sir william herbert's acquisition of offices in wales on the death of henry, earl of worcester...

Sir William Herbert’s Acquisition of Offices in Wales on the Death of Henry, Earl of Worcester

in IS49

Abstruct

The article discusses the series of royal grants which marked the rapid rise of William Herbert in the years before his creation as earl of Pembroke in 15s I , and particularly a hitherto unnoticed grant of 14 December I 549 (summarized) of most of the offices in south and central Wales previously held by Henry Somerset (d. Is49), earl of Worcester. Using mainly Public Record Office sources, it underlines the importance of this grant in establish- ing Herbert’s predominance in Wales and describes how the loss of these offices by the Somerset family exacerbated its financial embarrassment in the mid sixteenth century.

THE S P E C T A C U L A R L Y S U C C E S S F U L career of William Herbert (d. 1570), the younger son of a Welsh squire who became a privy councillor in I 547 and earl of Pembroke in 15s I, has been outlined in several biographical studies.’ His rapid rise to political prominence in Henry VIII’s last years and in Edward VI’s reign led to impressive rewards, most importantly a series a royal grants of lands and offices which within a few years established his position as one of the leading magnates of the kingdom. Service in Henry VIII’s household brought him an annuity of E46 13s 4d in 1537, appointment as a gentleman pensioner in 1539, and in the last years of the reign many stewardships, local offices and leases, and grants in fee of Wilton abbey lands and a group of Glamorgan manors.’ Under Edward

Dictionary ofNationalBiography; CompletePeerage, comp. G. E. Cokayne and others (13 vols., 1910-59), x. 405-9; The History ofParliament: the House OfCommons, 1509-58, ed. S. T. Bindoff (3 vols., 1982), ii. 341-4; N. P. Sil, WilliamLordHerbntofPembroke(c.i~o~~~~o):PolitiqucandPatriot (Lewiston, N.Y., 1988).

* Herbert was amember oftheking’s household by 14March 1531 (PublicRecord Office, KB 2711079, Rex m. rod.). He was granted some subordinate Glamorgan offices in Jan. 1535. an annuity of E46.13sqdinJan. 1537. a lease of Abergavenny priory and rectory in May 1537 and appointment as gentleman pensioner probably in Dec. 1539 (r*ttersandPapersofHcnry VIII(here- afterL.P.), VIII, no. I49 (8.9); XII. i, no. 311(12); XIII. i, p. 584; XIV. ii, no. 783; xv, no. 14). For stewardships and local offices granted by Henry VIII in the 154os, ibid., XVI, p. 713; XVIII. i, no. 623 (71); xx. i, p. 677; xx. ii, nos. 418 (12-14). 706 ( 5 2 ) ; XXI. i, nos. 718 (11). 970 (54), pp. 771. 4; XXI. ii, nos. 199 (67), 475 (51). p. 433. For leases, ibid., XVI, pp. 720 (bis), XVII, p. 693; XIX. i, no. 610 (32); xx. i, no. 465 (34); XXI. i, no. 1537 (30); XXI. ii, no. zoo (7). For grantsin fee, ibid., XIX. i, no. 80 (IS); XIX. ii, no. 527 (41); XXI. ii, nos. 331 (60), 648 (34), 770 (82). Other grants

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VI the value of his rewards from the Crown greatly increased to include further major gifts of royal and former monastic and church lands in the west of England, South Wales and elsewhere. Herbert also continued to acquire royal offices, notably those of master of the horse in 1549 and president of the Council in the Marches of Wales in 1550, besides many more local offices in England and Wales. As in the last years of Henry VIII’s reign, some of these grants of local offices were made under the seal of the court of augmentations, but no calendar of these grants for Edward VI’s reign has been published and they have not been noticed by Herbert’s bio- grapher~.~ A particularly important grant in this category, made on 14 December 1549, granted Herbert most of the numerous stewardships of lordships and many other local offices in Wales which Henry Somerset, earl of Worcester, had held until his death on 26 November 1549. The present article discusses t h i s grant, which is summarized below, in the context of Herbert’s acquisition of lands and offices in Wales. It also considers the implications for the Somerset family of the transfer of these offices out of their possession.

Most of the offices included in Herbert’s grant of 14 December 1549 had been granted to Sir Charles Somerset in the later years of Henry VII’s reign and in the first few months following Henry VIII’s accession.’ By the end of August 1509 Somerset had obtained from Henry VIII new grants for life of all the royal offices in Wales which he had acquired in Henry VII’s reign, and also life grants of the major offices of the Marcher lordships of Ruthin (Dflry. Clwyd) and Glamorgan. By further letters patent of June and July 1510 the same ofKces were granted to Somerset and to his son and heir apparent, Henry, for life in survivorship. On I February 1514 Somerset, who had been raised to the peerage as Lord Herbert by February 1504, was created earl of Worcester, and later in 1514 two further grants, one in reversion, were made to him and his heir in survivorship. The entitlement of Henry Somerset, styled Lord Herbert after his father’s creation as earl of Worcester, to the reversion of the offices which he held jointly with his father was confirmed by letters patent of June and July 1518. In 1523 and 1524 he received two further grants for life of offices in Wales, and in 1525 he was joint grantee for life in survivorship of other Welsh offices. After his

included an annuity of k50 in March 1545 and a valuable grant oflead in Dec. 1546 (ibid., xx. i, no. 456 (85); XXI. ii, no. 647 (13)). ’ For an index to the relevant Augmentations Miscellaneous Books volumes, P.R.O., E 3151 218-25, see P.R.O., 49thAnnuaZReport (1888), pp. 209-360. ’ For the Welsh offices held by Charles, earl of Worcester and his heir, Henry, earl of Worce- ster see [W.] R.[B.] Robinson, ‘Early Tudor policy towards Wales; the acquisition oflands and offices in Wales by Charles Somerset, earl of Worcester’, Bull. Board Celtic Studies, xx (1962-4), 421-38; idem, ‘Early Tudor policy towards Wales, Part 2: the Welsh offices held by Henry, earl of Worcester (1526-49)’, ibid., xxi (1964). 43-74; and idem, ‘Early Tudor policy towards Wales, Part 3: Henry, earl of Worcester and Henry VIII’s legislation for Wales’, ibid.. xxi (1966). 334- 61. These articles are hereafter cited as Robinson, ‘Early Tudor policy’, Parts 1-3.

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succession as earl of Worcester on the death of his father on 15 April 1526 he received no fuaher royal grants of office for some years, and apparently the only important office in Wales which he later acquired, probably in 1536 or 1537, was the stewardship of the lordships of Arwystli and Cyfeiliog in Montgomeryshire? The only other royal grant which sign&cantly affected his position in Wales was that of the Welsh lands of Tintem abbey, which were granted to him by letters patent of 10 March 1537 on terms which increased his net income by AIOO a year! Worcester made no payment for this grant and its favourable terms reflect the Crown’s recognition of the need to compensate him for the reduction in his income, both from his her- editary lordships and from his royal offices, arising from the termination after I 536 ofhis power to exercise regal jurisdiction in the Marcher lordships under his control. Previously the profits accruing from the exercise of this jurisdiction, mainly from individual and collective fines and penalties, had been an important source of income and their discontinuance was a serious matter for Worcester. His net landed income in the late fifteen-thirties, after his acquisition of the lands of Tintern abbey, was probably between E7oo and A800 a year, well below the average landed income of his fellow earls.’ H i s total income was accordingly heavily dependent on his fees from his royal offices in Wales, which amounted in total to about A450 a year.’ Details of these offices and fees are provided in a document, published elsewhere, drawn up by one of Worcester’s servants in the fifteen-forties?

The date of Worcester’s acquisition of this stewardship is uncertain, as no record has been found of his grant of the office (Robinson, ‘Early Tudor policy’, Part 2, pp. 70-1). According to instructions sent into Wales by Henry Fitzroy. duke ofRichmond and Somerset in 1532, the lordships had been purchased by him from Sir John Dudley (i.e., John, Lord Dudley, d. 1553). and they came into the king‘s hands following the duke’s death on 22 July 1536 (P.R.O., E 3 I.$/ 391124). Walter Devereux (d. 1558), Lord Ferrers, held the lordships in farm from the Crown in 1536 andlater (P.R.O., E 314/39/38). ‘ See W. R. B. Robinson, ‘The lands ofHenry, earl of Worcesterin the 1530s. Part I: Gower,

Glamorgan and Breconshirc’, Bull. Board Ckltic Studies, xxv (1972-4). 188-242; idem, ‘The lands of Henry, earl of Worcester in the 1530s, Part 2: Chepstow, Tidenham, Caldicot and Magor’, ibid., pp. 298-337; idem, ‘The lands of Henry, earl of Worcester in the 1~30s. Part 3: central Mon- mouthshire and Herefordshire’, ibid., pp. 454-500. These articles are hereafter cited as Robinson, ‘Lands’, Parts 1-3. For Worcester’s acquisition of the lands of Tintem abbey SIX Robinson, ‘Lands’, P u t 3, pp. 462-4. ’ For Worcester’s income see Robinson, ‘Lands’, Part 3, pp. 468-70.

* Worcester’s financial dependence on his offices probably prompted the remark made to Queen Elizabeth in 1571 by Katherine (d. 1580). dowager duchess of Suffok ‘I have hard ther be noblemyne off long countcnuens and ansent honor [wlhos landes be so dekayd as beseydes ther offesses and fyes have not muche grettcr lyvingcs than me sonys, as namle for won my lord off Wosetter’ (P.R.O., SP 1/77 fo. 107, cited in H. Miller, ‘Attendance in the house of lords during the reign ofHenry VIII’, HistoriCCrfJour.. x (1967). 328). William (d. 158g), earl ofworce- ster had held the title for over 20 years when the duchess made her remark, but she can hardly have had him in mind, as he was not a significant officeholder. ’ P.R.O., E 314/82, document headed ‘Suche offices with the fees as my Lorde hathe in Gla-

morgan’ printed in Robmon, ‘Early Tudor policy’, Part 2, pp. 56-60. Although this document is now included in Augmentations Miscellanea. it was probably not dnwn up for submission to the court of augmentations, and may be one of several documents from Worcester’s private archives which were included in the public records long after his death.

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S I R W I L L I A M H E R B E R T ' S O F F I C E S I N W A L E S , 1549 269 The largest single fee mentioned in this document is one of LIOO a year for the stewardship of the constituent members of the lordship of Glamorgan and the constableship of the castles of Cardiff and Cowbridge." This fee had originally been paid to Worcester as sheriff of Glamorgan as well as steward of its members and constable of the castles of Cardiff and Cow- bridge, but in 1547, and again in a formal decree in May 1548, the officers of the court of augmentations decided that the office of sheriffof Glamorgan had been made void by the Act of Union of 1536, notwithstanding a provision in the Act safeguarding the office to Worcester for life. They agreed that Worcester should continue to receive his fee of LIOO during his life, but Sir Edward North, the chancellor of the court, noted that after the earl's death the king should save the sum of L33 6s 8d apportioned for the sheriffs fee, which was thereafter to be extinguished." This decision in respect of the sheriffs fee gave rise to an interesting provision in William Herbert's grant of 14 December 1549.

From his early years Herbert had excellent opportunities to become familiar with the administration of Glamorgan under the earls of Worce- ster." H i s maternal grandfather, Mathew Cradock, was the receiver of Gla- morgan from 1509 to 1524, and his mother, Margaret Cradock, had married William Bawdrip of Penmark in the Vale of Glamorgan, probably within a few years of the death of his father, Richard Herbert of Ewyas and Abergavenny, in 1510. Besides Penmark, Bawdrip also held the manor of Splott, a short distance east of Cardiff, as well as some property in the town. Herbert, probably a young child when his mother remarried, was presumably brought up in the Bawdrip household and in regular contact with his grandfather during Cradock's periods of residence in Cardiff." It is significant that in 1527 Herbert was described as 'of Cardiff in the earliest certain record of his career, and that Sir William Bawdrip's son, Thomas, was one of his close associates at that time. In 1524 Herbert's elder brother, George, succeeded Cradock as receiver of Glamorgan and continued in

lo This and other contemporary references to the castle 'of Cowbridge' refer to Llanbethian castle (seen. 58 below).

Thedecreeof23 May 1548 isprintedinRobinson,'EarlyTudorpolicy', Part 3, pp. 357-61. A marginal note by Sir Edward North, chancellor of the court of augmentations, in the 'respite' section of the receiver's account for Glamorgan for 1546, refers to the extinction of the office of sheriff, and notes that after Worcester's death the king was to save the sum of E33 6s 8dfor the sheriffs fee (P.R.O., SC 6 Henry wII/5154); this note was cited in the account of the recaver- general for South Wales for 1549 (P.R.O., LR 6/138/8, fees). Before the Act of Union of 1536 the office of sheriff of Glamorgan was the senior judicial office in the lordship. From 1540 onwards the sheriffs of the Welsh counties were appointed annually with powers comparable to those of English sheriffs. '' S. J. Gunn and W. R. B. Robinson, 'The early life of William Herbert, earl of Pembroke (d.

1570)'. Welsh Hist. Rev., forthcoming. '' Cradock was described as of CarW(and other places) in a pardon dated 18 Apr. 1509 and in

a deedof28 Nov. 1513 (P.R.O., C67/93; Cartacalaliamunimcntaquacaddominiumdc Clamorgancia pertinent, ed. G. T. Clark (6 vols., Cardiff, 1910). v. 1778).

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that office for many years after Cradock‘s death in I 53 I . Following the death of Charles, earl of Worcester in 1526 George Herbert also succeeded Cra- dock as steward of Worcester’s lordship of Gower and Kilvey. It is possible that William Herbert, like his elder brother, was ‘a servant to the house of Worcester’, as the seventeenth-century antiquary John Aubrey maintained,“ but there is no direct evidence for this. There is indeed little information about Herbert’s early career, but by March 1531 he was a gentleman of the king’s household. The earliest recorded royal grants in his favour were appointments by two letters patent of 12 January 1535 to some subordinate offices in Glamorgan previously held by Worcester’s nominee, Nicholas Williams, until his death in June 1534. One of the letters patent appointed Herbert approver and supervisor of Glamorgan and clerk of Car- Mexchequer for life.” The other granted the office of king’s attorney in Glamorgan jointly to Herbert and John Bassett, a Glamorgan lawyer, during pleasure.16 As these offices were among those to which Worcester had previously been granted the right of nomination, the validity of Her- bert’s patents was questionable, and during Henry WI’s reign the nominees whom Worcester appointed in succession to Nicholas Williams continued to take the fees of the offices notwithstanding Herbert’s grant. After 1535 Herbert did not obtain any further royal grants of office in Wales for some years. In March or April 1543 he was appointed custos rotulorum in the commission of the peace for Glamorgan” and in May of that year was appointed for life keeper of Aberystwyth castle with twelve archers and keeper of Carmarthen castle.” In 1544 or 1545 Queen Catherine appointed him to several offices relating to the administration of her lands, including those of receiver-general of the lordships of Usk, Caerleon and Trellech, constable of the Tregrug castle and beadle and coroner of Ed10gan.l~ Other

Aubrey’s ‘BnefLives’, ed. A. Clark (2 vols., Oxford, 1898). i. 314. Is Calendared as ‘clerk chancellor of KaerdifT in L.P., VIII. rqg(8). The MS. patent roll

describes the office as that of ‘clerid cancellar’ nostre de Kaerdiff‘ but the full title of the office appears elsewhere as clerk ofthe exchequer of the chancery of the lord king within the exchequer of Cardiff, and more bridly as clerk of the exchequer (P.R.O., C 66/664, m. 28; SC 6 Edward VI,no.669;E314/82,citedinn. gabove). Inaletterprobablywrittenin 1536Herbertmentioned his having been in the king’s chancery in Cardiffas deputy chancellor there (L.P., XI, no. 696). He was presumably acting as deputy of Thomas Atkyns, Worcester’s nominee in the office.

l6 L.P., VIII. 149(9). For the career ofJohn Bassett (d. 15s I) of Llantrithyd and Pencoed. Gla- morgan, and the Inner Temple, see House o f C o m n s , 1509-58, i. 394-5. On I Oct. 1535 Herbert was granted a fee of 20s a year for life by Abergavenny priory, of which his elder brother, George, was steward (P.R.O., LR 6/138/6, fees).

l7 Herbert’s name, preceded by p’ for ‘preses’, is entered twice in the earliest surviving list of members of the commission of the peace for Glamorgan (P.R.O., C 193/12/1, ‘Liber paas’ dated 34 Henry VIII. fos.. 41. 41v). the later entry being made after he was knighted in the second half of 1543. The date of t h i s and other Welsh commissions is given as 12 March 1543 in The Justices ofthe Peace in Wales and Monmouthshire, 1541-1689, ed. J. R. S. Phillips (Cardiff, 1975). p. xi, n. 10, citing C 193/12/1 fo. 48v, andpassim, but the date 26 Apr. also appears on fo. 48v and the commissions of the peace may have been issued on the later date.

L.P.,xvm. i,no. 623(71);P.R.O., C66/668, m. 27. l9 L.P., XXI. i, no. 718 (11). For the maps ofthe lordships of Wales see W. Rees, South Wales

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royal grants which he received in the last few years of Henry VIII’s reign included a lease of the manors of Cosmeston and Sully near Cardiff in March 1545, a lease of the lordships of Miskin (Meisgyn) and Glynrhondda with the borough of Lantrisant in August 1546, and a lease of the lordships of Neath Citra, Neath Ultra and the borough of Neath in September 1546. One of his last rewards from Henry VIII was a grant in fee of a group of Gla- morgan manors which had belonged to his mother’s first husband, John Malefant, and had escheated to Jasper, duke of Bedford as lord of Glamor- gan in the early fourteen-nineties.

One of Herbert’s earliest acquisitions in Edward VI’s reign was a royal gift of lands valued at 400 marks a year (A266 13s 4s) made in perpetuity in July I 547 in pursuance of the ‘unfdfilled gifts’ clause in Henry VIII’s will.” Miss Helen Miller has commented on the particularly favourable terms of the grant, which comprised lands in England and Wales worth substantially more than the valuation?’ The Welsh lands included in the grant were in Glamorgan and Monmouthshire. The Glamorgan lands included the lordship and forest of Miskin and the manors of Clun, Llanmaes and Pentirch. The more valuable Monmouthshire lands had mainly come into the possession of the Crown following the execution of Edward, duke of Bucking- ham in 1521. They comprised part of the lordship of Newport (Gwynllwg), including the borough of Newport and the manor of Dyf- fryn; the lordship and forest of Machen; the former monastic manor of Malpas; and the reversion of three manors (Pencam and Cogan, Dowlais and Stow) in the lordship of Newport, each in the possession of a life tenant.22 The advowsons of the rectories of two parish churches in Mon- mouthshire and four in Glamorgan were also included in the grant. A few weeks before securing this major grant, Herbert had made a fresh attempt to gain control of one of the offices in Glamorgan originally granted to him in 1535 by obtaining new letters patent, for himself and John Bassett,

and the Border in the i#h Century (Ordnance Survey, 1932); idem, An Historical A r k of Wales from Early to Modcm Timcs (2nd edn., ~gsg), plate 28; M. Richards, Welsh Administrative and Territorial Units (Cardiff, 1969). For Herbert’s grant of the ofice of receiver-general of Usk, Caerleon and Trellech, L.P., XXI. i, no. 718 (11). A decree ofthe court of augmentations dated I March ISSO records that he was content to relinquish the exercise of that office and was granted a life annuity of XIS 14 8din compensation for its fees (P.R.O., E 3151105 fos. 126v-127).

ao Calendar of Pafctll Rolls i54p8, pp. 193-8. By separate letters patent also dated 10 July 1547 Herbert was granted other lands (mainly in England but including Barry Island in Glamorgan) which Henry VIII, in consideration of Herbert’s services and L800 paid by Herbert to George Howard, had intended to give Herbert for the better maintenance of his state (ibid., pp. 111-13).

H. Miller, ‘Henry VIII’s unwritten will: grants of lands and honours in 1547’, Wealth and Power in TudorEngland: Esraysprcsentedto S . T. Sindo& ed. E . W . Ives, R. J. Knecht and J. J. Scaris- brick (1978). p. 98. The particular s f or this grant, dated28 Apr. 1547, ueP.R.O., E 318/30/1685.

As Miss Miller noted, the reversions were valued at half rate. This proved especially advan- tageous for Herbert, as two of the life-tenants of the three manors did not long survive. Sir John Welsbome, who held the manor of Stow, died X I Apr. 1548, and Sir William Pirton, who held the manor of Dowlais, died between 5 Nov. and 16 Dec. 1351 (Howe OfCommonr, 1509-58, iii. 5 3 7 ; P.R.O., PROB 11/34, will-register Bucke, fos. 277v-278).

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of the office of king’s attorney. H i s claim to the office was, however, dis- puted by Thomas Mildmay, an auditor of the court of augmentations, who held the attorney’s office as Worcester’s nominee, and the office conse- quently remained in controversy until 1549, when the fee was paid to Herbert and Bassett with Mildmay’s agreement.” The fees of the other Glamorgan offices granted to Herbert were paid to him from 1547 without challenge from Worcester’s nominees. In the first few years of Edward VI’s reign Herbert consolidated his position as a leading member of the privy council, particularly by his prominent part in the suppression of the rebels in the West of England in the summer of 1549. His services against the rebels were specifically cited in letters patent of May 1550 conferring on him a further major grant of lands and in the patent creating him earl of Pembroke in October 1551, but recognition of his services in the summer of 1549 may also be seen in the formal confirmation of his appointment as master of the horse on 2 December 1549 and in three other grants in his favour made in December 1549. Two of these were made under the seal of the court of augmentations on 14 December 1549. One was a joint grant to Herbert and his elder son, Henry, of the office of constable of the castle of St. Briavels, together with two other offices in the Forest of Deanu The other grant of the same date, summarized in the Appendix, comprised most of the offices held by Henry, earl of Worcester at the time of his death on 26 November 1549.

No direct evidence survives of the events preceding the grant of 14 December 1549 concerning Worcester’s offices, but it is significant that on 2 December 1549 Herbert was granted, by letters patent of the duchy of Lancaster, the reversion of some other offices held by Worcester in South Wales, namely those of steward of the lordships of Monmouth and Gros- mont and constable of the castles of Monmouth and the Three Castles.25 The grant had evidently been applied for and had received royal approvd before news of Worcester’s death on 26 November had reached Court. Probably Herbert was prompted to make a pre-emptive claim for the offices on being informed, perhaps by one of his Monmouthshire servants, that Worcester was ill and unlikely to recover.% He may at the same time also

The text of the letters patent relating to the office of attorney issued on 18 June 1547 was enrolled in error on the patent roll for 2 Edward VI (Car. Pat. Rolls 15g-8, p. 333; GI. Pat. Rolls 1553 & Addcndu, p. 399). References to the controversy over the attorney’s fee are given in the ‘respite’ section of the accounts of the recaver-general of South Wales for 154.7 and 1548, andin the‘fees’sectionofhisaccountfor 1549 (P.R.O.. LR6/138/&8).

P.R.O., E 315/220 fo. 18417. The grant was for life in suMvorship. R. Somerville, History ofrhc Duchy OfLMCd(lCr (2 vols., 195390). i. 649; P.R.O., DL 42/23

fos. 47v. 48. The grant, dated at Westminster and authorized by a bill under the king’s signature, refers to Worcester as holding the offices and as ‘nunc comes’. Herbert was tactically well placed to daim Worcester’s offices, as in Nov. and Dec. 1549 he was present at all Council meetings (Acts ofthr Privy COCCM‘I i5+p5o1 pp. 353-68; Herbert is referred to as master of the horse).

z6 The place of Worcester’s death is not recorded. It was probably at Chcpstow. where he was buried. For his itinerary see Robinson, ‘Lands’, Part 3, p. 470. n. 3.

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have put in hand the preparation of his application for all of Worcester’s other Welsh offices, but there is nothing in the text of the grant of 14 Decem- ber to indicate whether it was applied for during Worcester’s lifetime. As soon as the grant was issued it attracted attention at Court. On 15 December Richard Scudamore informed Sir Philip Hoby that ‘The Erle of Worcester is deceased and Sir William Herbart is placed yn all his places and offyces yn Wales’.’’ Scudamore was right to consider Herbert’s grant worth report- ing. It gave Herbert wide powers and patronage throughout Glamorgan and over large areas of the counties of Monmouth, Brecon, Radnor, Mon- tgomery and Denbigh. Although the judicial powers appertaining to the stewardships of Marcher lordships had been much curtailed as a consequence of Henry VIII’s Welsh legislation and the introduction ofjustices of the peace and justices of the great sessions into Wales, these stewardships continued to confer great local influence. The constableships included in Herbert’s grant were also valuable in this respect, giving him control of several important castles, including those of Cardiff and Brecon which were repaired at considerable expense to the Crown in the next few years.” Her- bert’s tenure of the many offices included in his grant gave him valuable patronage through his entitlement to appoint deputies and nominees. He was able to recruit and reward a large affinity at the Crown’s expense, although the cost of remunerating his appointees has to be borne in mind when considering the value of the fees, amounting to at least E375 annually, which he received in respect of his office^.'^ An interesting feature of the grant is the remarkably favourable provision with which it concludes. This provided that in consideration of Herbert’s services and the king’s wish for him to have fees and emoluments no less than those of the late earl of Worce- ster, he was to have an annuity of A56 13s 44 corresponding to the payments which Worcester had received as compensation for the fees of the

” ‘Theletters of Richard Scudamore to Sir Philip Hoby, September 154g-March 155s’. ed. S. Brigden (Camdm Miscellany XXX (Camden 4th ser., xxxix. rggo), p. 102. The news that Her- bert had been granted the offices may have reached Scudamore following the issue of the privy seal writ (not identified) which preceded the court of augmentations grant.

zm For constableships see M. Gray, ‘Castles and patronage in 16th-century Wales’, We&h Hist. Rev., xv (1991). 481-93. Payments Of 6239 for repairs to Cardiffcastle and E86 6s 8d for repairs to Brecon castle were authorized by commissions dated 16 Dec. 1549 and 24 Feb. 1551 respectively (P.R.O., LR 1/228 fos. 146r-v, 17gr-v; LR 6/138/8, ‘respite’ section; SC 6 Edward VI/ 669, repairs and ‘respite’ sections; an additional Lx3 for repairs at Brecon appears in the lattcr account). ” Most of Herbert’s fees are recorded in the account of the receiver-general for South Wales

for the year ending Michaclmas ISSO (P.R.O., SC 6 EdwardVI/669, entries for cos. Glarnorgan, Monmouth, Brecon and Radnor). H i s fee for Woking is recorded in the account of the recciver-general for Kent, Surrey and Sussex for the same year (P.R.O., LR6/113/2. under dlowan- ces). The fees for Ewyas Lacy are still recorded as being paid to Henry. earl of Worcester in the account of the receiver-general for Herefordshire (and other counties) for the same period (P.R.O., SC 6 Edward VI/716,717). The earliest available record of payment of Herbert’s fees for Dyi€iy Clwyd is in the account of the receiver for Dcnbighshire for the year ending Michaclmas 155s. and for Montgomery and Arwystli in the account ofthe receiver for Montgo- meryshire for the following year (P.R.O., LR 6/137/3.11).

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274 SIR W I L L I A M HERBERT’S OFFICES I N WALES, 1 5 4 9

extinguished offices of sheriff of Glamorgan, chancellor of Glamorgan and receiver of the lordship of Dinas. Evidently concern that Herbert should get the maximum advantage from his grant led the officers of the court of augmentations to set aside the court’s recent decision that after Worcester’s death the king should save E33 6s 8d annually in respect of the extinguished office of sheriffof Glamorgan.

Herbert’s grant of 14 December 1549 made him the predominant officeholder in Wales and his authority there was hrther extended in April 1550 by his appointment as president of the Council in the Marches of Wales.30 Shortly afterwards his position as a Welsh landowner was also enhanced by letters patent of 7 May 1550 confemng on him, in consideration for his services against the Western rebels, a further gift of very extensive lands in Wales, together with lands in several English The clear value of the lands included in t h i s grant was A447 a year, of which E227 represented lands in Glamorgan, EISO lands in Monmouthshire and twenty pounds, sixteen pounds and one pound lands in Radnorshire, Breconshire and Den- bighshire respectively. The Glamorgan lands comprised most of the constituent lordships of the county and other lands previously remaining in the possession of the Crown, including the boroughs and castles of Cardiff, Caerphilly, Kenfig and Aberavon and the borough of Cowbridge. The Monmouthshire lands comprised mainly manors and lands in the lordships of Usk, Caerleon and Trellech in the centre of the county, together with the boroughs of Usk, Caerleon and Trellech and Usk castle. In January 1551 Herbert consolidated his estate in these lordships by the acquisition of extensive chantry lands, which he purchased with other chantry lands and properties in other parts of Monmouthshire as well as in Glamorgan and elsewhere.” As a consequence of Herbert’s grant of 7 May ISSO he ceased to receive fees from the Crown for his offices in Usk, Caerleon and Trellech and for most of his offices in Glamorgan and assumed responsibility for appointing and remunerating the officers undertaking the duties con- ~ e r n e d . ~ ~ In April 1553 he again extended his Monmouthshire estates when

30 Edward VI recorded in his journal under 8 Apr. 1550 that Herbert was made president of Wales, and was granted so0 marks in land, and the minutes of a privy council meeting on 20 Apr. recorded that for divers good respects he was elected to be president there, i.e. of Wales (Lit- erary R e m a i m o f K i n g E r d VI. ed. J. G. Nichols (2 vols., 1857), ii. 256,77; Acts$t/u Privy Council 1550-2, p. 6). A grant dated 22 Jan. 4 Edward VI. i.e. ISSI. in which he is described as president oftheCouncilinWales,iswronglycalendaredunder ISSO (Cal. Pat. R O h J 5 ~ 5 0 , p . 416;P. Wd- liams, The Council in the Marches OfWales underElizabeth I(Cardiff, 1958), p. 36).

31 Cal. Pat. RoZlr15p-j,pp. 31-2.ThepamcularsforthisgnntareP.R.O., E318/30/1687. ’’ Cal. Pat. Rolls 1 5 4 ~ 5 0 , p. 416, grant of4 EdwardVI wrongly dendared under ISSO. 33 The account of the recciver-general for South Wales for the year ending Michalmas 1550

records payments to Herbert for these fees only for the first half of the year and notes that the remainder of the fees for the second half of the year was to be borne by Herbert under an agreement of certain letters patent betwccn Herbert and the king (P.R.O., SC 6 EdwardVI/669, Gla- morgan and Monmouth fees). The account for the following year (P.R.O.. SC 6 Edward VI/ 670) records no payments to Herbert for fees in respect of the lordships of Usk, Caerleon and Trellech, and payments to him for fees in respect of Glamorgan only for the constableship of

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S I R WILLIAM HERBERT’S O F F I C E S I N WALES, 1 5 4 9 275 several properties there and others in many counties of England and Wales were granted to him in part exchange for lands which he surrendered to the king at that time, including lands in Breconshire and Radnorshire granted to him in May 1550.” By the end of Edward VI’s reign Herbert’s Welsh lands extended over most of Glamorgan and west and central Mon- mouthshire. In his description of the earl of Pembroke’s lands in Glamorgan at the end of Elizabeth’s reign the historian Rice Lewis acclaimed Herbert’s heir, Henry, earl of Pembroke, as ‘the greatest lord that ever ow[n]ed landes in Glam~rgan’ ,~~ and Herbert’s pride in his Glamorgan estate is reflected in his assumption of the title of Baron Herbert of Cardiff on being raised to the peerage on 10 October 1551. His creation as earl of Pembroke on the following day revived the title held by the first Herbert earls in Edward IV’s reign and later (as most Glamorgan gentry were no doubt aware) by Jasper, duke of Bedford, lord of Glamorgan from 1485 until his death in 1495. In view of Herbert’s great influence in Wales as landowner and officeholder it is not surprising that Welshmen were particularly numerous in a list of his livery servants drawn up after his death in 1 5 7 0 . ~ ~ By the end of Edward VI’s reign his influence in Wales was greater than that of the few other peers with important interests there. Walter Devereux (d. 1558), Lord Ferrers, then in his sixties, still retained the chamberlainship of the principality of south Wales, but was not a major landowner there and the premature death in 1 5 4 7 of his elder son, Sir Richard, reduced the Devereux influence in Wales. The other peerage family prominent in Wales was the Somerset family, whose previously predominant position there was challenged by Herbert’s rapid advancement. Herbert’s appointment in December 1 5 4 9 to the Welsh offices previously held by Henry, earl of Worcester marked a particularly important stage in this development which should be seen in the context of the financial and political position of the Somerset family at that time.

The important contribution which fees and profits from royal offices in Wales made to the total income of Henry, earl of Worcester has already been mentioned, as has his acquisition of the Welsh lands of Tintem abbey in 1537. By the end of Is42 his income was also benefiting from the cessa- tion, following the death of Anne, countess of Huntingdon, the former wife of his great-uncle Sir Walter Herbert (d. 1507), of the annual payments

Neath (LIO) and the bailiwicks of East Thaw, West Thaw, Cibwr and Coity (614 2s 84. The manors of Neath Ultra and Neath Citra and the borough of Neath were not included in Her- bert’s grant O f 7 May 1550 (although he occupied them w Crown farmer) and were described in a survey ofthe Crown lands in Glamorganmadein 1554or 155s (P.R.O., E 315/4.17 fo. 4).

Ca1. Pat. Rolls 1553 6. Addmda, pp. 177-9. 34

’’ Rice Lewis, ‘A breviat of Glamorgan, 15961660’. ed. W. Rees (South Wales and Mon- mouth Record SOC., iii, 1954). p. 108.

British Library, Harley MS. 7186 fo. 195. Besides holding royal stewardships, Herbert ww steward of the bishop of Bangor in 1552 (Cakndarof the Caemarvonshirc Quarter Sessions Recordc, i: 1541-58, ed. W. Ogwen Williams (Caernarvon, 1956), p. 95.

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276 SIR W I L L I A M HERBERT'S OFFICES I N WALES, 1549

of I 80 which he had previously paid her under the terms of an agreement made in 1520 granting him possession of Raglan and the other jointure lands which she had held by virtue of her first marriage.37 Despite these enhancements of his income, Earl Henry clearly experienced some financial embarrassment in his later years. In the @teen-thirties he had sold the manors of Yalding (Kent) and Llandough (Glamorgan) and although there is no record of his selling land in the fifteen-forties his indebtedness to the king increased during these year^.^ Debts totalling E618 5s IId which he had incurred over many years were s t i l l outstanding in 1558, when his heir, Earl William, was released from their payment.39 No information about his other debts is available, but the fact that he died intestate may indicate that he found di&culty in making a will which would discharge his moral obligation to pay his debts." As the fifteen-forties progressed he must have been aware that after his death his heir would be faced with many claims to be met from an inadequate income. He was certainly aware of the importance of retaining his fees from his Welsh offices, as he made successful suits to the court ofaugmentations in 1547 and 1548 to secure the continued payment of some fees to which his entitlement had been challenged." The question that accordingly arises is why, in these circumstances, he and his heir did not obtain royal grants securing the reversions of the offices. No evidence relevant to t h i s question has been found, and it is uncertain whether Earl Henry and his heir failed to make suit to the king for the reversions, or whether suit was made but was unsuccessful. The latter situation seems more likely, and if that was what happened, failure to secure the reversions may indicate that Earl Henry and his heir lacked the political influence to get t h i s major concession. During Earl Henry's lifetime a suit for the reversions would probably have been resisted because it would preclude the opportunity for reviewing the hture of the offices after Earl Henry's death. In the event his death occurred at a time when the privy council were keenly aware of the need to reward Herbert for his prominent services against the Western rebels a few months earlier and probably saw advantage in enabling a member of their inner circle to take advantage of the opportunity presented by Earl Henry's death. Herbert for his part was eager to extend his influence in Wales, which had already contributed greatly to the

" For Lady Anne's jointure see Robinson, 'Lands', Part 2, p. 313. n. 6. '* For Llandough see Robinson, 'Lands', Part I , p. 195. and for Yalding see idem, 'The earls of

Worcester and thar estates, 1526-1642' (unpublished University of Oxford B.Litt. thesis, 1958). p. 50. On 25 Jan. 1544 the council of the court of general surveyors agreed to his petition that an overdue debt of 400 marks (6266 13s 4d) should be paid in instalments (P.R.O., E 3151 106 fOS. 36V-37).

39 Cal. Pat Rolls ijj@, p. 432. 40 P.R.O., DL 1/4o/W14. '' P.R.O., E 315j105 fos. 19-20~. decree of court of augmentations confirming Worcester's

entitlement to certain fees and annuities relating to the Welsh lands of former monastic houses, for which see Robinson, 'Early Tudor policy', Part 2, pp. 71-2; P.R.O., E 321/44/86, decree of 23 May 1548 cited in n. I I above.

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S I R W I L L I A M H E R B E R T ’ S O F F I C E S I N WALES, 154 .9 277

success of his military operations, and securing Earl Henry’s offices en bloc offered a quick means of achieving that objective. There is no reason to sup- pose that in pressing his claims to the offices Herbert was motivated by hos- tility to the Somerset family.‘’ It was their misfortune that at the time of Earl Henry’s death his heir, young and apparently diffident, was ill qualified to assert a claim to become a major office-holder in politically turbulent times.43

Even if he had secured a grant of his father’s offices, Earl William would have faced financial problems on his succession to the title.“ The income of the estates which he inherited on his father’s death was substantially reduced by the assignment to his mother, the dowager countess Elizabeth, of the greater part of the former lands of Tintern abbey and other lands in Monmouthshire, altogether producing gross revenues of about E189 a year, as her jointure or dower. Provision for Earl William’s three younger brothers and three unmarried sisters also made claims on his income. Each brother received an annuity of twenty pounds from his estate, but he probably made other contributions to their maintenance. Two of his brothers, Francis and Thomas, who were to die unmarried, possibly remained single because their income was inadequate to maintain a wife and family.” Earl William’s second sister, Lucy, had mamed John Nevi11 (d. 1577), Lord Lati- mer, about 1543, but none of his other sisters married until 1553. In that year his youngest sister, Jane, married Edward Mansel, the eldest son of Sir Rees Mansel (d. 1559), the dowager countess Elizabeth having assumed full responsibility for the payment of her dowry of 500 marks. There is no evidence to show whether the dowager countess also contributed to the dowry provided for Earl William’s third sister, Anne, who married Thomas Percy (d. 1572), earl of Northumberland, in 1558, but when the dowager countess made her will in 1565 she was clearly troubled about the situation of her eldest daughter, Elinor, who was still unmarried at that time. The countess put Earl William under obligation to pay Elinor E500, presumably for a dowry or other maintenance, but it was apparently not until 1567 that Elinor eventually married.& Her marriage to a widower,

‘’ O n 23 Apr. 15s I Herbert was one of only two knights of the garter who voted for the elec- tion of Earl William into membership of the Order (The Rcgisbr ofthe Most Noble Order ofthe Cartcr-calledtheBlackBook, ed. J. Anstis (2 vols., 1724), i. 446). a He was 22 at the time of his father’s death (P.R.O., C 1,p/go/113). When visiting the

French court at Fontainebleau in the summer of 1546 he was ‘verie coursely handled and intreated’ by a Frenchman ‘and the younge gentleman, bange but verie younge, had not the sp[i]rite to revenge’ (John Hooker alias Vowell, ‘The lyRe of Sir Peter Carewe’, Anhacologia,

44 For details and rdcrcnccs (unless here cited) to what follows, see Robinson, ‘Earls of Wor- cester’, pp. 66ff.

For Franas Somerset (d. 1563) see HouseofCornmonr, 1509-58, iii. 346 for Thomas Somerset (d. 1586) see ibid., pp. 346-7, and List and Analysis of State Papers, Foreign Serics, Elizabeth I , ed. R. B. Wernham (6 vok., 1964-93), vi. no. 32, remarks (not well informed) made in Is95 by his illegitimate son George.

46 The approximate date of Elinor’s marriage is indicated by the record of an indenture of 5

XXVifi (1840), 114).

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278 S I R W I L L I A M H E R B E R T ' S O F F I C E S I N W A L E S , 1549

Sir Roger Vaughan (d. 1571) of Porthaml in Breconshire, was undoubtedly an undistinguished one for the eldest daughter of an earl, and the failure of her family to find her a suitable husband many years earlier is probably attributable to the inability of Earl William and his mother to provide an adequate dowry. Earl William's financial embarrassment is also shown by his increasing indebtedness to the Crown in the years following his succession to the title. In little more than two and a half years following his father's death his debts to the Crown amounted to 61,200, comprising mainly unpaid reserved rents due in respect of the former lands of Tintern abbey, reserved rents on leases of Crown lands and 6 5 8 4 for the livery fine payable on his entry into his inheritance." He obtained a royal pardon for these debts in June ISSZ, but despite this his indebtedness to the Crown gradually rose again, until a further royal pardon granted in September 1558 released him from his debts, then totalling some 6 9 8 3 on his own account and A618 due from him as administrator of his father's estate. Earl William's experience shows that a nobleman's indebtedness to the Crown might be cancelled by royal favour, but his financial embarrassment had serious consequences. In 1553 he sold the reversion of three manors and other property in Northamptonshire and Bedfordshire and in 1557 sold the reversion of his remaining manor in Northamptonshire, thereby completing his sale of a group of manors valued, no doubt conservatively, at over EIII a year in 1526. His property sales were not confined to the Midlands. In 1551 he sold Worcester Place, his London house in the parish of St. James, Garlickhithe, and may not have acquired another permanent London house until some years later.a He sold the reversion of lands in Gower in 1552 and the manor of Talgarth Anglicana in Breconshire

July 1567, terms not cited, between Sir Roger and Earl William (with others); a recognizance dated 18 July 1567 in 3,000 marks, conditions not cited, between Vaughan and Earl William with several of the earl's relations; and an indenture dated 18 July 1567 between Vaughan and Earl William (with the same group of the earl's relations) whereby property in the manor of 'Treshek', Brec., was granted to Vaughan and Lady Elinor his wife for life in survivorship (P.R.O., C 54/750, m. 25; P.R.O., WARD 7/14, no. 91). " The account ofthe receiver-general of South Wales for the year ending Mich. 1551 records

the belated payment to him of Ezoz 0 od for arrears of fees not paid to his father during his lifetime, comprising A35 for the fees of his offices of the lordships of Usk, Caerleon and Trellech for the year ending Mi&. 1548, A40 for the fee of the coroner of Glamorgan for 8 years and 6127 od for the fees of the bailiffs of East Thaw, West Thaw, Coity and Cibwr for 9 years (P.R.O., SC 6 Edward VI1670, mm. 45d-46).

'* John Stow, A Survey oflondon, ed. C. L. Kingsford (2 vols., Oxford. 1908), ii. 324. In May 1574 referqce was made to Worcester's mansion house called Worcester House in Warwick Lane, but it is uncertain when he acquired t h i s property, presumably the mansion house in War- wick Lane, described as sometime parcel of Warwick Inn in the parish of Christ Church sometime in the tenure of John Bridges and his wife, which he sold in March 1587 (P.R.O., C 541 947, C 5411253). In June 155s Bridges and his wife had granted this mansion house to William Hawtrey, who may ha+e sold it to Worcester a few years later (City of London Record Office, enrolled deeds no. 247 (131)). In Jan. 1559 Hawtrey and his Wife granted Worcester some unnamed properties in Christ Church parish and although the mansion house may not have been among them, it may also have been conveyed to Worcester at about that time (P.R.O., c p ~514r7d2~79).

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between 1552 and 1558.’~ After 1556 he lost possession of the manors of Wellington and Yeasor in Herefordshire and he sold a number of other properties in Glamorgan and Monmouthshire during the fifteen-fifties and fifteen-si~ties.~~ The sale of the reversion of his Midlands manors was a particularly serious loss, since if he had been able to retain them until the death of his uncle, Sir George Somerset, in 1559 they would have greatly increased his income.

Earl William’s financial difficulties in the fifteen-fifties suggest that his landed income was inadequate to sustain the obligations imposed by his rank and family commitments. That he survived without even greater losses of landed income may be ascribed mainly to the financial assistance provided by his father-in-law, Sir Edward North, former chancellor of the court of augmentations, in the years following his marriage to North‘s elder daughter Christian, which probably took place before the end of 1549.’~ The most explicit evidence for this assistance is provided by an inci- dental remark reported many years later in the correspondence of an unre- lated family. In the course of a discussion early in 1575 between Roger Townshend, a Norfolk gentleman, and Sir Nicholas Bacon, the lord keeper, Townshend suggested that Sir Nicholas should take steps to clear the debts of his son-in-law, Henry Woodhouse. Townshend maintained that for a father-in-law to redeem the estate of a son-in-law was ‘very com- mendable and not greatly strange nor rare-and therein brought for exam- ple that the late Lord Northe, which had maryed his daughter to the Erle of Worcester, dyd dysburse two or three thowsandes powndes for the relyefe of the sayd Erie'.'' Townshend’s remark about North’s assistance is confirmed by other evidence preserved in chancery recordss3 It is uncertain

49 For his sales of land in Gower and concessions to the tenants of the Wclshxy there see W. R. B. Robinson, ‘The litigation of Edward, earl of Worcester concerning Gower. 1590-6, Part I ) , Bull. BoardCeltic Studies, xxii (1967-8). 360-4.

Lands sold in Glamorgan included lands purchased by Christopher Basset of St. Athan before 1563, and a house in the parish of Roath (P.R.O., PROB 11/46, will register Chayre, fo. 8rv; Rice Merrick, Morguniuc Archuiographia, ed. B. L1. James (South Wala Record SOC., i, 1983). P. 86).

An indenture dated 16 July 1552 refers to lands assigned to the Countess Christian by Henry, earl of Worcester as well as by her husband, Earl William, indicating that the latter’s marriage probably took place before his father’s death (P.R.O., C 54/481, no. 26). For North‘s chil- dren see P. S. Allen, ‘The birth of Thomas North‘, Eng. Hist. Rev., xxxvii (1922), 566 .

52 Francis Wyndham to Nathaniel Bacon, 26 May 1575 (Thc Papm ofNathaniel Bacon of Stiz- key, i: 155-7. ed. A. Hassall Smith, G. M. Baker and R. W. Kcnny (Norfolk Record SOC., AVi, 1979). p. 166). ” At Earl William’s request North stood bound in nine obligations to the king for payment

of A584 0s 6fd for the earl’s livery h e (P.R.O., C 541466. m. 29, recognizance in 1,000 marks dated 9 Feb. ISSO). By indenture of 16 July 1552 Earl William undertook under penalty of A3,ooo to repay North rC;$oo which North had given him at his request for help towards the payment of his debts and to perform covenants in respect of his wife’s jointure land (P.R.O., C $41481, no. 26). The A500 was said to have been given ‘by wey of love’, over and besides divers other sums and other ‘pleasures. charges and commodities gyvcn, susteyncd and borne’ by North without expectation of any recompense. On 15 Sept. 1554 North, on account of the ‘greate zeale, love and spcciall friendshipp’ that he bore to Earl William by reason of the latter’s

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280 S I R W I L L I A M HERBERT’S O F F I C E S I N WALES, I549

how long t h i s assistance continued, but it had probably ceased before November 1563, when the disharmony between Earl William and his wife came to the queen’s attention.” By that date, however, partly as a consequence of North’s assistance, Earl William’s financial situation appears to have stabilized. By the fifteen-eighties his finances were sufKciendy buoyant to enable him to undertake major rebuilding at Raglan castle, and by the fifteen-nineties the household there became famous for its ho~pitality.~~ By the end of Elizabeth‘s reign the Somersets were again more influential in Wales than any other noble family.%

Cham, Suwey W. R . B. ROBINSON

Public Record me, Ey~/z zo fos . 180-1 (summary translated from Latin)”

Grant by Edward VI to William Herbert, knight, his councillor, in consideration of his service at his great costs and charges to the king and to his father, Henry VIII, of the following:

(I) the office of steward of the county of Glamorgan and its members (2) the o&ce of constable of the castles of Cardiff, Cowbridgeu and Neath, co.

Glarnorgan

marriage to his daughter, forgave the earl all sums which he had previously paid on the earl’s behalf (P.R.O., C SQ/SOJ, no. 6). The indenture recording this also notes that North had lent the earl rC;400, 6300 being secured by the earl’s mortgage to North of the revenion of the manor of Duston, then in the tenure of Sir George Somerset for life, and the remaining LIOO being lent for the despatch of the earl’s ‘nedehll and necessary affayrcs &d doinges’. On 20

Dec. 1556 the earl acknowledged a debt of &oo to North, which North‘s executors acknowledged on 6 Nov. 1567 to have been repaid (P.R.O., C 541526, m. 32).

Calendar of State Papers, Domestic, 1547-80, p. 231. Refcrenca to payments of the annuity of 640 bequeathed in North‘s will to the Countess Christian when she was separated from her husband are recorded in the accounts of his heir, Roger. Lord North (Brit. Libr., Stowe MS. 774).

’I For the rebuilding at Raglan castle in the 1580s see A. J. Taylor, Ragfan Cmth (H.M.S.O., 1950). pp. 14-15, and for the hospitality offered there see W. R. B. Robinson, ‘Patronage and hospitality in early Tudor Wales: the role of Henry, earl of Worcester, 1p6-49’, ante, li (1978), 35. The recovery of the landed income of William, earl of Worcester. in the later years of his life is difficult to trace in detail, despite the survival among the Badminton manuscripts in the National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth, of conveyances and a series of audit rolls for his South Wala lands.

After the death of Henry, earl of Pembroke and the execution of Robert, earl of Essex in 1601 the Herbert and Devercux families did not recover their former influence in Wales (p. Wil- liams, ‘The political and administrative history of Glamorgan, 1536164a’. G l m g a n County History, iv: Early Modcrn Clmnogm, ed. Glanmor Williams (Cardiff. 1974), pp. 198-201; B. Howells, ‘Government and politics, 15361642’. Pcmbrokcshirc County History, iii: E d y Mod& Pmbrokeshire, 15361815 (Haverfordwest, 1987), pp. 147-51). ” There are two nearly contemporary copies (P.R.O., LR 11228 fos. 141-3,162v-164). For

comments on the offices mentioned see Robinson, ‘Early Tudor policy’, Part z, and for maps of thelordships see the references in n. 19 above.

There was no castle within or adjoining the medieval town walls of Cowbridge and references to the castle of Cowbridge have been found only in royal grants of the early Tudor

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u


(3) the office of forester of the county of Glamorgan and its members (4) the office of steward of the lordships of Ruthin and DyEryn Clwyd and its

( 5 ) the office of forester of all forests, parks and chases within the said lordships (6) the office of constable of the castle of Ruthin alias Dyffryn Clwyd, co. Den-

(7) the office of steward of the lordships of Montgomery, Ceri and Cedewain

(8) the office of constable of the castle of Montgomery (9) the office ofsteward ofthelordship of Elfael and constable ofPainscastle, co.

(10) the office of steward of the lordship of Ewyas Lacy, co. Hereford (11) the office of steward of the lordship of Dinas a h Welsh Talgarth, co.

(12) the office of steward ofthe manor of Woking, co. Surrey, and of pursuit of

(13) the office of steward of the lordships of Usk, Caerleon and Trellech and

(14) the office of steward of the town of Brecon and steward of the manor and

(IS) the offices of constable and gatekeeper of Brecon castle To hold these offices (which Henry, earl of Worcester, lately held for term ofhis

life by separate letters patent made to him by the king’s father, and which are now in the king’s hands and disposition by the death of the same earl) for term of his life by himself or his sufficient deputies in as ample a manner as Henry, late earl of Worcester or any other formerly held them. Also grant to William Herbert, knight, for the exercise ofthe office ofsteward of

the county of Glamorgan and its members and the office of constable of the castles of Cardiff and Cowbridge, of wages and fees of A66 I 3s 4d, and for the exercise of the office of constable of the castle of Neath and of the offices mentioned in para- graphs (3) to (I s) above inclusive, as many and as large annual wages, fees, allowances and profits as Henry, late earl of Worcester took or enjoyed, to have and enjoy all such wages, fees, allowances and profits for his life by the hands of the receivers, bailiffs, farmers and other occupiers of the aforesaid lordships, manors, lands and tenements for the time being from their issues, rents and revenues at such terms and feasts as Henry, late earl of Worcester or any other took the same for the exercise of the aforesaid offices. Also grant to William Herbert, knight, of full power and authority to assign,

nominate, supply, appoint and make from time to time during his life for the king, his heirs and successors, the bailiffs of the liberties of East Thaw, West Thaw, KibbordO and Coity, co. Glamorgan, and all other offices and ministers in all offices in the aforesaid castles, lordships, manors and forests which in any way belong to the gift, grant and disposition of the king, his heirs and successors, in as

members, co. Denbigh

bigh

and their members, co. Montgomery

Radnor

Brecon

the games9 of Woking park

their members, co. Monmouth, and the office of constable of Usk castle

lordship ofBrecon, and all their members and liberties

period. Llanbethian castle, less than halfa mile south-west of Cowbridge parish church, was evidently intended. For discussion see the account of Llanbethian castle in An Inventory ofthe Anrient Monuments in Glrrmorgcm, iii, Part rb: Later Olrtles (u@cr1217) (forthcoming).

s’ ‘fcrar’ conductus’ in MS. Lo ‘Byborre’ in MS.

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282 S I R W I L L I A M H E R B E R T ’ S OFFICES I N W A L E S , 1549

ample a manner as Henry, late earl of Worcester previously used to make them. And authority and power to give and grant to such officers and ministers so named and appointed for the occupation and exercise of such offices as many such fees and wages, allowances and profits as any other persons holding them previously had and took, to be paid annually from the revenues of the aforesaid lordships and manors.

Also grant to William Herbert, knight, ofthe following:

(16) the office of chamberlain of the counties of Brecon, Glamorgan and Radnor in South Wales (17) the office of steward of the manors of Arwystli and Cyfeiliog and their

members, co. Montgomery (18) the office of steward of all manors, lordships, lands and possessions in co.

Monmouth or elsewhere formerly parcels of the possessions of the late monastery ofLlantarnam in co. Monmouth

(19) [the office of steward of] the manor of Acle, co. Norfolk, formerly parcel of the possessions of the later monastery of Tintern in co. Monmouth, together with the wages and fees appertaining to those offices, in as ample a manner as Henry, late earl of Worcester held these offices, to have and hold those offices to himself and his assigns with the wages, fees and profits belonging to them for term of his life by himself or his deputies, taking the fees and wages during his life for the exercise of the offices from the issues of the manors and lordships of Arwys- tli and Cyfeiliog and the manors and possessions ofthe late monasteries ofllantarnam and Tintern at the usual feasts at the hands of the receivers, bailiffs, farmers and other occupiers of the same manors.

And also where Henry, late earl of Worcester had for term of his life by virtue of letters patent made by the king’s father the office of sheriff of Glamorgan and Mor- gannwg with the fees of fifty marks a year; the office of chancellor of the same county with fee of twenty pounds a year; and the office of receiver of the lordship of Dinas alias Welsh Talgarth with fee of five marks a year, which offices were extinguished before the death of the late earl of Worcester by virtue of a certain act of parliament ordained in the twenty-seventh year of the king’s father; never- theless the late earl of Worcester, by virtue of a certain provision contained in the said act, took and enjoyed the aforesaid fees safeguarded to him during his life.

Although the aforesaid offices are extinguished, grant to William Herbert, knight, by the king, wishing in consideration of his true and acceptable service to advance him to no less great annual fees, annuities, emoluments and profits as those to which the said late earl was advanced by the king’s father, and to recompense him for his many and arduous labours lately sustained and expended in the king’s aAairs with as great annual value as the fees of the aforesaid extinguished offices amount to (beyond the fees and wages of all offices before granted to him), of an annuity of A;s4 13s 4d for term of his life to be paid by the receivers, bailiffs, tenants, farmers and occupiers of the said lordships and manors from their issues at the feasts of the Annunciation and Michaelmas by equal portions.

Also grant that upon the sole showing of these letters patent the aforesaid Wil- liam Herbert, knight, and his assigns shall have during his life full and undelayed allowance both of the aforesaid annuity of .&4 13s 4d and of all wages and fees of all other offices granted by these presents in any of the king’s courts and before any of the king’s judges, justiciars, officers and ministers.

0 h t i N t c ofHiatonal Rcrcvch 1996.


Although express mention, etc.61 Witnessed by Richard Sackville,” knight, at Westminster, 14 December 3

By writ of privy seal. Edward VI.

‘Eo quod exprcssa mentio, etc.’ in MS. For a discussion of the origin and development of the dausc in royal grants represented by this phrase, often abbreviated as in MS., see C. G. Crump, ‘Eo quod expressa mentio, ctc’, Essuys in History Presented to Reginald lane Poole. ed. H. W. C. Davis (Oxford, I927), pp. 30-45.

For the career of Sir Richard Sackville (d. 1566). chancellor of the court of augmentations Aug. 1548-0ct. 1553, see HouseofCommons, 150~58, iii. 2461.

0 Institute ofHimricd lbud 1996.

sir william herbert's acquisition of offices in wales on the death of henry, earl of worcester...

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