How many servants did henry viii have

What else can I say? M istress Harris: One thing that you realise when you do the laundry is that whilst he may be touched by the hand of God, he is also a man. So, now let us take our leave, as we let Mistress Harris return to her work.

All about me is the hustle and bustle as the below-stairs servants go busily about their duties. If you have enjoyed this post, as ever, please do share on Facebook or Twitter. Happy washing! I was so excited to read this. The every day life of the royal servant has now been open to my education. Urine would never been on my list of cleaning products.

As we use it daily now. To take apart cuffs, and other pieces of items would be so time consuming. I worried about the dark eyes running as many of my own quilt fabrics run after numerous washings. I thank you for bringing forth the ways of the past so we may appreciate the present.

It all sounds like such hard work. We are so lucky in that regard! Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment. This was so fascinating. I just took a course on Royal Fashion and this was touched on. It is something I never really thought about. It must have been quite a task without modern conveniences. Nice to see they were compensated well.

I think I must have just finished the same course and it has definitely sparked an interest. I just loved this post — so informative and interesting. Thank you ,it was very interesting to read. My Seven year old Grand- Daughter particularly enjoyed hearing about the urine being used for bleaching and washing. Hoping this leads to a life long love of History , like her Grandmother.

Thank you for this trip to the Tudors. I found it fascinating that the outer garments which were only brushed and sponge cleaned were lined in linen. That makes great sense. I often wondered how those rich fabrics, which could not really be washed, would not be permeated with a very strong body odor!

Having the linen between the velvets, brocades etc. I loved reading this. It did a great job describing an overlooked aspect of day to day Tudor life. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. Privacy Notice. All rights reserved. A laundress at work washing in the tub. An example of blackwork.

Notice the linen being dried on the grass. Drying linen on the grass. The Lord Chamberlain held an extremely important position, both in terms of his duty and his relationship with the King.

The position afforded the holder the ability to speak frequently with the King, often in a personal setting away from other prying ears, as well as taking an active role in Privy Council meetings and Parliament.

It is unsurprising then that many people sought favour with the Lord Chamberlain in the hope that he would pass their concerns or pleas on to the King. The Lord Chamberlain was also responsible for appointing positions within the Chambers and thus many people would seek the Lord Chamberlain's favour in the hope of having their son or male family member appointed to serve the King. The Lord Chamberlain was also responsible for official court ceremonies and was assisted by the Vice-Chamberlain.

The appointment of Lord Steward was granted by the King. The holder of the office was responsible for the household of the court below stairs, including such things as the running of the kitchens, the provision of fuel for the household, drinks and other domestic responsibilities, as well as overseeing the maintenance of the grounds and gardens of the household.

Overall, the Lord Steward was responsible for around twenty-five departments which comprised of around five hundred people. The Lord Steward was also responsible for felonies or offences committed by the King's servants, including treason, murder or the shedding of blood. The Lord Steward was also the head of the Board of Green Cloth, so named as a deep green cloth covered the table that the Lord Steward and other members of the Board sat. The Treasurer and the Comptroller were directly answerable to the Lord Steward.

The Board of the Green Cloth was responsible for the daily expenditure of the household, to ensure that payments were made to servants and other members of the household, as well as to generally oversee the servants of the household. The remaining twenty hermits and lay brothers at London Charterhouse were arrested and taken to Newgate prison in May Chained standing to posts they were left to starve to death.

Henry had a long memory. Weirdest laws in history by BP Perry. A staunch supporter of the Pope and the Catholic Church when Fisher and other bishops appealed to the Holy See after encroachments on the Catholic Church, Henry had them arrested on the basis that such appeals were forbidden. Because Fisher was deprived of his status as Bishop of Rochester he was tried as a commoner and feared the worst kind of execution. Public outcry resulted in the original sentence of hanging, drawing and quartering to a more humane beheading on the scaffold.

At Tower Hill on 22 June Fisher faced his execution with impressive calm and dignity although his headless body was stripped and left naked on the scaffold before being thrown into a rough grave.

His head was placed on a pole on London Bridge. The rebellion was initiated after a poor harvest in led to high food prices. Despite pardons from Norfolk being reneged by Henry the Duke was able to put down the rebellions leading to the arrests of Aske and Bigod. Two hundred and sixteen rebels were executed which included lords, knights and abbots. In one case the rebel Sir Nicholas Tempest was hanged, drawn, and quartered while his wife Margaret Stafford suffered being burnt at the stake.

A peeress in her own right she had been left a little land by her husband and raised five surviving children. Later she devoted her third son Reginald Pole to the Church where he became the Archbishop of Canterbury. By the Countess had become one of the richest women in the country due to her handling of her lands. She was only allowed to return to court after Boleyn had been executed. Responsibility for the Countess's downfall lay with her sons Reginald and Geoffrey.

Reginald Pole had been suggested as a future husband for Lady Mary by the King's enemies and he was linked to the Pilgrimage of Grace rebels who planned to move on London and install a Catholic government.

The Countess was incarcerated in the Tower of London for two years but in what could be considered salubrious surroundings compared to most prisoners cells. On the 27 May the now year-old Countess was told she was to be executed within the hour. One account which may be apocryphal described the axeman chasing the distraught Countess before striking her.

The nobleman, soldier and founder of English Renaissance poetry was a first cousin of both Queen Anne Boleyn and Queen Catherine Howard and followed them in their tragic footsteps to the block. The son of Thomas Howard, the Duke of Norfolk who was also the queen's uncle, young Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, was also known to be quarrelsome and possessing of a violent temper.

Together with Surrey, the enraged king also had his father the Duke of Norfolk arrested and imprisoned on charges of treason. On 19 January the Earl of Surrey was beheaded on Tower Hill days before the planned execution of his father the once trusted right-hand man to Henry who was spared death due to the king own death.

Represented by WGM Atlantic agency. It was Russell and Norris who conducted the private communication that the king maintained with Wolsey after the cardinal's fall. The credence commanded by privy chamber status also made it possible for Henry to send many instructions by word of mouth.

Privy chamber staff even possessed a surrogate royal authority. When Henry Percy, sixth earl of Northumberland , tried to arrest Wolsey the cardinal demanded to see his warrant.

However, Wolsey surrendered to Walter Walsh [ see below ] , a groom of the privy chamber, saying:. Ye be oon of the kynges privye chamber your name I suppose is [ Walsh ] I ame content to yeld unto you but not to my lord of Northumberland without I se his commyssion And you are a sufficyent commyssion your self in that behalfe in as myche as ye be oon of the kynges privy chamber Ffor the worst person there is a sufficient warraunt to arrest the greattest peere of this realme.

An identity as a royal alternate meant that privy chamber staff were prominent in military operations. From to the lord high admiral was always a member of the privy chamber. The representative character of privy chamber service also meant that the gentlemen were heavily employed in diplomacy. Four or five ambassadors to France between and held the rank. It would, however, be wrong to assume that everyone in the privy chamber circle was high-profile. Sir John Welsbourne c. Welsbourne was perhaps introduced to provide the menial service that Wolsey's group of distinguished careerists could not be expected to give.

By he was a groom, and by he was so firmly established in the privy chamber that he was allowed to exercise his office of controller of custom in Bristol by deputy as ' he has been retained as one of the grooms of the Privy Chamber ' LP Henry VIII , 3. However, in Welsbourne was expelled from the privy chamber. The minions had returned to the privy chamber in the early s, and with Wolsey's appointees also serving there, its size had started to grow out of control.

Wolsey therefore set about reforming the court, and in he issued the Eltham ordinances. This reduced the staff of the privy chamber, and Welsbourne was one of those to go. However, he did not leave empty-handed, for he was made an esquire of the stable.

Two years later he was brought back to intimate royal service as an esquire for the body. There is no evidence that the mission was of great importance, but Welsbourne received his reward none the less, for by July he was restored to the privy chamber, now as a gentleman. Welsbourne continued to serve as a gentleman for the remainder of Henry's reign, attending the great occasions of state, such as the baptism of Edward, prince of Wales , in , and the reception of Anne of Cleves in Throughout the s he tried to win Cromwell's favour, and the principal secretary does seem to have found him useful, particularly in the dissolution of Abingdon Abbey, from which Welsbourne wrote many letters begging to be allowed to return to the royal presence.

Welsbourne did, however, settle near the abbey with the help of several grants of land, and served as JP not only in Oxfordshire, but also Berkshire and Northamptonshire. He was knight of the shire for Oxfordshire in , probably through Cromwell's influence. Welsbourne survived Cromwell's fall and was knighted on 30 September On 1 February he obtained a licence to marry Elizabeth d.

They had two sons. He also had an illegitimate son. Despite his complaints, Welsbourne seems to have been a wealthy man when he died on 11 April Walter Walsh d. Unlike Welsbourne , Walsh seems to have entered the privy chamber as a result of the Eltham ordinances, probably becoming salaried at the same time.

There is some confusion about his role in the privy chamber, for he is referred to as yeoman, page, and groom at different times during —7. However, in December he is listed in the accounts of Sir Brian Tuke , the treasurer of the chamber, as a groom, and after this the title remains consistent. The best documented episode of Walsh's career is his mission, with Northumberland , to arrest Wolsey on 4 November On 22 November Walsh married Elizabeth or Werburga d.

This brought Walsh not only great riches, but also the life sheriffwick of Worcestershire, his own county. He seems to have lived out the remaining decade of his life away from court as a leading gentleman of Worcestershire and local agent for the government. The extent of Walsh's wealth is evident from the fact that Henry stayed three nights with him in Walsh died in March , and even as he lay dying the fighting to obtain his offices had already begun. Sir Richard Long c.

He also gave long service to the crown from within the privy chamber.