The love of a sister – Jane Seymour and her forgotten sisters

Jane Seymour © Hans Holbein the Younger – The National Portrait Gallery

At the age of twenty-seven, Jane, the daughter of Sir John Seymour and Margery Wentworth was wed to Henry VIII, eventually becoming his third queen and would soon be described as his “first true wife”, and birthed the future Edward VI. Hailing from a family that had solid gentry and came with good court connections, amongst other facts surrounding Jane’s life that are somehow just as interesting as her marriage to the King is her familial background, precisely her sister Elizabeth.

The Seymour’s took its family name from St. Maur-sur-Loire in Touraine. William de St. Maur in 1240 held the manors of Penhow and Woundy (which are now called Undy in Monmouthshire). William's great-grandson, Sir Roger de St. Maur, had two sons: John, whose granddaughter conveyed these manors by marriage into the family of Bowlay of Penhow, who bore the Seymour arms; and Sir Roger (1308–1366), who married Cicely, the eldest sister and heir of John de Beauchamp, 3rd Baron Beauchamp. Cicely brought to the Seymours the manor of Hache, Somerset, and her grandson, Roger Seymour, by his marriage with Maud, daughter and heir of Sir William Esturmy, acquired Wolf Hall in Wiltshire [1].

Sir John Seymour married Margery, the daughter of Sir Henry Wentworth of Nettlestead, Suffolk, and his wife Anne Say [2]. Anne was the daughter of Sir John Say and his wife, Elizabeth, daughter of Lawrence Cheney and Elizabeth Cokayne [3]. Margery Wentworth's grandfather, Sir Philip Wentworth, was married to Mary, the daughter of John Clifford, 7th Baron de Clifford, whose mother Elizabeth was daughter of Henry Percy and great-great-granddaughter of Edward III [4]. Jon and Margery wed on October 22 1494, the marriage resulted in ten children, Elizabeth being their third daughter after Jane and Margery (who passed in 1528) [5].

Elizabeth was born at Wulfhall, Wiltshire in about 1518. In letters that were addressed to Thomas Cromwell and Henry VIII, they showed that she was a woman of sheer intelligence. In a following letter written to Thomas Cromwell on March 18 1537, in regard to the death of her husband that left her a widow and seemingly unprotected, she writes:

Mine especial good lord,

After most hearty recommendation, please it you to be so good unto me as through your means T might be holpen to obtain of the king's grace to be farmer of one of these abbeys, if they fortune to go down ; the names whereof I do send unto your lordship herein inclosed. And, as for payment for the same, I trust to discharge as well and surely as any living personage. My lord, insomuch as my husband, whose soul God pardon, did bear ever unto your lordship both his heart and service, next under the king's grace, I am therefore the more bolder to write and sue unto you for your good help and furtherance herein ; besides that, I do put mine only trust in your lordship for the good expedition hereof, and intend not to sue to none other but only to your lordship. Farther, at my last being at the court I desired your lordship that I might be so bold as to be a suitor to you, at which time your lordship gave unto me a very good answer ; praying you so to continue my good lord. I was, in master Ughtred's days, in a poor house of mine own, and ever since have been driven to be a sojourner, because my living is not able to welcome my friends, which for my husband's sake and mine own would sometime come and see me. Wherefore, if it please your lordship now to help me, so that I might be able to keep some poor port, after my degree, in mine own house, now being a poor woman alone, I were the most bound unto you that any living woman might be ; and more with a little help now, than if you advised me to be bound to thing of a thousand marks a-year. And for the same eftsoons I heartily desire your good lordship; desiring you farther to give credence to master Darcy concerning such causes as he shall move unto you. And thus Almighty Jesu ever preserve your good lordship. At York, the 18th day of March by your most bounden

Elizabeth Ughtred.

To the right honourable and mine especial good lord my Lord Privy Seal.

She had been married to Sir Anthony Ughtred of Kexby. Ughtred was a brave knight and captain who was long employed in active service on the Scottish borders [6]. The couple had two children throughout their marriage, and in January 1531, Henry VIII granted them the manors of Lepington and Kexby (Yorkshire), which were previously held by Cardinal Thomas Wolsey [7]. Elizabeth was well-placed at court, in the service of Anne Boleyn, to support her husband's interests [8]. In August 1532, when Sir Anthony Ughtred was appointed captain and Governor of Jersey, it was most likely due to the influence of Anne Boleyn. Ughtred eventually served in person, and remained in the post until his death [9].

Elizabeth then remarried for the second time to Gregory Cromwell on August 3 1537 at Mortlake [10]. Edward Seymour, who was then the Viscount Beauchamp wrote to Cromwell on September 2 1537, to inform how he has fared since the writer's departure. He had wished Cromwell were with him, when he should have had the best sport with bow, hounds, and hawks and sent commendations to his brother-in-law and sister, adding: "and I pray God to send me by them shortly a nephew [11].

Just three months after their wedding, Elizabeth and Gregory took part in the Queen’s funeral procession [12]. Jane's unexpected death on 24 October, after delivering a son the King had longed for, naturally came as a blow to the Seymour family and was proven to be a setback to Edward Seymour's influence [13]. He was described in the following year as "young and wise," but "of small power". The death of the Queen would eventually result in disastrous consequences for Thomas Cromwell.

The couple had five children overall, with their first child, named Henry who was born on March 1 1538 [14], just shortly before their arrival at Lewes Priory in Sussex, which had then been acquired by Thomas Cromwell, where they resided until early 1539. Their second son, Edward, followed in 1539, who may have been born at Leeds Castle in Kent [15]. It has been said that Gregory Cromwell appeared to have been devoted to his wife and children. In December 1539, whilst in Calais waiting to welcome Henry VIII's new bride, Anne of Cleves, he wrote to his wife at Leeds Castle, addressing her as his "loving bedfellow", describing the arrival of Anne of Cleves, and requesting news "as well of yourself as also my little boys, of whose increase and towardness be you assured I am not a little desirous to be advertised" [16]. In January 1540, Elizabeth was appointed to the household of the new Queen, Anne of Cleves [17].

Thomas Cromwell, despite being at the height of his ascendancy, had gained political enemies; his demise in power would soon come to an end. On June 10 1540 he was arrested at a council meeting at 3.00 p.m., having been accused of treason and heresy, taken to the Tower and his possessions seized [18]. He was condemned without a trial and his sentence was later on confirmed by an act of attainder [19]. There are no surviving records as to what Gregory and Elizabeth's activities were at this time. In an undated letter placed by the end of July 1540, Elizabeth also wrote to Henry VIII, to assure him of her loyalty and that of her husband:

After the bounden duty of my most humble submission unto your excellent majesty, whereas it hath pleased the same, of your mere mercy and infinite goodness, notwithstanding the heinous trespasses and most grievous offences of my father-in-law, yet so graciously to extend your benign pity towards my poor husband and me, as the extreme indigence and poverty wherewith my said father-in-law's most detestable offences hath oppressed us, is thereby right much holpen and relieved, like as I have of long time been right desirous presently as well to render most humble thanks, as also to desire continuance of the same your highness' most benign goodness. So, considering your grace's most high and weighty affairs at this present, fear of molesting or being troublesome unto your highness hath disuaded me as yet otherwise to sue unto your grace than alonely by these my most humble letters, until your grace's said affairs shall be partly overpast. Most humbly beseeching your majesty in the mean season mercifully to accept this my most obedient suit, and to extend your accustomed pity and gracious goodness towards my said poor husband and me, who never hath, nor, God willing, never shall offend your majesty, but continually pray for the prosperous estate of the same long time to remain and continue [20].

It may have been written whilst Thomas Cromwell was imprisoned in the Tower, as Elizabeth refers to her father-in-law, and not her late father-in-law. Moreover, it was customary at that time to write "may his soul God pardon" or something similar when referring to someone who had recently died, which she did not do [21]. There is a possibility that the letter was written on the advice of her brother, Edward.

Thomas Cromwell was beheaded on Tower Hill on July 28 1540, which was on the same day the King’s marriage to Katherine Howard took place [22]. He was buried in an unmarked grave in the Chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula in the Tower. It is unknown if Gregory and his family were present at his execution or burial [23].

Gregory and Elizabeth were not implicated, although it would be almost six months before their desperate situation was to be resolved. They had been dependents of Thomas Cromwell, with no home and little income of their own, and would have had to rely on the generosity of family and friends. The king was inclined to be generous, and Elizabeth was included in Queen Catherine Howard's household as one of her attendant ladies [24].

However, in 1551 Elizabeth became a widow again upon the death of Gregory Cromwell from sweating sickness [25]. He died at Launde Abbey on July 4 1551 and was buried three days later in the chapel at Launde [26]. In London, Henry Machyn recorded the events in his diary:

And died my Lord Cromwell in Leicestershire and was buried with a standard, a banner of arms, and coat, helmet, sword, target, and escutcheons and herald [27].

Gregory’s remains lie buried under a magnificent monument in the chapel at Launde, with the initials "E C" that can be seen in the intricate entablature beneath the pediment [28].

Between March 10 and April 24 1554, Elizabeth re-married for the third time as the second wife of Sir John Paulet, later Lord St. John, who eventually outlived her [29]. No children came out of this marriage, and Elizabeth’s two eldest sons married John Paulet’s daughters. The details of the latter years of Elizabeth’s life remain obscure, however she and her husband appeared in records every now and then in matters that concerned her son, Henry Cromwell’s minority and suits for the continuation of royal grants at the commencement of each reign [30].

Elizabeth then passed away on March 19 1568, and was buried on April 5 in St. Mary's Church, Basing, Hampshire [31].

References:

1. J.S.Roskell,; Charles, Knightly, (1993). "Sturmy (Esturmy), Sir William (c.1356-1427), of Wolf Hall in Great Bedwyn, Wilts. and Elvetham, Hants.". In J.S. Roskell,; Clark, C.

2. Albert Frederick Pollard. "Seymour, Edward (1506?-1552)". In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 51. (London,1897), 299–310.

3. Albert Frederick Pollard. "Seymour, Edward (1506?-1552)" . In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 51. (London,1897), 299–310. ert Frederick Pollard. "Seymour, Edward (1506?-1552)". In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 51. (London,1897), 299–310.

4. William Seymour. Ordeal by Ambition: An English Family in the Shadow of the Tudors. (London,1972).

5. Elizabeth, Norton. Jane Seymour: Henry VIII's True Love, (Chalford, 2009).

6. William Brown. Yorkshire Deeds. Vol. 2. (Cambridge,2013).

7. Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, Henry VIII, 5, 80(14).

8. Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, Henry VIII, 5, 686: Elizabeth presented the king with "A fine shirt with a high collar" as a New Year's gift in 1532.

9.  Tim Thornton. The Channel Islands, 1370–1640: Between England and Normandy. Woodbridge (England, 2012).

10. Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, Henry VIII, 14(2), 782: "the same day he was married at Moretelacke".

11. Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, Henry VIII, 12(2), 62.

12. Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, Henry VIII, 12(2), 1060.

13. David Starkey. Six Wives: The Queens of Henry VIII. (London, 2004).

14. Diarmaid MacCullock. Thomas Cromwell: A Life. (London, 2018).

15. Hawkyard, A.D.K, . "Cromwell, Gregory (by 1516–51), of Lewes, Suss.; Leeds Castle, Kent and Launde, Leics.". In Bindoff, S.T. (ed.). Members. The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1509–1558 (1982).

16. Mary Anne Everett Wood. Letters of Royal and Illustrious Ladies of Great Britain, from the Commencement of the Twelfth Century to the Close of the Reign of Queen Mary. (ed). (London,1846).

17. Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, Henry VIII, 15, 21.

18. Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, Henry VIII, 15, 804.

19. John Schofield. The Rise & Fall of Thomas Cromwell: Henry VIII's Most Faithful Servant. (2011), 396.

20. Mary Anne Everett Wood. Letters of Royal and Illustrious Ladies of Great Britain, from the Commencement of the Twelfth Century to the Close of the Reign of Queen Mary. (ed). (London,1846).

21. Mary Anne Everett Wood. Letters of Royal and Illustrious Ladies of Great Britain, from the Commencement of the Twelfth Century to the Close of the Reign of Queen Mary. (ed). (London,1846).

22. Raphael Holinshed. Holinshed's Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland. Vol. 3: England. (London,1808).

23. William Roper  Wegemer, Gerard B.Wegemet ; Smith, Stephen W. Smith (eds.). The Life of Sir Thomas More, c. 1556 (2003).

24. Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, Henry VIII, 16.

25. A.D.K. Hawkyard . "Cromwell, Gregory (by 1516–51), of Lewes, Suss.; Leeds Castle, Kent and Launde, Leics.". In Bindoff, S.T. (ed.). Members. The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1509–1558 (1982).

26. G.E. Cokayne. Vicary Gibbs; Arthur H. Doubleday. The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant. Vol. III. (London, 1913).

27. Henry Machyn (1848). John Gough Nichols (ed.). The Diary of Henry Machyn, Citizen and Merchant–Taylor of London, from A. D. 1550 to A. D. 1563. Vol. XLII. (London,1848).

28. Nikolaus Pevsner; Elizabeth Williamson, Elizabeth Brandwood, Geoffrey K. The Buildings of England: Leicestershire and Rutland. (London, 2003).

29. David Faris. Plantagenet Ancestry of Seventeenth-Century Colonists: The Descent from the Later Plantagenet Kings of England, Henry III, Edward I, Edward II, and Edward III, of Emigrants from England and Wales to the North American Colonies Before 1701. (1999, Boston).

30. Calendar of the Patent Rolls Preserved in the Public Record Office: Elizabeth I. (London, 1939).

31. Catalogue of the Arundel Manuscripts in the Library of the College of Arms. (London).