Francis Constable
Encyclopedia
Francis Constable was a London bookseller and publisher of the Jacobean and Caroline eras, noted for publishing a number of stage plays of English Renaissance drama
.
(Francis Constable the publisher is distinct from his contemporary, Francis Constable, esquire, of Burstwick
in Yorkshire
. Many members of the northern family, earlier and later, shared the name Francis Constable.)
, Buckinghamshire
. He was the son of Robert II Constable and Margery Barker, the daughter of Christopher Barker
, printer to Queen Elizabeth I. Francis had an elder brother Robert III Constable baptized at Datchet on 9 September 1590. His brother Robert III was apprenticed on December 7, 1607 at the age of 17 to their maternal uncle Robert Barker
, printer to James I of England
.
It is also believed that Francis may have been apprenticed to his maternal uncle Robert Barker, who, holding the Bible patent that he had inherited from his father, in 1611 printed the first edition of the King James Bible while Robert & Francis were still apprentices. Francis became a "freedman" (a full member) of the Stationers Company
on 2 July 1614. His elder brother Robert became a "freedman" on 12 December 1614.
Francis established his independent business at a series of locations in London and Westminster
: first at the sign of the White Lion in St. Paul's
Churchyard, from 1616-1624; then under the sign of the Crane, also in St. Paul's Churchyard, 1631; then "under St. Martin's Church" in Ludgate
, 1637; then at King Street in Westminster, at the sign of the Goat, 1640, and at Westminster Hall, 1640. It is probable that he rented a stall in Westminster Hall very much earlier than 1640 but that is the first appearance of the Hall in the imprint of any book.
In his career, Constable sometimes partnered with Humphrey Moseley
, one of the most prominent publishers of drama and literature in Constable's generation; he also partnered with other stationers on specific projects.
Richard Constable, believed to be a relation of Francis Constable (possibly the son of his brother Robert Constable), was active as a bookseller in the late 1640s.
Francis Constable died 1 August 1647 and was buried the following day at St Margaret, WestminsterHis wife Alice was buried 2 days later on 4 August 1647, and his only surviving son Robert, at the age of 16 or close to it, was buried on 28 August 1647. It was after Robert's death that the will of Alice Constable was filed for probate on 22 September 1647. It is believed that they died of the plague that was killing many in London that summer.
He published large numbers of plays,in which he was associated for some years with Humphrey Moseley.
Among Constable's other publications in drama were:
Constable worked with many London printers on these and other projects, including Richard and Thomas Cotes
, Nicholas Okes
and his son John Okes, and Elizabeth Allde, among others.
's The Spirit of Detraction in 1630. He issued multiple editions of Thomas Scott
's satire Philomythie, or Philomythologie, Wherein Outlandish Birds Beasts and Fishes are Taught to Speak True English Plainly, in 1616 and after; and multiple editions of Henry Peacham
the younger's The Complete Gentleman, from 1622 on. He published items of the religious literature that was so common in the era, like Alexander Ross
's Three Decades of Divine Meditations (1630). And religious poetry: Richard Braithwaite
's The Psalms of David (1638). He published Peacham's Thalia's Banquet in 1620, and his elegy Thestylis Astrata in 1634; and Glapthorne's poem Whitehall in 1643. Constable also was responsible for texts in medicine and anatomy.
And Constable also issued works of social criticism and contemporary controversies, like Machiavel's Ghost, as He Lately Appeared to His Dear Sons, the Modern Projectors (1641; attributed to John Taylor the Water Poet
). He issued one notable volume in the utopian literature
, Samuel Hartlib
's A Description of the Famous Kingdom of Macaria (1641) — plus a supply of political and legal materials involving the start of the English Civil War
and the Commonwealth
era.
An interesting claim is made in many genealogies that one of Francis's daughters, Anne Constable, married Richard I Lee
, an important figure in the colony of Virginia
, who was the ancestor of Confederate General, Robert E. Lee
.
in co. Norfolk, gentleman, deceased". The Biographical History of Gonville and Caius College
, 1349-1897 provides some more information. Francis's father Robert II Constable was admitted to the College at Cambridge University
at the age of 18 in March 1574. His father's younger brother Thomas was admitted at the age of 15 in February 1577. Francis Constable's grandfather was Robert I Constable, and he was a yeoman
, a minor land owner and small prosperous farmer. This is further substantiated by records held in The National Archives that show that in 1575 Robert I Constable sold a messuage
called Frostes in North Pickenham to George Constable (assumed to be a relative), and that he paid for both of his son's tuition and board at Cambridge. Both Robert II Constable and his younger brother Thomas went to school for 4 years before going to University: Robert II at Saxthorpe, Norfolkshire, and Thomas at both Norwich and Saxthorpe. Robert II Constable spent a year at Pembroke College
at Cambridge before joining Gonville and Caius College. His tutor at Gonville and Caius College was his 23 year old cousin, Simon II Canham, the son of Simon I Canham (-1584) of Ashill, Norfolk
shire (1½ miles from North Pickenham) and his wife Alice (-1603)Campling's East Anglian Pedigrees, who had been admitted to Gonville and Caius College a year before Robert II Constable after first spending four years at St John's College, Cambridge
. Francis's father Robert II Constable received his Bachelor of Arts
in 1577.
The Biographical History of Gonville and Caius College, 1349-1897 further tells us that Francis's father Robert II Constable was a lawyer and a barrister as he was admitted to Lincoln's Inn
in February 1582. It further tells us that the family would have suffered persecution as they were a " popish recusant
family in 1588", refusing to attend services or take communion
in the Church of England
. There was a statute passed in 1593 determined penalties against "Popish Recusants" including fines, property confiscation, and imprisonment. Further the Popish Recusants Act of 1605
forbade Roman Catholics from practising the professions of law and medicine. This would explain why Francis and his brother Robert III Constable went into the printing trade of their maternal uncle rather than follow their father into law.
There is a record at the Norfolk Record Office for the will of a Thomas Constable of Ashill from the period 1536-1545. It is possible that this Thomas Constable is Francis's great or greatx2-grandfather, and the father or grand-father of Robert I Constable of North Pickenham. Many genealogies claim that Francis Constable is the great-grandson of Thomas Constable M.P. (c.1506-aft.1558) of Great Grimsby, Lincolnshire and his 1st wife Barbara Catherall of Great Grimsby, and the great-grandson of Sir Robert Constable
(c.1478-1537) of Flamburgh (Flamborough), Yorkshire and his wife Jane Ingleby of Ripley, Yorkshire. This, however, cannot be substantiated. Eveb tough it is highly likely that Thomas Constable M.P. of Great Grimsby has a son named Robert after his father, there is evidence and no reason to believe that this son is Robert I Constable of North Pickenham, Francis's grandfather. There are many Constable families in England, and many Robert Constable's in that period.
English Renaissance theatre
English Renaissance theatre, also known as early modern English theatre, refers to the theatre of England, largely based in London, which occurred between the Reformation and the closure of the theatres in 1642...
.
(Francis Constable the publisher is distinct from his contemporary, Francis Constable, esquire, of Burstwick
Burstwick
Burstwick is a village and civil parish in the Holderness region of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated about east of Hull city centre...
in Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
. Many members of the northern family, earlier and later, shared the name Francis Constable.)
Life and work
Francis Constable was baptized on 12 May 1592, in DatchetDatchet
Datchet is an English Thameside village and civil parish situated in the unitary authority of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire. It was transferred to Berkshire from Buckinghamshire in 1974....
, Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
. He was the son of Robert II Constable and Margery Barker, the daughter of Christopher Barker
Christopher Barker (printer)
Christopher Barker was the printer to Queen Elizabeth I. He was also the father of a printing dynasty that included his son Robert Barker, his grandsons Robert Constable and Francis Constable, and Richard Constable who is believed to be his grandson.The University of Glasgow, from their Printing...
, printer to Queen Elizabeth I. Francis had an elder brother Robert III Constable baptized at Datchet on 9 September 1590. His brother Robert III was apprenticed on December 7, 1607 at the age of 17 to their maternal uncle Robert Barker
Robert Barker (printer)
Robert Barker was a printer to James I of England and son of Christopher Barker , printer to Queen Elizabeth I. Barker was most notably the printer of the King James Bible, arguably one of the most influential and important books ever printed in the English language...
, printer to James I of England
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
.
It is also believed that Francis may have been apprenticed to his maternal uncle Robert Barker, who, holding the Bible patent that he had inherited from his father, in 1611 printed the first edition of the King James Bible while Robert & Francis were still apprentices. Francis became a "freedman" (a full member) of the Stationers Company
Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers
The Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. The Stationers' Company was founded in 1403; it received a Royal Charter in 1557...
on 2 July 1614. His elder brother Robert became a "freedman" on 12 December 1614.
Francis established his independent business at a series of locations in London and Westminster
Westminster
Westminster is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, southwest of the City of London and southwest of Charing Cross...
: first at the sign of the White Lion in St. Paul's
St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral, London, is a Church of England cathedral and seat of the Bishop of London. Its dedication to Paul the Apostle dates back to the original church on this site, founded in AD 604. St Paul's sits at the top of Ludgate Hill, the highest point in the City of London, and is the mother...
Churchyard, from 1616-1624; then under the sign of the Crane, also in St. Paul's Churchyard, 1631; then "under St. Martin's Church" in Ludgate
Ludgate
Ludgate was the westernmost gate in London Wall. The name survives in Ludgate Hill, an eastward continuation of Fleet Street, and Ludgate Circus.-Etymology:...
, 1637; then at King Street in Westminster, at the sign of the Goat, 1640, and at Westminster Hall, 1640. It is probable that he rented a stall in Westminster Hall very much earlier than 1640 but that is the first appearance of the Hall in the imprint of any book.
In his career, Constable sometimes partnered with Humphrey Moseley
Humphrey Moseley
Humphrey Moseley was a prominent London publisher and bookseller in the middle seventeenth century.Possibly a son of publisher Samuel Moseley, Humphrey Moseley became a "freeman" of the Stationers Company, the guild of London booksellers, on 7 May 1627; he was selected a Warden of the Company on...
, one of the most prominent publishers of drama and literature in Constable's generation; he also partnered with other stationers on specific projects.
Richard Constable, believed to be a relation of Francis Constable (possibly the son of his brother Robert Constable), was active as a bookseller in the late 1640s.
Francis Constable died 1 August 1647 and was buried the following day at St Margaret, WestminsterHis wife Alice was buried 2 days later on 4 August 1647, and his only surviving son Robert, at the age of 16 or close to it, was buried on 28 August 1647. It was after Robert's death that the will of Alice Constable was filed for probate on 22 September 1647. It is believed that they died of the plague that was killing many in London that summer.
Drama
- Constable's first registered publication was a drama, the first edition of Samuel DanielSamuel DanielSamuel Daniel was an English poet and historian.-Early life:Daniel was born near Taunton in Somerset, the son of a music-master. He was the brother of lutenist and composer John Danyel. Their sister Rosa was Edmund Spenser's model for Rosalind in his The Shepherd's Calendar; she eventually married...
's "pastoral tragicomedy" Hymen's Triumph (January 1615).
He published large numbers of plays,in which he was associated for some years with Humphrey Moseley.
Among Constable's other publications in drama were:
- the first quarto of Beaumont and FletcherBeaumont and FletcherBeaumont and Fletcher were the English dramatists Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher, who collaborated in their writing during the reign of James I ....
's The Maid's TragedyThe Maid's TragedyThe Maid's Tragedy is a play by Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher. It was first published in 1619.The play was one of the earliest works in the canon of Fletcher and his collaborators that was acted by the King's Men; Fletcher would spend most of his career as that company's regular playwright...
, in partnership with stationer Richard Higgenbotham (1619);- the second quarto of the same play (1622);
- Thomas MiddletonThomas MiddletonThomas Middleton was an English Jacobean playwright and poet. Middleton stands with John Fletcher and Ben Jonson as among the most successful and prolific of playwrights who wrote their best plays during the Jacobean period. He was one of the few Renaissance dramatists to achieve equal success in...
's A Chaste Maid in CheapsideA Chaste Maid in CheapsideA Chaste Maid in Cheapside is a city comedy written c. 1613 by English Renaissance playwright Thomas Middleton. Unpublished until 1630 and long-neglected afterwards, it is now considered among the best and most characteristic Jacobean comedies....
(1630); - PathomachiaPathomachiaPathomachia, or the Battle of Affections, also known as Love's Lodestone, is an early 17th-century play, first printed in 1630. It is an allegory that presents a range of problems to scholars of the drama of the Jacobean and Caroline eras....
(1630); - James ShirleyJames ShirleyJames Shirley was an English dramatist.He belonged to the great period of English dramatic literature, but, in Lamb's words, he "claims a place among the worthies of this period, not so much for any transcendent genius in himself, as that he was the last of a great race, all of whom spoke nearly...
's Love TricksLove TricksLove Tricks, or The School of Complement is a Caroline stage play by James Shirley, his earliest known work.-Performance:Love Tricks was licensed for performance by Sir Henry Herbert, the Master of the Revels, on February 10, 1625; it was performed by the Lady Elizabeth's Men at the Cockpit Theatre...
, as The School of Compliment (1631);- a second edition of the same play (1637);
- Philip MassingerPhilip MassingerPhilip Massinger was an English dramatist. His finely plotted plays, including A New Way to Pay Old Debts, The City Madam and The Roman Actor, are noted for their satire and realism, and their political and social themes.-Early life:The son of Arthur Massinger or Messenger, he was baptized at St....
and Nathan Field's The Fatal DowryThe Fatal DowryThe Fatal Dowry is a late Jacobean era stage play, a tragedy written by Philip Massinger and Nathan Field, and first published in 1632. It represents a significant aspect of Field's very limited dramatic output....
(1632); - William RowleyWilliam RowleyWilliam Rowley was an English Jacobean dramatist, best known for works written in collaboration with more successful writers. His date of birth is estimated to have been c. 1585; he was buried on 11 February 1626...
's A New Wonder, a Woman Never VexedA New Wonder, a Woman Never VexedA New Wonder, a Woman Never Vexed is a Jacobean era stage play, often classified as a city comedy. Its authorship was traditionally attributed to William Rowley, though modern scholarship has questioned Rowley's sole authorship; Thomas Heywood and George Wilkins have been proposed as possible...
(1632); - Richard BromeRichard BromeRichard Brome was an English dramatist of the Caroline era.-Life:Virtually nothing is known about Brome's private life. Repeated allusions in contemporary works, like Ben Jonson's Bartholomew Fair, indicate that Brome started out as a servant of Jonson, in some capacity...
's The Antipodes (1640); - Brome's The Sparagus GardenThe Sparagus GardenThe Sparagus Garden is a Caroline era stage play, a comedy by Richard Brome. It was the greatest success of Brome's career, and one of the major theatrical hits of its period.-Performance and publication:...
(1640); - Henry GlapthorneHenry GlapthorneHenry Glapthorne was a Caroline era dramatist.Glapthorne was baptized in Cambridgeshire, the son of Thomas Glapthorne and Faith nee Hatcliff. His father was a bailiff of Lady Hatton, the wife of Sir Edward Coke...
's The Lady's Privilege (1640); - Glapthorne's Wit in a Constable (1640).
Constable worked with many London printers on these and other projects, including Richard and Thomas Cotes
Thomas Cotes
Thomas Cotes was a London printer of the Jacobean and Caroline eras, best remembered for printing the Second Folio edition of Shakespeare's plays in 1632.-Life and work:...
, Nicholas Okes
Nicholas Okes
Nicholas Okes was an English printer in London of the Jacobean and Caroline eras, remembered for printing works of English Renaissance drama...
and his son John Okes, and Elizabeth Allde, among others.
Other works
Inevitably, Constable also published a wide variety of other literature beyond the drama. He published the second edition of William VaughanWilliam Vaughan (writer)
-Life:He was the son of Walter Vaughan and was born at Golden Grove, Carmarthenshire, Wales—his father's estate. He was descended from an ancient prince of Powys. He was brother to John Vaughan, 1st Earl of Carbery and Henry Vaughan , a well-known Royalist leader in the English Civil War...
's The Spirit of Detraction in 1630. He issued multiple editions of Thomas Scott
Thomas Scott (preacher)
Thomas Scott was an English preacher, a radical Protestant known for anti-Spanish and anti-Catholic pamphlets.-Life:He was born about 1580, and occurs as one of the chaplains to James I in 1616, being then B.D...
's satire Philomythie, or Philomythologie, Wherein Outlandish Birds Beasts and Fishes are Taught to Speak True English Plainly, in 1616 and after; and multiple editions of Henry Peacham
Henry Peacham
Henry Peacham is the name shared by two English Renaissance writers who were father and son.The elder Henry Peacham was an English curate, best known for his treatise on rhetoric titled The Garden of Eloquence first published in 1577....
the younger's The Complete Gentleman, from 1622 on. He published items of the religious literature that was so common in the era, like Alexander Ross
Alexander Ross (writer)
Alexander Ross was a prolific Scottish writer and controversialist. He was Chaplain-in-Ordinary to Charles I.-Life:He was born in Aberdeen, and entered King's College, Aberdeen, in 1604. About 1616 he succeeded Thomas Parker in the mastership of the free school at Southampton, an appointment which...
's Three Decades of Divine Meditations (1630). And religious poetry: Richard Braithwaite
Richard Braithwaite
Richard Braithwaite or Brathwait was an English poet.He was born near Kendal, and educated at Oxford. He is believed to have served with the Royalist army in the Civil War...
's The Psalms of David (1638). He published Peacham's Thalia's Banquet in 1620, and his elegy Thestylis Astrata in 1634; and Glapthorne's poem Whitehall in 1643. Constable also was responsible for texts in medicine and anatomy.
And Constable also issued works of social criticism and contemporary controversies, like Machiavel's Ghost, as He Lately Appeared to His Dear Sons, the Modern Projectors (1641; attributed to John Taylor the Water Poet
John Taylor (poet)
John Taylor was an English poet who dubbed himself "The Water Poet".-Biography:He was born in Gloucester, 24 August 1578....
). He issued one notable volume in the utopian literature
Utopian and dystopian fiction
The utopia and its offshoot, the dystopia, are genres of literature that explore social and political structures. Utopian fiction is the creation of an ideal world, or utopia, as the setting for a novel. Dystopian fiction is the opposite: creation of a nightmare world, or dystopia...
, Samuel Hartlib
Samuel Hartlib
Samuel Hartlib was a German-British polymath. An active promoter and expert writer in many fields, he was interested in science, medicine, agriculture, politics, and education. He settled in England, where he married and died...
's A Description of the Famous Kingdom of Macaria (1641) — plus a supply of political and legal materials involving the start of the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
and the Commonwealth
Commonwealth of England
The Commonwealth of England was the republic which ruled first England, and then Ireland and Scotland from 1649 to 1660. Between 1653–1659 it was known as the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland...
era.
Family
Francis Constable and his wife Alice had fifteen children:- Alice, baptised 24 September 1615, St. Gregory by St. Paul, London.
- Sarah, baptised 16 March 1616/7, St. Gregory by St. Paul, London. (Married Anthony Savage aft. 6 October 1646 at London.) She and her husband were among those who presented the will of her mother for probate.
- Joan, baptised 11 September 1618, St. Gregory by St. Paul, London.
- Mary, baptised 21 October 1619, St. Andrew, Enfield, Middlesex. She was among those who presented her mother's will for probate.
- Elizabeth, baptised 24 October 1620, St. Gregory by St. Paul, London.
- Anne, baptised 21 February 1621/2, St. Gregory by St. Paul, London.
- Margaret, baptised 26 June 1623, St. Gregory by St. Paul, London. (Married Robert Hunny 1 July 1642 at St. Margaret, Westminster.)
- Rachel, baptised 24 September 1624, St. Gregory by St. Paul, London.
- Simon, baptised 14 August 1625, Datchet, Buckinghamshire; buried 29 November 1627, St. Andrew Undershaft, London.
- Robert (twin), baptised 24 August 1626, St. Andrew Undershaft, London; buried 10 September 1626.
- Roger (twin), baptised 24 August 1626, St. Andrew Undershaft, London; buried 10 September 1626.
- Alice, baptised 16 March 1627/8, St. Andrew Undershaft, London.
- Frances, baptised 5th July 1629, St. Andrew Undershaft, London. She was among those who presented her mother's will for probate.
- Rachel, baptised 18 July 1630, St. Andrew Undershaft, London. She was among those who presented her mother's will for probate.
- Robert, baptised 2 October 1631, St. Andrew Undershaft, London; buried 28 August 1647, St. Margaret, Westminster.
An interesting claim is made in many genealogies that one of Francis's daughters, Anne Constable, married Richard I Lee
Richard Lee I
Col. Richard Lee I, “the Immigrant” arrived in Jamestown in 1639 at the age of 22 with very little to his name other than the patronage of an influential man, Sir Francis Wyatt, the 1st Governor of Virginia. Once there he became Attorney General of the Colony of Virginia, Colonial Secretary of...
, an important figure in the colony of Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, who was the ancestor of Confederate General, Robert E. Lee
Robert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....
.
Francis Constable's father
When Francis's elder brother Robert III was apprenticed in 1607 to their maternal uncle Robert Barker, their father was described as "Robert Constable, late of North PickenhamNorth Pickenham
North Pickenham is a village in the Breckland district of mid-Norfolk, East Anglia, England in the United Kingdom. Named after its leader Pinca, Pica or maybe Piccea with ham meaning homestead, it became a pagan Anglo Saxon settlement in the 5th century AD...
in co. Norfolk, gentleman, deceased". The Biographical History of Gonville and Caius College
Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
Gonville and Caius College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college is often referred to simply as "Caius" , after its second founder, John Keys, who fashionably latinised the spelling of his name after studying in Italy.- Outline :Gonville and...
, 1349-1897 provides some more information. Francis's father Robert II Constable was admitted to the College at Cambridge University
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
at the age of 18 in March 1574. His father's younger brother Thomas was admitted at the age of 15 in February 1577. Francis Constable's grandfather was Robert I Constable, and he was a yeoman
Yeoman
Yeoman refers chiefly to a free man owning his own farm, especially from the Elizabethan era to the 17th century. Work requiring a great deal of effort or labor, such as would be done by a yeoman farmer, came to be described as "yeoman's work"...
, a minor land owner and small prosperous farmer. This is further substantiated by records held in The National Archives that show that in 1575 Robert I Constable sold a messuage
Messuage
In law, the term messuage equates to a dwelling-house and includes outbuildings, orchard, curtilage or court-yard and garden. At one time messuage supposedly had a more extensive meaning than that conveyed by the words house or site, but such distinction no longer survives.A capital messuage is the...
called Frostes in North Pickenham to George Constable (assumed to be a relative), and that he paid for both of his son's tuition and board at Cambridge. Both Robert II Constable and his younger brother Thomas went to school for 4 years before going to University: Robert II at Saxthorpe, Norfolkshire, and Thomas at both Norwich and Saxthorpe. Robert II Constable spent a year at Pembroke College
Pembroke College, Cambridge
Pembroke College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college has over seven hundred students and fellows, and is the third oldest college of the university. Physically, it is one of the university's larger colleges, with buildings from almost every century since its...
at Cambridge before joining Gonville and Caius College. His tutor at Gonville and Caius College was his 23 year old cousin, Simon II Canham, the son of Simon I Canham (-1584) of Ashill, Norfolk
Ashill, Norfolk
Ashill is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The village is between Watton and Swaffham.-Parish:The civil parish has an area of 12.26 square kilometres and in the 2001 census had a population of 1,426 in 634 households...
shire (1½ miles from North Pickenham) and his wife Alice (-1603)
St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's alumni include nine Nobel Prize winners, six Prime Ministers, three archbishops, at least two princes, and three Saints....
. Francis's father Robert II Constable received his Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in 1577.
The Biographical History of Gonville and Caius College, 1349-1897 further tells us that Francis's father Robert II Constable was a lawyer and a barrister as he was admitted to Lincoln's Inn
Lincoln's Inn
The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn. Although Lincoln's Inn is able to trace its official records beyond...
in February 1582. It further tells us that the family would have suffered persecution as they were a " popish recusant
Recusancy
In the history of England and Wales, the recusancy was the state of those who refused to attend Anglican services. The individuals were known as "recusants"...
family in 1588", refusing to attend services or take communion
Eucharist
The Eucharist , also called Holy Communion, the Sacrament of the Altar, the Blessed Sacrament, the Lord's Supper, and other names, is a Christian sacrament or ordinance...
in the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
. There was a statute passed in 1593 determined penalties against "Popish Recusants" including fines, property confiscation, and imprisonment. Further the Popish Recusants Act of 1605
Popish Recusants Act 1605
The Popish Recusants Act 1605 was an Act of the Parliament of England which quickly followed the Gunpowder Plot of the same year, an attempt by English Roman Catholics to assassinate King James I and many of the Parliament....
forbade Roman Catholics from practising the professions of law and medicine. This would explain why Francis and his brother Robert III Constable went into the printing trade of their maternal uncle rather than follow their father into law.
There is a record at the Norfolk Record Office for the will of a Thomas Constable of Ashill from the period 1536-1545. It is possible that this Thomas Constable is Francis's great or greatx2-grandfather, and the father or grand-father of Robert I Constable of North Pickenham. Many genealogies claim that Francis Constable is the great-grandson of Thomas Constable M.P. (c.1506-aft.1558) of Great Grimsby, Lincolnshire and his 1st wife Barbara Catherall of Great Grimsby, and the great-grandson of Sir Robert Constable
Robert Constable
Sir Robert Constable was an English nobleman. He was the eldest son of Sir Marmaduke Constable and his wife Joyce Stafford...
(c.1478-1537) of Flamburgh (Flamborough), Yorkshire and his wife Jane Ingleby of Ripley, Yorkshire. This, however, cannot be substantiated. Eveb tough it is highly likely that Thomas Constable M.P. of Great Grimsby has a son named Robert after his father, there is evidence and no reason to believe that this son is Robert I Constable of North Pickenham, Francis's grandfather. There are many Constable families in England, and many Robert Constable's in that period.
Ancestry
See also
- Robert AllotRobert AllotRobert Allot was a London bookseller and publisher of the early Caroline era; his shop was at the sign of the black bear in St. Paul's Churchyard...
- William AspleyWilliam AspleyWilliam Aspley was a London publisher of the Elizabethan, Jacobean, and Caroline eras. He was a member of the publishing syndicates that issued the First Folio and Second Folio collections of Shakespeare's plays, in 1623 and 1632.-Career:...
- Edward BlountEdward BlountEdward Blount was a London publisher of the Elizabethan, Jacobean, and Caroline eras, noted for his publication, in conjunction with William and Isaac Jaggard, of the First Folio of Shakespeare's plays in 1623....
- Walter BurreWalter BurreWalter Burre was a London bookseller and publisher of the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras, best remembered for publishing several key texts in English Renaissance drama....
- Cuthbert BurbyCuthbert BurbyCuthbert Burby was a London bookseller and publisher of the Elizabethan and early Jacobean eras. He is remembered for publishing a series of significant volumes of English Renaissance drama, including works by William Shakespeare, Robert Greene, John Lyly, and Thomas Nashe.-Beginnings:Burby...
- Philip ChetwindePhilip ChetwindePhilip Chetwinde was a seventeenth-century London bookseller and publisher, noted for his publication of the Third Folio of Shakespeare's plays.-A rough start:Chetwinde was originally a clothworker...
- Crooke and CookeAndrew Crooke and William CookeAndrew Crooke and William Cooke were London publishers of the mid-17th-century. In partnership and individually, they issued significant texts of English Renaissance drama, most notably of the plays of James Shirley....
- Richard HawkinsRichard Hawkins (publisher)Richard Hawkins was a London publisher of the Jacobean and Caroline eras. He was a member of the syndicate that published the Second Folio collection of Shakespeare's plays in 1632...
- Henry HerringmanHenry HerringmanHenry Herringman was a prominent London bookseller and publisher in the second half of the 17th century. He is especially noted for his publications in English Renaissance drama and English Restoration drama; he was the first publisher of the works of John Dryden...
- William JaggardWilliam JaggardWilliam Jaggard was an Elizabethan and Jacobean printer and publisher, best known for his connection with the texts of William Shakespeare, most notably the First Folio of Shakespeare's plays...
- William LeakeWilliam LeakeWilliam Leake, father and son , were London publishers and booksellers of the late sixteenth and the seventeenth centuries...
- John and Richard MarriotJohn and Richard MarriotJohn Marriot and his son Richard Marriot were prominent London publishers and booksellers in the seventeenth century. For a portion of their careers, the 1645–57 period, they were partners in a family business....
- John MartynJohn Martyn (publisher)John Martyn, or Martin, was a prominent London publisher and bookseller in the second half of the 17th century.Martyn started in business in 1649, in partnership with John Ridley; their shop was at the sign of the Castle in Fleet Street, near Ram Alley. In 1651, Martyn began an independent...
- Augustine MatthewsAugustine MatthewsAugustine Matthews was a printer in London in the Jacobean and Caroline eras. Among a wide variety of other work, Matthews printed notable texts in English Renaissance drama....
- William PonsonbyWilliam Ponsonby (publisher)William Ponsonby was a prominent London publisher of the Elizabethan era. Active in the 1577–1603 period, Ponsonby published the works of Edmund Spenser, Sir Philip Sidney, and other members of the Sidney circle; he has been called "the leading literary publisher of Elizabethan...
- Humphrey RobinsonHumphrey RobinsonHumphrey Robinson was a prominent London publisher and bookseller of the middle seventeenth century.Robinson was the son of a Bernard Robinson, a clerk from Carlisle; other members of his family were important clergymen and church office-holders. Humphrey Robinson became a "freeman" of the ...
- John SmethwickJohn SmethwickJohn Smethwick was a London publisher of the Elizabethan, Jacobean, and Caroline eras. Along with colleague William Aspley, Smethwick was one of the "junior partners" in the publishing syndicate that issued the First Folio collection of Shakespeare's plays in 1623. As his title pages specify, his...
- Thomas ThorpeThomas ThorpeThomas Thorpe was an English publisher, most famous for publishing Shakespeare's sonnets and several works by Christopher Marlowe and Ben Jonson. His publication of the sonnets has long been controversial...
- Thomas WalkleyThomas WalkleyThomas Walkley was a London publisher and bookseller in the early and middle seventeenth century. He is noted for publishing a range of significant texts in English Renaissance drama, "and much other interesting literature."-Career:...