ^ Thomas Fortescue, 1st Baron Clermont, Works of Sir John Fortescue, vol. 2 (London 1869), p. 288.
- ^ Records of Buckinghamshire, vol. 4, p. 186.