Robert Southwell (lawyer)
Sir Robert Southwell (c. 1506
Early life
Robert Southwell belonged to a wealthy family from Norfolk.[3] He was the son of Francis Southwell and the younger brother of Privy councillor Sir Richard Southwell[3] and the elder brother of Francis Southwell and Anthony Southwell who married Anne Le Strange, daughter of Sir Thomas Le Strange. On 1 May 1536, he[4] married Margaret Neville (d. 25 December 1575),[4] the daughter of Sir Thomas Neville, MP from Kent,[5] fifth son of George Neville, 2nd Baron Bergavenny[6] Through the marriage he acquired Mereworth in Kent, which became his principal residence and where he was buried.[6] Southwell was Catholic.[7]
He settled on a career in law, became a reader at the
He was elected Member of Parliament for the constituency of King's Lynn in 1529, 1536, and 1539.[1] He was knighted in 1537.[14]
He served as Common Serjeant of London from 1535 to 1536 and Master of Requests in 1540. In 1543–1550 he was appointed Master of the Rolls although, according to D. M. Loades, he then lived in Kent where he gained "some influence" through his marriage connection.[3] Michael Zell wrote that it was customary to have at least one high-ranking judge permanently living in Kent.[15]
Wyatt's rebellion
In the first year of the reign of
According to Froude, on 25 January Abergavenny raised two thousand men and attacked rebel Henry Isley at Wrotham.[21] Abergavenny's men prevailed over the rebels and then deserted to Wyatt's army. According to D. M. Loades, on 25 January Southwell reported to the Council in London that recruitment made only "some headway" and advised that the Queen must leave London for a safer place.[22] By 27 January the loyalists's position improved, and their combined forces in Kent matched the numbers of Wyatt's force in Rochester, at around two thousand men on each side.[23] However, the loyalists were scattered, and Wyatt could rely on additional forces held by the Isleys in nearby Tonbridge and Sevenoaks.[23] According to D. M. Loades, Southwell and Abergavenny with six hundred men blocked the road from Tonbridge to Rochester to prevent consolidation of the rebels.[23] On 27 January Southwell realised that the townsfolks stood for Wyatt and did not dare to engage the rebels.[24] On the next day Henry Isley marched from Sevenoaks to Rochester. This time, Southwell was compelled to fight, and managed to defeat Isley's company at Wrotham, taking around sixty prisoners.[24]
On the same 28 January Duke of Norfolk boldly led his unstable army into Kent. He did not notify Southwell and Abergavenny of his plans, and his forces deserted to Wyatt at the earliest convenience.[25] After the defeat of Norfolk at Rochester Southwell fled to London.[26] Wyatt marched to London himself with around three thousand men,[27] but lost the initiative; Southwell and Thomas Cheney managed to raise another loyalist company in his rear.[28][29] On 4 February Southwell and Abergavenny marched to Greenwich. Londoners rumoured that their force reached three thousand men (actual strength of the loyalists is unknown). Wyatt was cut off from his base in Kent, and could not count on reinforcements while the loyalists' forces gained strength every day.[29]
By 7 February Wyatt's army disintegrated. Southwell was dispatched to mop up the rebels remaining in Kent and on 10 February set up his headquarters in Wyatt's Allington Castle.
On the occasion of the marriage of Mary and Philip Southwell was rewarded with a pension of five hundred pounds per annum.[33]
Marriage and issue
On 1 May 1536 Southwell married Margaret Neville, the daughter of
- Glamorganshire, Wales, by whom he had a son and heir, Sir Robert Southwell, and thirdly Nazareth Newton (d. 1583), daughter of Sir John Newton, of Hawtrey, Somerset, by whom he had a daughter, Elizabeth, who married Sir Barentyne Molyns of Clapcot by Wallingford in Berkshire (now Oxfordshire) (son of Michael Molyns MP). After Thomas Southwell's death his widow, Nazareth, married Thomas Paget, 4th Baron Paget.[38]
- Francis Southwell (b. 14 December 1538).
- Henry Southwell (b. 4 September 1543).
- Anne Southwell (b. 18 March 1540).
- Dorothy Southwell (b. 21 September 1542).
Although the birth of Southwell's fourth son, Robert, is not recorded in the Book of Hours, he is mentioned in connection with the manor of Merstham in 1569.[39]
Sir Robert Southwell died 26 October 1559, and on 13 November 1561 Margaret married William Plumbe. She died 25 December 1575, and was buried in the Church of St Giles at Wyddial, Hertfordshire, where she is commemorated by a memorial brass.[40]
Notes
- ^ a b Southwell, Robert (c.1506–59), of London and Mereworth, Kent, History of Parliament Retrieved 22 May 2013.
- ^ Zell, p. 36.
- ^ a b c d e f Loades, p. 84.
- ^ a b Chance 2006, p. 52.
- ^ Zell, pp. 26–27.
- ^ a b Philipott, p. 31.
- ^ Zell, p. 34.
- ^ Copinger 1909, pp. 50–1.
- ^ Philipott, p. 217.
- ^ Philipott, p. 132.
- ^ Philipott, p. 269.
- ^ Philipott, p. 237.
- ^ Loades, p. 86.
- ^ Hutchinson, John. A Catalogue of Notable Middle Templars: With Brief Biographical Notices. p. 232.
- ^ Zell, p. 18.
- ^ Froude, p. 106.
- ^ Froude, pp. 106–108.
- ^ Loades, p. 52.
- ^ Loades, p. 78.
- ^ Froude, p. 108 and 371 (footnote 218).
- ^ Froude, p. 108.
- ^ Loades, p. 56.
- ^ a b c Loades, p. 58.
- ^ a b Loades, p. 59.
- ^ Loades, p. 61.
- ^ Froude, pp. 110–111.
- ^ Zell, p. 220.
- ^ Froude, p. 119.
- ^ a b Loades, p. 63.
- ^ a b c Loades, p. 108.
- ^ Loades, p. 112.
- ^ a b c Loades, p. 113.
- ^ This was the "third grade" of awards, following the £2,000 and £1,000 pensions. Many of the recipients were already too old to be a long-term burden for the Crown – Froude, p. 132.
- ^ Bindoff 1982, p. 10.
- ^ Richardson II 2011, p. 18; Richardson III 2011, p. 298.
- ^ Chance 2006, pp. 52–4.
- ^ Betham 1801, p. 229.
- ^ Parkin 1809, p. 277.
- ^ 'Parishes: Merstham', A History of the County of Surrey: Volume 3 (1911), pp. 213–221 Retrieved 22 May 2013.
- ^ Andrews 1903, p. 161.
References
- Andrews, William Frampton (1903). Memorial Brasses in Hertfordshire Churches (2nd ed.). London: Elliot Stock. p. 161. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
- Baker, J.H. (2004). "Southwell, Sir Robert (c.1506–1559)". doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/26063. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- Betham, William (1801). The Baronetage of England. Vol. I. Ipswich: Burrell and Bransby. p. 229. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
- Bindoff, S.T. (1982). The House of Commons 1509–1558. Vol. III. London: Secker and Warburg. pp. 10–11. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
- Chance, Jane, ed. (2006). Women's Books of Hours in Medieval England. Cambridge: D.S. Brewer. pp. 52–4. ISBN 9781843843009. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
- Copinger, W.A. (1909). The Manors of Suffolk. Vol. 4. Manchester: Taylor, Garnett, Evans & Co. Ltd. pp. 50–1. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
- Davies, Catharine (2004). "Neville, Sir Thomas (b. in or before 1484, d. 1542)". doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/19964. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ISBN 1-4346-9230-2.
- Loades, D. M. (1965). The Two Tudor Conspiracies. Cambridge University Press.
- Parkin, Charles (1809). An Essay Towards a Topographical History of the County of Norfolk. Vol. X. London: William Miller. p. 277. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
- Philipott, Thomas (1776). Villare cantianum: or, Kent surveyed and illustrated. Second edition: London.
- Richardson, Douglas (2011). Everingham, Kimball G. (ed.). Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families. Vol. II (2nd ed.). Salt Lake City. ISBN 978-1449966386.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link - Richardson, Douglas (2011). Everingham, Kimball G. (ed.). Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families. Vol. III (2nd ed.). Salt Lake City. ISBN 978-1449966393.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link - Zell, Michael (2000). Early modern Kent, 1540–1640. Boydell & Brewer. ISBN 0-85115-585-5.
External links
- Subarticle in Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900. .
- Will of Sir Robert Southwell of Mereworth, Kent, proved 5 November 1560, PROB 11/43/577, National Archives Retrieved 22 May 2013
- Will of Thomas Southwell of Woodrising, Norfolk, proved 30 June 1568, National Archives Retrieved 22 May 2013