Read Online Sir Francis Walsingham by Derek Wilson - Free Book Online
Authors: Derek Wilson
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twenty-eight-year-old Francis Walsingham had reached a maturity which enabled him to balance ideological commitment and circumspection. He was quite clear and steadfast in his beliefs but he knew there were better ways of achieving his ends than trumpeting his faith defiantly in the ears of friend and foe alike.
And, in any case, he had personal concerns to attend to. Within months of his return his mother died and Francis took over the running of the family estates in Kent. The time had come to settle down and to give thought to his dynastic responsibilities. Thus, in 1562, he married into the ‘nobility’ of the City. His bride was Anne Carleill, widow of a leading vintner and daughter of a former lord mayor. This union gives us our first glimpse of another of Walsingham’s interests – merchant venturing. Anne’s family was closely involved in the recent founding of the Muscovy Company, set up to exploit trade with Russia and the Baltic. It would not be long before Walsingham invested in the company’s voyages. Anne brought with her a sizeable fortune and a young family. Walsingham now had the means to acquire a more substantial country seat in the county he knew and loved best. He took a lease on the manor of Parkebury in Hertfordshire, close by the Carey and Hunsdon estates where he had been brought up – and where, incidentally, William Cecil was a near neighbour.
Sometime in 1562 (probably November) Cecil made a memorandum for himself: ‘Mr Walsingham to be of the house’. He was forming his plans for Elizabeth’s second parliament and, in his quest for sound men, Walsingham’s name stood high on the list. When it came to the election Francis was selected by both Banbury, at the instigation of Francis Knollys, and Lyme Regis, which was in Bedford’s pocket. He decided, perhaps out of loyalty to his old patron, to sit for the Dorset constituency. Once again, he appears to have made no mark on the subsequent proceedings. This led P.W. Hasler, the historian of parliament, to deduce, ‘it is clear that the Houses of Commons held little appeal for him’. 10 In fact, there is no contradiction between his earlier lack of political activity and his later prominence. The House of Commons was far from being an obvious ladder for the ambitious public figure to climb. For one thing, parliament met irregularly and only when summoned by the sovereign. It was only in session for five per cent of Elizabeth’s entire reign. She and Cecil both hoped to keep the 1563 session short. If it were not for the fact that taxes could only be levied when granted by peers of the realm and the representation of the mercantile and gentry classes, they would not have called it at all. When it did meet it was often at loggerheads with the regime. These were the years in which the House of Commons was learning how to flex its muscles, to challenge government policy, to ask awkward questions and to demand answers. There were three areas of policy in particular which concerned MPs: religion, foreign affairs and the succession (i.e. the queen’s marriage). Since Elizabeth regarded all these as prerogative matters, potential conflict was in the air every time the members filed into the old St Stephen’s Chapel. All in all it is not surprising that Walsingham should regard attendance in parliament as a duty to be performed rather than an opportunity to further his career. Add to this the fact that he later showed himself to be a man who preferred the corridors of power to its public platform and his absence from the records in the 1560s is adequately explained.
He was prospering materially and accumulating property during this decade. Anne Walsingham died after only two years of marriage, leaving a handsome bequest to her husband and, after a decent periodof mourning, he paid earnest court to Ursula Worsley, another widow who was mistress of substantial lands. Her late husband, Richard Worsley, had been Captain of the Isle of Wight,
And, in any case, he had personal concerns to attend to. Within months of his return his mother died and Francis took over the running of the family estates in Kent. The time had come to settle down and to give thought to his dynastic responsibilities. Thus, in 1562, he married into the ‘nobility’ of the City. His bride was Anne Carleill, widow of a leading vintner and daughter of a former lord mayor. This union gives us our first glimpse of another of Walsingham’s interests – merchant venturing. Anne’s family was closely involved in the recent founding of the Muscovy Company, set up to exploit trade with Russia and the Baltic. It would not be long before Walsingham invested in the company’s voyages. Anne brought with her a sizeable fortune and a young family. Walsingham now had the means to acquire a more substantial country seat in the county he knew and loved best. He took a lease on the manor of Parkebury in Hertfordshire, close by the Carey and Hunsdon estates where he had been brought up – and where, incidentally, William Cecil was a near neighbour.
Sometime in 1562 (probably November) Cecil made a memorandum for himself: ‘Mr Walsingham to be of the house’. He was forming his plans for Elizabeth’s second parliament and, in his quest for sound men, Walsingham’s name stood high on the list. When it came to the election Francis was selected by both Banbury, at the instigation of Francis Knollys, and Lyme Regis, which was in Bedford’s pocket. He decided, perhaps out of loyalty to his old patron, to sit for the Dorset constituency. Once again, he appears to have made no mark on the subsequent proceedings. This led P.W. Hasler, the historian of parliament, to deduce, ‘it is clear that the Houses of Commons held little appeal for him’. 10 In fact, there is no contradiction between his earlier lack of political activity and his later prominence. The House of Commons was far from being an obvious ladder for the ambitious public figure to climb. For one thing, parliament met irregularly and only when summoned by the sovereign. It was only in session for five per cent of Elizabeth’s entire reign. She and Cecil both hoped to keep the 1563 session short. If it were not for the fact that taxes could only be levied when granted by peers of the realm and the representation of the mercantile and gentry classes, they would not have called it at all. When it did meet it was often at loggerheads with the regime. These were the years in which the House of Commons was learning how to flex its muscles, to challenge government policy, to ask awkward questions and to demand answers. There were three areas of policy in particular which concerned MPs: religion, foreign affairs and the succession (i.e. the queen’s marriage). Since Elizabeth regarded all these as prerogative matters, potential conflict was in the air every time the members filed into the old St Stephen’s Chapel. All in all it is not surprising that Walsingham should regard attendance in parliament as a duty to be performed rather than an opportunity to further his career. Add to this the fact that he later showed himself to be a man who preferred the corridors of power to its public platform and his absence from the records in the 1560s is adequately explained.
He was prospering materially and accumulating property during this decade. Anne Walsingham died after only two years of marriage, leaving a handsome bequest to her husband and, after a decent periodof mourning, he paid earnest court to Ursula Worsley, another widow who was mistress of substantial lands. Her late husband, Richard Worsley, had been Captain of the Isle of Wight,
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