1 WORKSOP MANOR Elsi, son of Cauchin, was the Saxon lord of

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WORKSOP MANOR
Elsi, son of Cauchin, was the Saxon lord of the manor of Worksop listed in The Domesday
Survey. After Saxon uprisings against William the Conqueror between 1068 and 1070,
William took the land from Elsi and gave it to his friend Roger de Busli who had accompanied
William from Normandy. By 1100 the manor had passed to the Lovetot family, founders of
Worksop Priory, and later by marriage to the Furnival family. Joan Furnival married Sir
Thomas Neville who became Lord Furnival. At this time the Neville family was one of the
most powerful if the England. Sir Thomas’s brother was Ralph, Earl of Westmorland, whose
grandsons were Edward IV and Richard III. Thomas and Joan Neville’s daughter Margaret
married Thomas Beaufort, Duke of Exeter, the son of John of Gaunt. Thomas was a close
adviser to his half brother King Henry IV. Thomas Neville had supported King Henry IV
against Richard II and was made Lord Treasurer of England. Sir Thomas and Joan Neville’s
other daughter Maud married John Talbot, the son of Ankaret, the widow of John Lord Talbot,
who was Thomas Neville’s second wife. John became Baron Furnival in 1409. In 1442 John
was created Earl of Shrewsbury by King Henry VI for his military expertise in the war with
France against Joan of Arc, described by Shakespeare in Henry VI part 1 as:
‘Valiant Talbot, above human thought,
Enacted wonders with his sword and lance;
Hundreds he sent to hell, and none durst stand
him;
Here, there and everywhere, enraged he slew:
The French exclaimed, the devil was in arm;
All the whole army stood agaz’d on him:
His soldiers, spying his undaunted spirit,
A Talbot! A Talbot! Cried out amain,
And rush’d into the bowels of the battle’.
He became High Steward of Ireland and
Marshal of France. He died at the siege of
Chatillon in 1453 aged 80.
The death of Shrewsbury at Chatillon
The Talbot Badge
The 1st Earl’s son John, the 2nd Earl of Shrewsbury, married Elizabeth Butler, daughter of
the Earl of Ormond. The 2nd Earl was Lord Treasurer of England and died at the Battle of
Northampton during the Wars of the Roses in 1460, supporting the Lancastrian side, and
was buried in Worksop Priory.
The 2nd Earl was succeeded by his eldest son John Talbot, 3rd Earl of Shrewsbury,
described by William of Worcester: ‘He was more devoted to literature and the muses,
than to politics and arms’. He married Catherine Stafford, daughter of Humphrey, Duke of
Buckingham. He died at Coventry in 1473 and was buried in the Lady Chapel at Worksop.
The 3rd Earl’s son George became the 4th Earl at the age of thre. He was a ward of Lord
Hastings and later married his daughter Ann. He was also a soldier and was given the
command of Henry VII’s army against France in 1513.
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In 1530 George was visited at Worksop Manor by
Cardinal Wolsey who was by then in disgrace with
Henry VIII. At the end of that year, the Earl of
Northumberland, Shrewsbury’s son-in-law, was sent
to arrest the Cardinal at Cawood and deliver him into
Shrewsbury’s custody. The Cardinal arrived at
Shrewsbury’s house on Tuesday November 8th and
remained there sixteen days, before proceeding to
Leicester Abbey where he died.
Cardinal Wolsey
The 4th Earl helped Henry VIII to put down the insurrection of the Pilgrimage of Grace in
1536, when a large number of people rose against the King in opposition to the
Dissolution of the monasteries and the outlawing of the Catholic faith. Thomas Cromwell
wrote to the Earl on the King’s behalf thanking him for his loyalty: ‘I would you know, as
well as I, how the King’s Highness reputes your most acceptable and loyal service’.
The 4th Earl, in consideration of the passing of his Irish estates to the crown, had a
considerable grant of abbey lands from Henry VIII by letters patent, bearing the date
October 6 1538: ‘in consideration, that, by an act of parliament, held at Dublin, in the
Kingdom of Ireland, the 1st of May 1537, the castles, lordships, honours, hundreds and
lands etc of George, Earl of Shrewsbury and Waterford, within that kingdom, were
settled on the crown; and being unwilling to diminish the state, honour, and dignity of the
said earl, he granted the site of Rufford, and all his lordships, manors and granges of
Rufford, Ekring, Bildisthorpe, Warsop, Walesby, Allerton, Wellow, Nottingham, Elmton,
Kirksall, Maplebeck, Besthorpe, Boughton, Kelham, Codington, Parkelathes, Kirkston,
Sterthorpe, East Retford, Holme, Foxholes, Littleborough, Rohagh, Southwell, and
Morton in this county; and his lordship of Rotherham and lands there, and in Thurlston,
Charlcotes, Wynleden in Yorkshire, with the rectory and patronage of the vicarage of
Rotherham, and all his lands in Brampton, Birchfield, Abney, Chesterfield, Shireoaks,
and Glossopdale in Derbyshire with the rectory of Glossopdale, and advowson of the
vicarage, late belonging to the Abbey of Bayswark in Wales in the county of Flint, as
they came to his hands, by reason and pretext of a certain act, of dissolving religious
houses etc etc with all their appurtenances; and lands in Albourne and Dudmandale
alias Burton in Leicestershire, late also belonging to Rufford, and all lands wheresoever,
whereof Thomas Doncaster, late Abbot of Rufford, was seized in the right of his said
monastery; all of which were of the clear yearly value of £246 15 shillings 5 pence, and
no more, to the said earl, his heirs, and assigns, for the tenth part of a knight’s fee and
£46 15 shillings 5 pence into the court of augmentations for tenths’.
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Leland in his ‘Itinerary’ of 1534-43
stated that ‘The 4th Earl of
Shrewsbury has a fair lodge at
Wyrksoppe Park, not yet finished. A
fair manor of squared stone’. This
may be the house now known as
Worksop Manor Lodge, which was
built around this period.
There had been a park at Worksop
Manor since the end of the12th
century, but the site of the previous
buildings are not known.
Worksop Manor Lodge
The 4th Earl of Shrewsbury died in 1531 at Wingfield and was buried at Sheffield. He was
succeeded by his son Francis, a favourite of King Henry VIII who described him: ‘He is a
gentleman, wise and of good courage’. Francis also received from the King considerable
grants of abbey land including those of Worksop Priory by way of exchange as the
following document shows:
‘No 1003 1544 Tenth Report of the Deputy Keeper of the Public Records, Appendix 2.
Shrewsbury, Francis, Earl of – Section 1 – Summary and particulars of exchange dated 1
July, 36 Henry VIII, mentions the following possessions appointed by the Earl to the King,
viz.: the manor of Farneham of the yearly value of £38, woods of the yearly value of £659
6s 10d and the patronage of the church of Farneham of the yearly value of £13 6s 8d in
exchange for the Demesnes of Warkyssoppe of the yearly value of £11 10s 5d. Lands
called Jesus House, parcel of Warkyssoppe of the yearly value of 6s 8d, lands called
Kings Meadow of the yearly value of 13s 4d. Parcels of land of the late Priory of Rocester,
of the yearly value of £9 13s 10d. Lands of Pyllesbury of the yearly value of £19 13s 10d.
Lands parcel of Roche of the yearly value of £7 13s 4d and also lands in the county of
York.
‘The Earl is to hold the premises of the King in chief by the service of the tenth part of a
knight’s fee and ‘to find to the King a glove for his right hand at his coronation, and to bare
up his right arm the same day that the King does bear the sceptre in his grace’s hand’.
This honour for the lord of the manor of Worksop to present the coronation glove
continued until the mid 20th century.
In 1545 the Earl received a letter from Henry VIII on his installation as a knight of the
garter, ‘To our right trusted and right wellbeloved cousin and counseller, the Earl of
Shrewsbury, lieutenant general in the North parts, we greet you well: ascertaining you
that in consideration, as well of your approved truth and fidelity, as also of your knightly
courage and valiant acts, with other of your probable merits…’
Francis was one of the thirteen mourners at the funeral of Henry VIII and was chief
mourner at the funeral of King Edward VI in 1553. He was highly regarded by Queen Mary
and was a Privy Councillor to Queen Elizabeth I. He had managed to act as councillor to
four monarchs of extremely differing religious views but his ability and loyalty were never
questioned, although he remained a Catholic until his death at Sheffield in 1560.
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Francis had married Mary Dacre. Their son,
George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury, born in
1528, inherited Worksop Manor. He was the
wealthiest man in England and had also profited by
acquiring church property during the Dissolution of
the monasteries. He owned Sheffield Castle,
Sheffield Manor, Wingfield Manor, Buxton Hall,
Welbeck Abbey, Rufford Abbey, Worksop Manor
and several houses in London. He also leased
Tutbury Castle. The Earl had command of the
armies of the north, was Lord Lieutenant of
Yorkshire, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, and
Chamberlain of the Exchequer.
Right: 6th
Earl of
Shrewsbury
(Copyright
NTPL/John
Hammond,
Hardwick
Hall)
Bess, Countess of Shrewsbury
(Copyright NTPL/John
Hammond, Hardwick Hall)
In 1539 the 6th Earl married Gertrude, daughter
of Thomas Manners, 1st Earl of Rutland. She
died in 1566. His second wife was Bess, widow
of William Cavendish, who owned Hardwick
and Chatsworth. They married in 1567, and at
this time Queen Elizabeth I wrote: ‘There is no
lady in this land that I better love and like.’ Bess
had previously served the Queen as Lady of
the Privy Chamber, looking after her clothes
and jewels when Elizabeth was a 19 year old
princess held at Hatfield by her sister Queen
Mary. At that time Bess’s third husband, Sir
William St Loe, had been Elizabeth’s head of
security. When Elizabeth succeeded to the
throne, St Loe became commander of her
personal guard and Bess continued to have a
close relationship with the Queen throughout
their lives.
George and Bess’s children and step-children and their descendants went on to build
palaces and vast estates against the backdrop of Sherwood Forest. For four hundred years
from 1550 to 1950, these estates were owned by some of the highest and most powerful
families in the land, including the Dukes of Norfolk, Portland, Newcastle under Lyme,
Newcastle upon Tyne, and the Earls of Arundel, Kingston upon Hull, Oxford and
Scarborough.
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The Christmas after Shrewsbury’s marriage to
Bess, Queen Elizabeth informed him that he had
been chosen as custodian of Mary, Queen of
Scots ‘in consequence of his approved loyalty
and faithfulness, and the ancient state of blood
from which he is descended’.
Queen Elizabeth I
Studio of Nicholas Hillard.
(Copyright NTPL)
Mary, Queen of Scots had been forced to
abdicate in favour of her one year-old son who
became James VI of Scotland, and later James I
of England. She had been arrested after the
murder of her husband Darnley by her third
husband Boswell, but in 1568 she escaped from
Lochleven Castle and crossed the border to
Carlisle. Many English Catholics wanted Mary to
replace protestant Elizabeth I on the throne of
England and because of this risk, Mary was
imprisoned. George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewbury
was to be her custodian for the next 15 years.
Shrewsbury was instructed by Queen Elizabeth to treat Mary ‘being a queen, of our
blood, with the reverence and honour mete of a person of his state and calling and for
her degree’. She was to be accorded all the ceremony due to her position ‘nor by this
removing have her state amended’ but ensuring that she did not escape or meet anyone
likely to help her escape. She was taken to Tutbury which had only been used as a
hunting lodge and was cold, dark and empty. Furniture and hangings were quickly
brought from Shrewsbury’s other houses.
Mary, Queen of Scots brought with her a
retinue of sixty people which had to be reduced
to thirty, plus her women and grooms of the
chamber. She required a ‘cloth of state’ to be
erected over her chair to signify her royal estate
and asked to be provided with more horses and
grooms at Queen Elizabeth’s expense as she
had brought only 10 with her. The expense of
keeping and feeding so many people was very
high. Queen Elizabeth paid Shrewsbury £52 a
week which was not enough. Eight dishes per
meal were allowed for the Queen’s gentlemen
and five dishes for the ladies. Shrewsbury had
to spend £30 per day and soon became
£10,000 out of pocket. He was allowed 6d a
day each for 24 guards but employed double
this number at his own cost. He also spent
£1,000 on pewter and plate. He paid his own
servants an extra £400 per year ‘to secure their
loyalty’ so they would not be bribed into helping
Mary.
Mary Queen of Scots
(Copyright NTPL/Hardwick Hall)
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Mary, Queen of Scots was allowed to ride, and employed three grooms and a farrier. She
often went hawking with Shrewsbury. She kept a greyhound and several small dogs, caged
birds from France and turtle doves. She spent her hours of captivity lute playing, working on
embroidery and dressmaking. She was described by a visitor from court: ‘she has an
alluring grace, a pretty Scottish accent, and a searching wit, clouded with mildness … joy is
a lively infective sense, and carries many persuasions to the heart, which rules all the rest’.
Mary was 25 years old. Her charm, learnt when she spent a large proportion of her life at
the French court, and her beauty meant that she quickly became a romantic and tragic
figure and from the start there were schemes to free her.
After two months at Tutbury, the household
was moved to another of Shrewsbury’s
properties at Wingfield. His other houses were
also used on a system of rotation, to allow the
properties to be cleansed for health reasons
after so many people had been housed.
Needlework made by Mary Queen
of Scots (Copyright NTPL)
On Mary’s arrival in Carlisle, Elizabeth had
appointed commissioners to investigate whether she
was involved in Darnley’s murder. One of them was
the 4th Duke of Norfolk. It was suggested by John
Lesley, Bishop of Ross and Mary’s special
ambassador to England, that Norfolk should marry
Mary and restore her to her Scottish Kingdom. When
Elizabeth heard of this, Norfolk denied that he had
any intention to marry Mary. However he secretly
proposed to Mary in May 1569, with a diamond as a
betrothal token. She wrote back that she would keep
it around her neck unseen ‘until I give it again to the
owner of it and me both’ and enclosed a miniature of
herself. When he finally admitted what he had done,
Queen Elizabeth refused to permit the marriage and
he was arrested.
The 4th Duke of Norfolk
In May 1570 Pope Pius V sent a Papal Bull which
excommunicated Queen Elizabeth and released her
Catholic subjects from loyalty to her. This led to the
‘Northern Rising’ headed by the Earls of
Northumberland. The rising was quashed and 750
rebels were executed. However, there was not
enough evidence to incriminate Norfolk and he was
released from the Tower in August 1570, remaining
under surveillance.
In 1571 Charles Bailly, secretary to the Bishop of Ross, was arrested while carrying letters from
Ridolfi, a Florentine banker, and Pope Pius V to the Bishop of Ross. He admitted that Ridolfi
had left England with a message from Mary, Queen of Scots to the Duke of Alva, the King of
Spain’s governor of the Netherlands and the Pope, urging them to invade England to overthrow
Elizabeth and substitute Mary on the English throne with Norfolk as her consort. The invasion
by Spain was to be supplemented by another uprising of English Catholics.
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Norfolk was re-arrested and admitted sending gold, given by the French Ambassador in
London, to Mary’s northern supporters. He also confessed that money from the Pope
would also be used for the invasion. Queen Elizabeth appointed the Earl of Shrewsbury as
Lord Chief Steward at Norfolk’s trial in January 1572. Shrewsbury sat on a raised chair
with a cloth of estate, set on a high scaffold six feet wide. On either side sat 26 peers and
below him sat the judges. The only witness present was Richard Cavendish, the Earl’s
step-son, who repeated on oath the treasonable words which Norfolk had said to him.
Norfolk was found guilty by his peers and Shrewsbury pronounced sentence: ‘Thou shalt
be had from hence to the Tower of London from thence thou shalt be drawn through the
midst of the streets of London to Tyburn, the place of execution. There thou shalt be
hanged, and being alive, thou shalt be cut down quick, thy bowls shall be taken forth of thy
body and burnt before thy face, thy head shall be smitten off; thy body shall be divided into
four parts or quarters, thy head and thy quarters to be set up where it shall please the
Queen to appoint; and the Lord have mercy upon thee.’ He then broke into two his white
staff to dissolve the commission. The 4th Duke of Norfolk’s execution took place the
following June.
The living accommodation was very crowded with Mary, Queen of Scots’ retinue and the
Shrewsbury family. Bess and Shrewsbury, with their children and grandchildren were all
living with Mary. At first the family got on well together with Mary taking a special interest
in the children, particularly Bess’s granddaughter Elizabeth Pierrepont, who lived for 18
years with Mary, who called her Mignonne. There were frequent plots to free Mary, with
Shrewsbury’s servants being regularly questioned about smuggling out her letters, and in
1575 Queen Elizabeth said there were too many unauthorised persons living there.
These living arrangements changed after the
marriage at Rufford of Bess’s daughter
Elizabeth to Charles, the Earl of Lennox. He
was the grandson of Margaret Tudor who was
the sister of Henry VIII and the wife of King
James VI of Scotland. Charles was the brother
of Lord Darnley. This made Bess’s daughter the
sister in law of Mary Queen of Scots and the
aunt of James I. The child of this marriage was
Arbella Stuart, born in 1575, who became next
in succession to the throne after James I.
Queen Elizabeth was very angry about the
marriage which had taken place without her
permission. Mary, Queen of Scots was also
annoyed. In 1577 Mary named King Philip II of
Spain as her successor to the throne of
England unless her son became a Catholic,
which eventually led to the attempted invasion
of England by the Spanish Armada in 1588, the
year after her death.
Lady Arbella Stuart aged 23 months
by Anon 1577. (Copyright
NTPL/John Hammond, Hardwick
Hall)
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In the early days of her captivity Mary had a good relationship with Bess. They spent many
hours together, sharing needlework projects. Now their relationship deteriorated as also did
Bess’s marriage to Shrewsbury. Bess was independently wealthy and was able to live at her
other houses at Chatsworth and Hardwick, carrying out further building work and looking after
her large estates and industrial ventures. Both Shrewsbury and Bess held coal and lead mines,
the output from which was shipped from Hull to London on ‘The Talbot’, one of Shrewsbury’s
three ships.
Shrewsbury was unable to leave his charge without Queen Elizabeth’s permission, which she
refused to give, and his marriage became more acrimonious, with the Earl and Countess living
apart. Also the costs of looking after Mary were giving Shrewsbury serious concern and Bess
would not help him financially. Mary, Queen of Scots was still an attractive woman, and
Shrewsbury, who was obviously fond of her, seems to have sided with her against his wife.
Francis Battell, one of Bess’s gentlewomen, wrote to Lady Paulet, in March 1584: ‘Shrewsbury
gives out hard speeches of her to her great discredit if it should be believed of her friends. The
cause of her Lord’s hard dealing with her is that the Scottish Queen cannot abide her, for how
can she abide her when she is with all hatred bent against her.’
Left:
Smithson’s
Worksop Manor
House
Below:
Smythson’s design
for a screen at
Worksop Manor
Despite Shrewsbury’s concerns over money, he
built a new house at Worksop Manor at great
expense between 1580 – 85. This was possibly
because none of his many properties was
grand enough for the Queen to visit on a royal
progress. Another reason may have been to
compete with his wife, whose new grand
houses were closed to him after the breakdown
of their marriage.
The new Worksop Manor was a magnificent
mansion designed by Robert Smythson. It was
very tall with a narrow tower in the centre of
each façade capped by a domed lantern.
On the ends of the long facades were projecting square bays. The long gallery, 224 feet long
and 38 feet wide, was famous throughout England, and ran along the top floor giving
magnificent views over the Earl’s parkland. It was described by Robert Cecil in 1590 as ‘the
fairest gallery in England’. The master mason was Giles Greves who had also worked on
Chatsworth.
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After fifteen years, the Earl of Shrewsbury was relieved of his duties as Mary’s warder when
it was discovered that while Mary was staying at Worksop Manor in 1584, she was visited
by the brother of Shrewsbury’s first wife, the Earl of Rutland, who was a Catholic. However,
Shrewsbury’s connection with Mary was not yet over.
The Pope had continued to demand that Catholics in England should not support Queen
Elizabeth, sending large numbers of Jesuit priests to England to encourage insurrection
against the Queen. Elizabeth was becoming increasingly unpopular with the younger
generation, many of whom were secretly becoming Catholics. In 1581 Elizabeth passed the
Act of Persuasions, making it high treason to reconcile or be reconciled to the Catholic faith.
By 1585 it also became high treason for a Jesuit to set foot in England. Shrewsbury as Lord
Lieutenant was responsible for searching and handing over Catholic prisoners which was
an embarrassment as several of his children and step-children were now joining the faith.
Sir Anthony Babbington had been a page in Shrewsbury’s household during the
imprisonment of Mary, Queen of Scots. At the age of twenty he went to France and met
Thomas Morgan, then living in Paris. Morgan had been Shrewsbury’s secretary and had
become a fanatic, believing it was his destiny to kill Queen Elizabeth. Babbington wrote to
Mary telling her that he had a scheme to organise a foreign invasion, kill Elizabeth and put
Mary on the throne. In June 1586 Mary wrote to Babbington, approving the plan. These
letters were read by the English authorities, and led to the arrest and execution of
Babbington.
Following this, Mary, Queen of
Scots was tried and found guilty
of treason against Queen
Elizabeth. Shrewsbury was
reluctant to take part in the trial
but it was made clear that his
absence would not be tolerated.
In 1587 Mary, Queen of Scots’
death warrant was taken to
Fotheringay by Shrewsbury.
The execution of Mary, Queen of Scots with Shrewsbury standing to the right. Her clothes
and other possessions are being burnt to prevent them becoming religious relics.
On the evening of the 7th February he told her that she had been found guilty and
condemned to death, and that she would die at 8 o’clock the next morning. She replied ‘I
thank you for such welcome news. You will do me a great good in withdrawing me from
this world out of which I am very glad to go.’
Shrewsbury sat on a stool upon the scaffold. His son, Gilbert Talbot was also present.
Shrewsbury had to signal to the executioner by raising his white baton of office, at the
same time turning his head away, too upset to speak to the crowd, his face wet with tears.
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When the 6th Earl died in 1590, his son Gilbert, 7th Earl of
Shrewsbury, inherited Worksop Manor. He had married Mary
Cavendish, daughter of his stepmother, Bess. Gilbert
contested his father’s will, feeling that too much of his father’s
estate had been given to his brothers. He was unsuccessful
and then accused his brother Edward of conspiring against his
life. Gilbert wrote:
‘To my brother, Mr Edward Talbot, Whereas I understand that
you have said, that I have a fraudulent lease or deed, or both, I
say that you have therein lied in your throat, and shall do so as
often as you shall say so or think. If herewith you shall find
yourself aggrieved, in such sort as in the honour of your
brother you ought, I will not fail to be found, with two gentlemen
only, or with more, or fewer, and in such an indifferent place,
on such a day and hour, and with such weapons and
garments, as these my two servants shall conclude you, and
further I could wish you would bring so many of my known
enemies as I could be glad to encounter with gentlemen of like
qualities and number hearing that you are lately combined with
some of them. Written at Sheffield Castle 22 June 1594.
Gilbert Shrewsbury.
Gilbert, 7th Earl of Shrewsbury
The instructions to my two servants are thus: First, that they should deliver my letter to
him, and then that they should accept of my reasonable appointment by him, of place,
time, company and furniture, but if he shall refuse to appoint any, then to propound to
him this following:
The company to be two gentlemen apiece
The furniture: rapier, dagger, a short gauntlet and no other weapons; ordinary
garments, and no other.
The place, one mile south from Doncaster, which is from his house at Pontefract 11
miles and from Worksop, from where I shall come, 12 miles.
The day, Wednesday 26th June at 11 of the clock in the forenoon.
And if he will neither send me any appointment, nor like of these propositions, then tell
him that, for as much as I hear that he means to go towards Northumberland on
Tuesday next, that I mean, God willing, to be in the place aforesaid, accompanied only
with six gentlemen on Monday next at 11 of the clock aforenoon.’
His brother Edward refused the challenge and when Queen Elizabeth heard of the
quarrel, she ordered the Earl of Essex to write to Gilbert that his actions had
‘persuaded the Queen that you are violent, which they tell her is dangerous in great
men… and willed me to advise you from these courses’. Gilbert replied listing his many
grievances about his father giving his brothers land during his lifetime. Mediation did
not solve the problem and Gilbert was put under house arrest by the Queen’s orders.
In 1596 the Queen sent him to France to the court of Henry IV. He was back in her
favour by 1600 when he sat at the trial of the Earl of Essex. For the following three
years he was living at Worksop.
11
On the death of Queen Elizabeth I, James VI of Scotland was named her successor
and the proclamation was signed by Gilbert, the 7th Earl of Shrewsbury. As Worksop
was a convenient stopping place on the King’s journey to London, Gilbert wished to
show his hospitality and allegiance to the new king, particularly as his niece Arbella
might be regarded as James’ rival for the throne. Six days after the Queen’s death,
Gilbert sent the following letter to his agent John Harper:
‘Mr Harper, it may be I shall be very shortly in the country and perhaps may be so
happy as to entertain the King our sovereign at Worksop. I would entreat you to let all
my good friends in Derbyshire and Staffordshire know so much, to the end that I may
have their company against such a time as his Majesty shall come hither. I know not
how soon. If it so happen as I shall know when in a few days certain; but then it will be
too late for your horses or anything else to be prepared unless you prepare them
presently upon the receipt hereof. All things here are well and nothing but unity and
good agreement. God continue it. Amen. At my chamber in Whitehall Palace, this 30th
March being Wednesday night, in very great haste. 1603. Your friend, most assured,
Gilbert. Shrewsbury. I will not refuse any fat capons and hens, partridges, or the like if
the King comes to me. GSh.’
On the 5th April 1603 the King left Edinburgh
and arrived at Worksop on the 20th April. A
contemporary account states:
King James I
‘The 20th day, being Wednesday, his majesty
rode [from Doncaster] towards Worksop, the
noble Earl of Shrewsbury’s house; and at
Bawtry the High Sherrif of Yorkshire took his
leave of the King, and there Mr Askoth, the
High Sherrif of Nottingham, received him, being
gallantly appointed both with horse and men;
and so he conducted his Majesty on, till he
came within a mile of Blyth, where his highness
alighted, and sat down on a bank side to eat
and drink.’
.
‘ After his Majesty’s short repast, to Worksop his Majesty rides forward; but by the way, in the
Park he was somewhat stayed, for there appeared a number of huntsmen, all in green, the
chief of which, with a woodsman’s speech, did welcome him, offering his Majesty to show him
some game, which he gladly condescended to see; and he hunted a good space, very much
delighted; at last he went into the house, where he was nobly received, with a superfluity of all
things that still every entertainment seemed to exceed another. In this place, besides the
abundance of all provision and delicacies, there was the most excellent soul-ravishing music,
where with his Highness was not a little delighted.
At Worksop he rested on Wednesday night, and in the morning stayed breakfast; which
having ended, there was so much store of provision left, of fowl, fish and almost everything,
besides bread, beer and wines that it was left open for any man that would, to come in and
take’.
12
The following month Queen Anne followed the same route from Scotland, accompanied
by her two elder children, Prince Henry and Lady Elizabeth. They were at Worksop on
Trinity Sunday when Toby Matthew, Bishop of Durham and later Archbishop of York,
preached to them. Worksop Church Wardens’ Book records that 3 shillings were paid to
six ringers when the Queen’s majesty came to Worksop Manor.
Left: Gilbert Talbot. Centre: Mary Talbot his wife
(Copyright NTPL/John Hammond Hardwick Hall)
Arbella Stuart married William Seymour, Earl of Hertford, in
1610 against the wishes of James I. She died in the Tower of
London in 1615 because of her royal lineage and was buried
in Westminster Abbey in the tomb of her aunt, Mary, Queen
of Scots. In 1611 she had attempted to escape to France,
assisted by another aunt, Mary Talbot, Gilbert’s wife. Mary
Talbot was also sent to the Tower ‘for life’ for being
‘obstinately Catholic’, but was finally released in 1623.
Gilbert, the 7th Earl of Shrewsbury died in 1616. The 8th
Earl was Gilbert’s brother Edward who had married Jane,
daughter of Lord Ogle. He survived his brother for less
than one year, dying childless on February 8th 1617, when
the Shrewsbury title passed to a distant relative, George
Talbot of Grafton in Warwickshire. Gilbert’s daughter
Alethea inherited his Worksop property. She married
Thomas Howard, 14th Earl of Arundel, in 1606 with a
dowry of 60,000 crowns per year, worth £2 million in
today’s currency.
The Howard family had lost their title of Dukes of Norfolk
in 1572 when the 4th Duke of Norfolk was executed. His
grandson was born penniless in a cottage in Romford,
Essex.
Above: Lady Arbella
Stuart aged 13 by
Rowland Lockey, 1589.
(Copyright NTPL/John
Hammond Hardwick Hall)
Below: Alethea Talbot,
Countess of Arundel
13
Thomas Howard’s father Philip had
married his stepsister, Anne, daughter of
Lord Dacre whose widow had married his
father, the 4th Duke of Norfolk. He was
known to be a Catholic and was
imprisoned because he tried to leave the
country in 1585, possibly with the intention
of seeking foreign aid for the intended
invasion of England. Philip’s son Thomas
was born after Philip had been sent to the
Tower. He died of dysentery and on his
deathbed in 1595 he asked to see his wife
and son, which Queen Elizabeth agreed to
on condition that he renounced his faith.
He replied ‘On such condition I cannot
accept her majesty’s offer, and if that be
the cause in which I am to perish, sorry
am I that I have but one life to lose’. He
was canonised in 1970.
St Philip Howard
Because the Howard family had suffered through their involvement with Mary, Queen of
Scots, her son King James I made restitution and restored Thomas as Earl of Arundel and
Surrey, titles which had come from his grandmother. Thomas was granted some of his
grandfather’s estates including Arundel Castle in Sussex.
Thomas Howard went to court in 1605 at the age of
twenty and married Alethea Talbot the following year,
which in 1616 brought the Shrewsbury estates to the
Howard family. Queen Anne was godmother to their
first-born son. Arundel used this wealth to rise
politically and became a member of Prince Henry’s
court. Although he had been brought up as a
Catholic, he took communion in 1616 in the Chapel
Royal and immediately became a Privy Councillor. He
was described by the Earl of Carlisle: ‘Here comes the
Earl of Arundel in his plain stuff and trunk hose and his
beard in his teeth, that looks more like a nobleman
than any of us’. He bought a house in Highgate which
he transformed into an Italianate villa with a casino
and banqueting house in the garden. Here he and
Alethea gave a famous feast ‘in the Italian manner’ in
1617.
Thomas Howard, 14th Earl of Arundel
14
The 14th Earl and
Countess of Arundel
by Van Dyke
In 1612 Thomas and Alethea had accompanied Princess Elizabeth, daughter of James I, to
Heidelberg following her wedding to Frederick, Prince of Palentine of the Rhine. After this
they travelled regularly in Holland and Italy, collecting paintings which included those by
Raphael, Leonardo, Holbein and Rubens and Van Dyke who he introduced to England.
He also collected classical
sculpture, such as
archaeological fragments of the
Pergamon Zeus Altar marble
frieze from Asia Minor. This
collection became known as the
Arundel Marbles, a fragment of
which, showing the giant
Porphyrion, is on display in
Worksop Public Library. He
acquired an international
reputation as a connoisseur and
amassed one of the finest
private art collections in Europe.
The Pergamon Zeus Altar marble frieze from
Asia Minor with Porphyrion on the right.
In his London house Thomas set up an academy of scholars, heralds, genealogists,
painters, engravers and sculptors. Alethea’s house in Venice was a similar centre for artists
and sculptors. Although Thomas was an extremely wealthy man, his passion for collecting
meant that his expenditure far outstripped his income and by 1640 his debts amounted to
£103, 234, which is the equivalent of £13 million pounds today.
15
To see if he could economise, Thomas appointed John Harrison in 1636 to carry out a
survey of his estate and servants at Worksop, part of which is given below:
Survey of Worksop in 1636
Description of the Manors of Worksop and the Priory
‘Before I begin to express the particulars of these manors, it will not be amiss to relate
something concerning the royalties, profits and commodities belonging to the same. And
first for the manor of Worksop, which in times past did belong to the right honourable
family of the Shrewsburys, where is kept a Court Baron, once every 3 weeks if occasion
serves and a Court Leet twice every year.
Within this manor or lordship is a very spacious park, being seven miles and a half and
half a quarter in compass and contains by measure according to the statute 2302 acres, 2
roods and 31 ½ perches. About in the middle there stands a very stately house called the
manor, build of freestone, being very pleasantly situated upon a hill, with corresponding
gardens to the same.
About half a mile from the said mansion is another house fairly built of stone and well
contrived called the new lodge, besides the old lodge where the keeper dwells.
This park is well adorned with timber and not meanly furnished with fallow deer, the
number of them at present is about eight hundred. There is a little river running through
this park, very profitable, not only in regard to trout and other fish therein contained; but
especially in regard of the water mill, well built of stone, standing upon the said river, near
the park and the town of Worksop: in which said town there is a market kept every
Wednesday and one fair yearly and that is upon the 20th day of March.
There is also within these manors very good meadow ground with pastures and arable
lands, and some heath fit for no other purpose but for the maintaining of sheep.
Near to this town of Worksop has been a castle in times past, but there is nothing
remaining there, but only a hill where the castle stood.
I cannot here omit that thing wherein this town of Worksop excels all others within this
realm and most noted for: I mean the store of liquorish that grows there and that of the
best. If you look in the bowels of the earth you shall find very good quarrys of stone for
building, and limestone for the making of lime not only for necessary uses in building, but
especially for the manuring of grounds.
There has been in times past adjoining to Worksop church, a Priory with a manor there
belonging, but the court is discontinued, and now for the most part they are brought to do
service at the court belonging to Worksop manor.
There is within this manor a great oak, very remarkable, called Shireoak, in regard that the
branches extend themselves into three shires, viz, Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and
Yorkshire. There are divers lands lying in several places remote from these manors, that
are also under the charge of the bailiff of Worksop, whereof there is one place above the
rest more worthy of being noted, that is a great standing water called White Water, lying in
Styrrup in the parish of Blyth, about four or five miles from the aforesaid manors, which will
afford a great store and variety of fish and old ling being no less pleasurable than
profitable.’
16
Servants’ Wages listed in John Harrison’s survey of 1636
Mr John Flower, bailiff, his wages per annum £16. Also four loads of hay and the keeping of
2 horses. Also the windfall wood in the forest.
William Canning, horsekeeper, his wages per annum £20. Also the herbage of all the yards
about the manor house. Also as much wood as he will burn being made and brought
to him without any charge.
William Darcey, gardener, his wages per annum £10. Also all the profits of the gardens
except that which is for my Lord’s use when he is at Worksop. Also as much windfall wood
as he will burn, he being at the charge of making and carriage.
Francis Tonge, park keeper, his wages per annum £13 6s 8d. Also the herbage of the great
Dewes Green where the deer have also liberty to feed. Also as much windfall wood as he
will burn but he is at the charge of making and carriage. Also 4 loads of hay.
Also all the food belonging to him, as he is keeper.
James Bland, glazier and plumber, for keeping the leads, water-work and windows in repair,
his wages per annum £10. Note that the said James is to find the solder, but the lead is to
be found him ready for his work.
William Poynton, for looking to and mending the park pale, his wages per annum £4.
The 14th Earl of
Arundel with his family
in 1640, from a sketch
by Van Dyke
Please go to John Harrison’s Survey for the full survey.
In 1621 the Earl of Arundel became Earl Marshal of England, a position previously held by his
ancestors, and which became hereditary within the Howard family. When Arundel’s eldest
surviving son Henry Frederick married Elizabeth, daughter of Esme the 3 rd Duke of Lennox,
without royal consent in 1626, Arundel was imprisoned in the Tower, fined a large sum and
removed from politics. The House of Lords demanded his release voting in June 1626 to
conduct no further business in his absence. He was freed but still barred from court. When he
was eventually allowed to return, he became a leading Privy Councillor referred to as ‘The first
great subject of the Northern parts, who by his conversation and great collection set a value on
that country’.
17
Although the 14th Earl was not in any way a military man, in 1640 Charles I made him
Captain General of the English armies against Scotland. Clarendon wrote that he was
appointed to this post because ‘he did not love the Scots; he did not love the Puritans’ and
‘… he did not much love anybody else. But he was fit to keep the state of it, and his rank
was such that no man would decline serving under him’. However, the Earl played no
military part in the Civil War, but accompanied the Queen Mother, Marie de Medici, to
safety abroad. He never returned to England but instead went to his villa at Padua in Italy,
where he died five years later.
The 14th Earl was succeeded by his son, Henry Frederick, who was born in 1608. Henry
was a Catholic, educated in Padua. His wife Elizabeth bore him nine sons and three
daughters. He was an ardent Royalist, and took part in the Battle of Edgehill. He lived with
the Court at Oxford but went abroad, and was in Padua with his father when he died. In
1648 he was fined £6,000 by Parliament but was allowed to keep his estates.
Henry Frederick tried to set aside the terms of his father’s will and disinherit his mother,
who had been left most of the revenue of the Earl’s estates and his collection because of
her large marriage settlement which had refinanced the Howard family. There were three
years of litigation when Alethea was harassed by her son who encouraged her servants to
neglect her, but he died two years before his mother.
Henry Frederick’s sons Thomas and Henry
succeeded him. Thomas had accompanied his
grandfather to Padua at the outbreak of the Civil
War where he had a serious illness that left him
insane. He did not die until 1677, but remained in
Padua for the rest of his life and his brother
Henry took over the family affairs on the death of
his father, paying off his grandfather’s debts of
£200,000 between 1652 and 1662. During the
Commonwealth, Henry Howard lived at his
grandfather’s villa in Albury. He gave some of the
Arundel Collection to Oxford University, and also
donated paintings and books to the Royal
Society. In 1660 Charles II restored Thomas as
5th Duke of Norfolk.
Henry Howard was widely-travelled, both in
Europe and in Turkey, India and Morocco. In
1672 he became Earl of Norwich and Earl
Marshal of England. After the Titus Oates Popish
Plot of 1674 Catholics were forbidden to come to
court by the puritan parliament, and he and his
two sons were forced to leave England and live in
Bruges. He returned in 1677 when he became
the 6th Duke to take his place in the House of
Lords. In 1678 the Act of Parliament disabling
Catholics forced him to withdraw and he again
went to Flanders, leaving his estates in the hands
of Anglican trustees.
The 6th Duke of Norfolk
18
On the 6th Duke’s death, his son Henry, the 7th
Duke of Norfolk, took the Oath of Allegiance and
conformed to the Established Church of England.
He acted as Earl Marshal at the coronations of
James II and William and Mary and remained one
of King William’s most trusted supporters. In 1677
he married Lady Mary Morduant, daughter of the
Earl of Peterborough but they separated owing to
her infidelity.
Above: The 7th Duke of Norfolk
Right: Hall’s view of Worksop
Manor in 1677
The 7th Duke was succeeded in 1701 by his
nephew, Thomas Howard. Thomas was the
son of Lord Thomas Howard of Worksop
who was a devout Catholic, Tory and
Jacobite. Lord Thomas had married Mary
Elizabeth Savile, and they made their home
at Worksop Manor which carried the ancient
right of providing a right-hand glove at the
coronation and supporting the King’s right
hand while he was holding the sceptre. Lord
Thomas took part in James II’s coronation
and was a staunch supporter of the King,
becoming Master of the King’s Robes. He
accompanied James II when he fled to
France in 1688. He later drowned when his
ship ‘La Tempete’ sank in the English
Channel in 1689 on the way from Ireland to
France in the service of James II. His wife
sent his four sons and a daughter to France
for safety, where they lived until 1693.
King James II
(Copyright NTPL)
19
Worksop Manor. View from the North showing the copper fountain
Lord Thomas’s oldest son, Thomas, became the 8th Duke at the age of 18. He returned to
England in 1701, living in retirement at Worksop Manor. He doubled the size of the house
and redecorated the interior in the Baroque style with a new grand staircase. He built the
stable and office court which survives today and laid out elaborate formal gardens designed
by Charles Bridgeman on a vast scale covering 1700 acres, with straight avenues and
rectangular canals containing carp. He paid £33 to Jean Tijou, previously employed at
Chatsworth and Hampton Court, for ironwork in the garden. The Duke’s gardener, Nicholas
Sears, wrote ‘we have the finest ironwork gates in England’ and also described the bowling
green, gravel works and a copper fountain in the shape of an orange tree.
Charles Bridgeman’s plan for the gardens about 1720
20
Left: The 8th Duke of
Norfolk
Right, Winifreda
Shireburn, the 8th
Duchess
Like his father, the 8th Duke was a Catholic and a Jacobite and in 1709 he married Maria
Winifreda Francisca Shireburn of Stonyhurst, also a devout Catholic. In 1715 his younger
brother, Edward Howard, was involved in the Earl of Mar’s Jacobite rebellion, arrested at
Preston and tried for treason. Thomas went to King George I and promised his allegiance to
the House of Hanover if his brother’s life was spared and he was allowed to live in France.
Because of this actionThomas was separated from his wife, who refused to live with him
again after what she regarded as his betrayal with the usurper. However, he continued to
support the Jacobites by melting down the ducal plate and sending the proceeds to the Old
Pretender, the son of James II. He was arrested in Bath in 1722 and sent to the Tower of
London for taking part in another Jacobite Plot, being released after six months. The 8 th
Duke died aged 49, and his brother Edward succeeded him.
The 9th Duke and
Duchess of Norfolk
Edward Howard, the 9th Duke of Norfolk, returned from France in 1732 on the death of his
brother, and also made Worksop Manor his principal country home. He had married Mary
Blount in 1727. They were wealthy aristocrats and the Duchess enjoyed designing, building
and furnishing their properties. She had a determined nature and was referred to by Hugh
Walpole as ‘My Lord Duchess’. In 1733 they were received at court by George II, showing
that the 9th Duke’s past behaviour had been forgiven.
21
The 9th Duke took no part in political life but he and his Duchess had an active social life: ‘Her
house was the centre of what was great and elegant’ both at Worksop and in London. When
Frederick Prince of Wales and his wife quarrelled with his father, King George II and were
ejected from St James Palace, the Norfolks gave them a home and it was at Norfolk House in
St James Square, London that Frederick’s son, the future King George III, was born.
In 1745 there was another Jacobite
uprising in Scotland when Prince Charles
Stuart landed in the Western Isles in June
and crossed the border into England with
5,000 men, reaching as far south as
Derby. The Jacobite forces were
eventually defeated in April 1746 at the
battle of Culloden, but before this the Duke
of Norfolk came under suspicion of
treason again and was immediately
summoned to London. The following
document covers part of the allegations:
Prince Charles Stuart.
Minature of the Young
Prentender by Tilli.
Copyright NTPL /Gunby Hall
‘State papers Domestic, 1745, Bundle 75, no 4. The information and examination of
Margaret Brownhill taken upon Oath before me this day 24th November 1745, who says that
nine years ago last Spring, upon that Easter Monday, she Catherine Marshall, and another
young woman went to Worksop Manor to see Elizabeth Walkden, who lived as Servant with
the Duke of Norfolk there, and desiring to look at the House, the said Elizabeth Walkden
she believes showed them most of the rooms of the house, and at last coming upon the
leads and walking there and looking about them, the said Elizabeth Walkden said she would
let them see a greater variety than they had seen, upon which she raised up the edge of the
sheet of lead with her knife till she got her fingers under it, and there she desired them to
assist her to lift it up, which accordingly they did, and then under that she took up a trap
door where there was a pair of stairs, which they went down into a little room which was all
dark, but the said Elizabeth Walkden, opening the window shutters, there was a fireplace, a
bed and a few chairs in the said room, and asking her what use that room was for she said
it was to hide people in troublesome times; then the said Elizabeth Walkden asked them if
they could find the way out of that room into the next, upon which they looked round and
could find none, then the said Elizabeth Walkden went to the side of that room next to the
stair foot and opened a door in the wainscot about the middle of the height of the room,
which they looked into, but it being dark they could not see anything in it, but the said
Elizabeth Walkden said they could not go into it, it was so full of arms, upon which the said
Elizabeth Walkden shut the door and they went upstairs, and then she shut the trap door
and laid down the sheet of lead as it was before, which was so nice she could not discern it
from another part of the leads, and believes she could not find it if she was there again’.
Taken and sworn this day and year above said before me, Richard Bagshaw.’
The Duke of Norfolk again promised his allegiance to George II, convincing him of his
loyalty.
22
Buck’s view of the south front of Worksop Manor in 1745
The 9th Duke was a very wealthy man and much of his revenue was poured into Worksop.
The first work carried out at Worksop Manor was a formal garden, which was re-laid on a vast
and expensive scale. The scheme was designed by Lord Petre, the famous botanist and
gardener, between 1733 and 1738. The design was for a more naturalistic style with shrubs
and fir trees and a sloping lawn at the south side of the house, with a lake and river. The
Duke erected a number of decorative park buildings including a hemicycle, or curved walled
building, a Palladian style bridge and a ziggurat, or terraced pyramid.
Dickinson’s plan of
Petre’s design for the
gardens in 1737
23
Richardson’s map of
Worksop Manor gardens
about 1740 showing
Petre’s landscaping
Dr Pocock described the grounds in 1750: ‘There are 1,700 acres under improvements; the
ground is very fine, there being a low ground which winds round the higher hills that open in
one part, and on each side of it are several little hills divided by dales, which are planted
with clumps of trees, mostly evergreens, and among them the larch, which is very beautiful
when they leave the boughs to grow from the bottom. On top of one of the farthest hills to
the west there is to be a temple, and about the middle of the designed water, a bridge in the
manner and style of Lord Pembroke’s and at the north east of the water is to be a grotesque
building under a hill with a grotto, all which is drawn out according to Lord Petre’s design,
and they are ploughing up the park by degrees in order to bring in the ground’.
The Duchess built the Gothic style
Castle Farm in 1758. It contained a
large sitting room with a ‘japanned
tea table’ and china teacups and
saucers, and in the Duchess’s
bedchamber was a walnut
bookcase where she kept her
books on horticulture.
Castle Farm
24
In 1753 the Duchess built a Chinese style hen and pigeon house, and in 1755 ‘a house for a
monkey’ as part of the Duchess’s menagerie
The menagerie was on the north side and was described by Mrs Delaney in 1756: ‘We went
on Sunday evening to the Duchess of Norfolk’s menagerie at Worksop Manor, but I only
saw a crown bird and a most delightful cockatoo’. The menagerie was a large room
decorated with Indian wallpaper to enhance the theme of foreign lands and species. The
Duchess was an investor in the Dutch East India Company, which provided the birds and
animals as well as the fine wallpapers and fabrics used in her properties.
Course’s view of The South Front of Worksop manor in 1760
Additional building work was carried out on the Elizabethan manor house with more rooms
added on the north side described in the Gentleman’s Magazine in 1761: ‘The Hall and all
the apartments were new furnished by the present Duke. The Hall was ornamented with
Doric pillars and entablature and the ceiling was extremely rich, as were those of the
apartments on the two principal floors and all were designed and finished under the
direction of Mr Paine’.
Walpole reported that apart from retaining the bare chambers in which Mary, Queen of
Scots had been lodged ‘nothing remained of ancient time’. The Duke and Duchess gave a
magnificent party in August 1761 to celebrate the completion of the building work. Two
months later, in October when the Duke and Duchess were in Bath, fire broke out and the
house was completely destroyed. The damage was estimated at £100,000.
25
By the end of the year, a new house had been designed by James Paine in conjunction
with the Duchess and work began in 1763. The plans were for the largest country house
since Blenheim Palace. The Duchess’s plan was for a huge square block with two
matching internal courtyards between which would run a great Egyptian Hall, from north
to south. The north wing would contain family apartments, the west wing the great
drawing room, the south wing the main entrance with two state rooms, and the east wing
would house the library.
Paine’s designs for Worksop Manor
The Duchess also designed the roof pediment, showing a dog and a horse and a lion,
representing fidelity, fleetness and strength, with a view of the old mansion set in
agricultural land with a central oak tree. The design also showed broken columns
representing the devastation of the fire, and architectural plans and instruments
signifying its restoration. Beneath was the Howards’ motto ‘Virtue alone is
unconquerable’. Only one pediment was made, carved by William Collins in 1765, which
survives today.
The pediment
26
The North
Wing of the
new Worksop
Manor House
In 1767
The north wing was built first, with the foundation stone laid in 1763. ‘At least 500
workmen were incessantly employed on the spot, chiefly under the guidance of the
Duchess, who hardly ever quitted them’. The north wing was finished by July 1764 and as
soon as the roof was on there was a party for over 350 workmen and labourers. Ovens
were put up in the courtyard and a huge feast took place ‘with the most unbounded
exultation’ with music and country dancing in which the Duchess took part ‘in the hilarity of
the occasion’. In the afternoon she scattered £30 in silver coins from one of the windows
onto the crowd below.
Work began immediately on the interiors. The Drawing Room was decorated in crimson
Lyons silk. The Dining Room had 25 chairs upholstered in red morocco leather with
crimson damask window curtains and black lacquered corner cupboards. There was a
blue and yellow velvet bedchamber and the Duke’s apartments had blue wallpaper and
matching damask hangings. The Duchess had an apartment of five rooms. Her
bedchamber walls were ‘olive and white on a muddy pink ground’, and her furniture was
covered with salmon-coloured silk.
The servants’ quarters were also tastefully decorated. ‘Her Grace’s Women’s Room’ had
‘English paper, green and white mock flock’. The attics on the south side had ‘Yellow
Indian paper flowered, with yellow damask bed, window curtains and chairs’.
When work on the new house began the Duke was 75 years of age and gradually even
the Duchess began to think that the house was going to be ridiculously large, saying that
‘if the whole of the plan was finished she would still add one more room to it, wherein she
might be confined as a mad woman’.
The Duke and Duchess had no children and in 1767 the heir, their beloved nephew,
Edward, died aged 22. The Duchess never recovered from this tragedy. Work on the
house stopped immediately and she died six years later. At her death, James Paine wrote
that she had ‘A life constantly employed in promoting the good of mankind, in alleviating
the miseries of the poor and supporting the amiable dignity of this branch of the Howard
family’.
27
The Duke remained at Worksop, making further developments in the park until his death
in 1777. Arthur Young visited in 1770 and described the grounds: ‘Not far from the house
is a pleasure ground, laid out and decorated with great taste; an artificial lake and river are
made, in which nature is very happily imitated, and the ground surrounding laid out in a
very agreeable manner. Near the entrance is a Gothic bench, in a shady spot, looking
immediately on a creek of the water, overhung with wood; the shore broken and rocky: at
a little distance, the banks spread themselves, and open on a fine bend of the water,
surrounded with trees; and at a distance, in the very bosom of a dark wood, the water
winds through the arches of a most elegant bridge… A walk winds through the wood, to a
lawn, at the bottom of which, to the right flows the water… on the left, at the upper part of
the opening is a Tuscan temple, properly situated for viewing part of the lake. Other
serpentine walks lead from hence to different parts of the ground; one to the new
menagerie, and another down to the bridge.’
William Bray in his book, ‘Sketch of a Tour
1778’ wrote about Worksop Manor: ‘The
front is of white stone, extending more
than 300 feet; in it are ten rooms below
and twelve above. In the south side are
two galleries…The grand drawing room is
fifty-three feet by thirty, and is hung with
Gobelin tapestry, representing a great
variety of plants and animals… Near this
are a flower garden, a large greenhouse,
well filled with exotics, and a spacious
bowling green, surrounded by most stately
firs, feathered to the very ground, and an
extensive menagerie, in which the late
Duchess had a numerous collection of
birds’.
Extract from Chapman’s map of 1776
On the death of the 9th Duke, the title
went to a distant cousin. The 10th Duke
of Norfolk was 57 when he inherited
the title. He remained at his estates in
Deepdale, Surrey where he preferred
to live quietly until his death in 1786.
28
His son, the 11th Duke of Norfolk was
described: ‘Nature has cast him in her coarsest
mould … his person large, muscular and
clumsy’. He said ‘I cannot be a good Catholic; I
cannot go to heaven, and if a man is to go to
the devil, he may as well go thither from the
House of Lords as from any other place on
earth’. Causton described him as ‘vulgar in his
ideas, licentious in his habits, coarse in his
manners, vicious in his tastes, ungenerous in
his patronage’ with ‘a studied neglect of dress
even to a striking and grotesque singularity’. He
had grown up on the Greystoke estates in
Cumbria and became a protestant in order to
be a Member of Parliament for Carlisle in 1780.
He was appointed Lord of the Treasury in 1783.
He was a great friend of the Prince Regent, but
was dismissed from all his official positions for
drunkenness by George III.
The 11th Duke of Norfolk
The 11th Duke did not live at Worksop. He sold many of the Sheffield properties to buy
more estates in Cumbria and to restore Arundel Castle in the Gothic manner, where he
took the 9th Duke’s books and paintings from Worksop. He had no legitimate children
and on his death in 1815 he was succeeded by his 3rd cousin, Bernard Edward Howard
of Glossop, who became 12th Duke of Norfolk.
In the 18th century nearly all the members of the Glossop branch of the Howard family
were Jacobites and lived abroad as nuns or priests, with only one son marrying in each
generation to carry on the line. The 12th Duke’s three uncles were all priests but his father,
Henry Howard, was a wine merchant in Dublin and Portugal. When his business failed he
was rescued from bankruptcy by the 9th Duke who paid his debts and appointed him agent
to his northern estates, giving him a house at Sheffield. At the age of 51 the 12 th Duke
married Juliana Molyneux, daughter of protestant Sir William Molyneux. Her parents were
against the marriage because of differences in age and religion but Mary, the 9 th Duchess,
helped to smooth over these problems.
The 12th Duke was born in Sheffield in 1765. His great object in life was Catholic
emancipation. In 1820 at George IV’s accession to the throne he presented a petition
urging the repeal of the laws against Catholics to bring ‘general concord in the Empire so
essential to its happiness, prosperity and independence’, assuring the King that they
wished to recognise the British Crown and no foreign power. He introduced into the House
of Lords a private members’ bill to allow him to exercise his office as Earl Marshal. This
was passed and he officiated at the coronations of William IV and Queen Victoria.
The Coronation Glove
29
With the passing of the Emancipation Act of 1829
the Duke was able to take his seat in the House
of Lords, the first Catholic member since 1678.
The portrait of him in parliamentary robes was
painted to commemorate the passing of the act,
and these robes are still worn every year by the
Duke of Norfolk for the state opening of
parliament. The 12th Duke was a Whig who
supported the Reform Bill, and became a Privy
Councillor and a Knight of the Garter.
The 12th Duke of Norfolk
The 12th Duke gave £7000 each year for the
building of Catholic chapels, but also gave sites
for building Church of England churches such as
St Mary’s, Sheffield. He also gave generously to
the poor. He was the chief promoter of the new
turnpike road over Snake Pass to connect
Manchester with Sheffield, and he paid for wellbuilt artisan housing in Sheffield.
In 1789 the 12th Duke married Lady Elizabeth Belasyse, daughter of Lord Fauconberg. A son
was born in 1791 after which she went to live with Richard Bingham, son of the 1st Earl of
Lucan. The Duke and Duchess were divorced in 1794, but as a Catholic the Duke never
remarried. When the 12th Duke had succeeded to the title, he gave Worksop Manor to his
eldest son, the Earl of Surrey. Before this, the estate had become very neglected and by
1820 J.N. Brewer wrote in ‘The Picture of England’: ‘We regret to state that the mansion of
Worksop Manor is seldom visited by its noble proprietors, and the buildings and grounds have
consequently experienced injurious neglect. A large portion of the park domain is now under
the operation of the plough’.
Worksop Manor
about 1830
30
Engraving of
Worksop Manor by
J.P. Neale made
about 1830
John Holland described Worksop Manor in 1826:
‘The Earl of Surrey generally resides with his family in the bosom of domestic retirement at
Worksop Manor… In approaching the mansion, the visitor enters the extensive yard of offices
built by Thomas, 8th Duke of Norfolk, through the large iron gates under the clock house, and
opposite to which, another pair of handsome gates, admits him to the lawn in front of the
house; and from this green plot, which is separated from the yard by an immense screen of
light architecture, the visitor will see the style of building to the best advantage. This facade,
combining elegance and grandeur in a high degree, is 303 feet in length, and built of a
handsome white freestone, got on the estate. In the centre, a portico makes a small projection,
consisting of six very striking Corinthian pillars, fluted, resting on the rustics, and supporting the
tympanum and the pediment, upon the points of the triangle of the latter, are placed three
handsome statues, and the space between them is occupied with the emblematical carvings
allusive to the high family alliances. A light and elegant balustrade surmounts the edifice, from
the tympanum to the projecting part at the ends, which mark the terminations in the style of
wings. Upon this are placed a series of vases, executed with fine taste, and disposed in the
most admirable order…
‘The front entrance is into a vestibule, with the grand staircase in front, and the superior
apartments to the left. In the general plan of the house, the present front, which is to the north,
was designed for the back, and here are ten rooms below and twelve above with twenty-six in
the attic storey. On the south side there are two galleries, one used for breakfasting, the other
as a billiard room. That portion of the house originally used as a chapel, has been pulled down,
to make way for some alterations at present going on.
‘The staircase … occupies an area of 37 feet by 25 feet. The walls present a series of
compartments, painted in Chiaro Scuro by Thomas de Bruyn, a Fleming and are intended to
represent the arts and sciences; and the light and shade are so admirably and happily
managed, that the whole has the appearance of figures executed in bold relief, rather than with
a pencil on a smooth surface.’
31
In 1838 Worksop Manor was sold for £370,000
by the Earl of Surrey, who used the proceeds
from the sale to enlarge his estate at Arundel.
The purchaser was the Duke of Newcastle who
lived at the adjoining estate of Clumber. As a
vehement anti-Catholic, Newcastle had regarded
the Duke of Norfolk as his arch-enemy, and
never intended to live in the property. In 1841 he
broke up the house and sold off the windows,
doors and roof for £6,000, and hoped to get
another £6,000 for the lead. In 1843 Newcastle
records in his diary how the demolition took place
when the palace of 23 bays, built only 80 years
before, was blown up:
The Earl of Surrey, later
the 13th Duke of Norfolk
Worksop Manor before
demolition. The north
front, by T. Malton
‘19th September 1843. I am taking down the magnificent house at Worksop Manor and in
order to do this in the shortest and best manner with least expense it was proposed to blow
up one of the back walls… The weight of the wall to be thrown was computed at 400 tons
weight, and the quantity of powder used was 42 lbs. All being ready the signal was given
and 3 men lighted the trains which ignited the fuses… The first explosion took place, then
the others in succession which had an extremely fine effect and must have resembled the
bombardment of the town – the whole of the bottom of the wall was burst through and split
to pieces but yet the wall stood. The experiment failed – it was really extraordinary how the
superstructure of the wall could remain upright with scarcely anything except a few loose
stones to rest upon. We determined to try more explosions in the soundest parts – 7 push
holes were drilled, charged etc all but one were successfully exploded, but still the wall
stood and we were obliged to give it up.
20th September. The attempt to explode the building which failed yesterday was this
morning attended with complete success – it was blown up finely and all came down with a
grand crash and without incident.’
32
The Park at Worksop Manor was stripped of its trees. Newcastle sold 60,000 larch trees to
the railway companies at 1 shilling 8 pence a foot, and a similar quantity of oak at 2 shillings 6
pence to 3 shillings 6 pence a foot. Much of the land was sold off for building plots including
254 acres to Mr Machin for £28,000; 300 acres adjoining Osberton to Mr Foljambe for
£45,000; and an additional 400 acres allotted to accommodation land to be let at £3 or £4 per
acre. Even so, Newcastle made a tremendous loss over the purchase of the property and
died in debt eight years later. Please go to Clumber for further details of the Duke of
Newcastle
Although the main part of the house had now gone, Edwin Eddison, in the ‘History of
Worksop’, published in 1854, writes: ‘On the purchase of the estate from the Norfolks, the
demolition of the house commenced; but its strong frame has in a great measure resisted the
many attempts. It is now but a magnificent ruin. The east court, remaining separated from the
principal buildings by an elegant screen-wall, has at its north and east sides, extensive
stabling and coach-houses, and on the south, large rooms and kitchen offices, comprising in
the whole an edifice still sufficient for a gentleman’s residence’.
The remaining parts of Worksop
Manor after demolition
33
Worksop Manor in 1910
F. Sissons, in the ‘Beauties of Sherwood Forest’ published in1896 states: ‘The portion left
was repaired, and subsequently converted into a comfortable and commodious residence
and occupied for some years by Lord Foley, and subsequently by the late W.I. Cookson
Esq. A large portion of the estate was sold by auction in 1890, the house, park and
adjoining land being bought by a genial and popular Nottingham gentleman, John
Robinson Esq.’
Tree measurement
in 1928
John Robinson was knighted
in December 1905. He was a
philanthropic business man
from Nottingham who
supported a large number of
charities. He paid for the
erection of St Anne’s Church
in Worksop and also
contributed to the building of
wards at the Victoria Hospital.
In 1928 Robinson sold almost
1000 trees as standing timber
in Worksop Manor Park,
including 541 oak, 38 ash, 262
chestnut, 36 beech and 62
sycamore.
Sir John Robinson
.At the auction Godley and Goulding, Worksop timber merchants paid £4716 for 207 oak,
146 chestnut, 17 beech, 62 sycamore and 35 acres of larch, pine and fir. The areas
cleared of trees included the West Wood, Menagerie Wood and Plain Piece. Many of the
oak trees were over 200 feet high, and were the remaining woodland planted by the 9 th
Duke of Norfolk.
Throughout the 20th century Worksop Manor has remained in private hands and there is
no public access to the house or grounds.
34
Source Material
The Mistress of the House by Rosemary Baird, published by Phoenix, 2003. ISBN 0
75381 771 3.
The Dukes of Norfolk by John Martin Robinson, published by Oxford University Press,
1982, ISBN 0 19 215869 4.
Bess of Hardwick by Mary S. Lovell, published by Abacus, 2005, ISBN 13 978 0 349
11589 4.
Bess of Hardwick by David N. Durant, published by Weidenfeld and Nicholson, 1977.
ISBN 0 297 77395 4
Nottinghamshire Families by Keith Train, published by Nottinghamshire Local History
Council, 1969.
Lords of the Land, Alison Plowden published by Michael Joseph, 1984
The Serpent and The Stag by John Pearson, published by Holt, Rinehart and Winston,
USA, in 1984. ISBN 0 03 055431 4
Dukeries Records by Robert White, published 1906.
Worksop, the Dukeries and Sherwood Forest by Robert White, published 1875
The History of Worksop by Edwin Eddison, published in 1854 by Longman
History, Antiquities and Description of Worksop by John Holland published 1826
Nottinghamshire in the Civil War by Alfred C. Wood, published by SR Publishers Ltd,
1971, first published 1937.
The Antiquities of Nottinghamshire, 3 ,1796 by J. Throsby
Robert Smythson and the Elizabethan Country House, by M. Girouard 1983.
Worksop Manor, Notts, by M. Binney. Country Life, March 1973
The Early Eighteenth Century Landscape Gardens of Worksop Manor, Nottinghamshire
by Virginia Baddeley. Transactions of the Thoroton Society of Nottinghamshire, Vol. 100,
1996.
Britain’s Royal Families by Alison Weir published by Pimlico 2002
Guardian, December 15 1905
Sale Catalogue, October 19th 1928, Sale of sanding timber on the Worksop Manor
Estate, Messrs Jackson Stops.
35
Picture Credits
The 6th Earl of Shrewsbury. By permission of the National Trust. Copyright NTPL/John
Hammond, Hardwick Hall
Bess, Countess of Shrewsbury. By permission of the National Trust .Copyright NTPL/John
Hammond, Hardwick Hall)
Queen Elizabeth I. Studio of Nicholas Hillard. By permission of the National Trust
.Copyright NTPL
Mary Queen of Scots. By permission of the National Trust .Copyright NTPL/Hardwick Hall
Motif of Marian Needlework. By permission of the National Trust .Copyright
NTPL/Hardwick Hall
Lady Arbella Stuart aged 23 months by Anon 1577. By permission of the National Trust.
Copyright NTPL/John Hammond, Hardwick Hall
Gilbert Talbot, 7th Earl of Shrewsbury. By permission of the National Trust .Copyright
NTPL/John Hammond Hardwick Hall
Mary Talbot, wife of Gilbert 7th Earl of Shrewsbury. By permission of the National Trust.
Copyright NTPL/John Hammond Hardwick Hall
Lady Arbella Stuart aged 13 by Rowland Lockey, 1589. By permission of the National
Trust .Copyright NTPL/John Hammond Hardwick Hall.
King James II. By permission of the National Trust. Copyright NTPL
Prince Charles Stuart. Minature of the Young Prentender by Tilli. By permission of the
National Trust. Copyright NTPL /Gunby Hall
The Collector Earl by Daniel Mytens. By permission of his Grace The Duke of Norfolk,
Arundel Castle.
The Collector Earl’s appointment as Captain General, a minature by P. Fruyiers of the
proposal by Van Dyke. By permission of his Grace The Duke of Norfolk, Arundel Castle.
Henry 7th Duke of Norfolk by Simon Verelst. By permission of his Grace The Duke of
Norfolk, Arundel Castle.
Lord Thomas Howard, posthumous portrait by Sir Joshua Reynolds. By permission of his
Grace The Duke of Norfolk, Arundel Castle.
Edward, 9th Duke of Norfolk and his wife by John Vanderbanck. By permission of his
Grace The Duke of Norfolk, Arundel Castle.
Worksop Manor 1777 by William Hodges. By permission of his Grace The Duke of
Norfolk, Arundel Castle.
36
The Madagasca Portrait by Van Dyke. By permission of his Grace The Duke of
Norfolk, Arundel Castle.
Charles Bridgeman’s plan of the gardens, Arundel Castle Map. By permission of his
Grace The Duke of Norfolk, Arundel Castle.
Charles Bridgeman’s plan of the gardens, Arundel Castle Map. By permission of his
Grace The Duke of Norfolk, Arundel Castle.
Thomas Richardson’s Map, 1743 – Trustees of the Lowther family. Cumbria Record
Office, D/Lons/L/Plans/Worksop.
William Dickinson’s plan, 1737. Essex Record Office. D/DP P150. Titled ‘an exact
survey of Worksop Manor ye seat of his Grace ye Duke of Norfolk in Nottinghamshire
containing ye house park and gardens as they now are with a farm adjoining.
Other images are from Bassetlaw Museum Photographic Archive.