Henry Cary, 1st Viscount Falkland
Encyclopedia
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...
; K.B., 1608; controller of the household, 1617-21; created Viscount Falkland in the Scottish peerage, 1620; lord-deputy of Ireland, 1622; failed in that office; recalled, 1629.
Early life
Henry Cary was the son of Sir Edward Cary, knight, of Berkhamstead and Aldenham, Hertfordshire, by his wife, Catherine, daughter of Sir Henry Knevet, knight, master of the jewel office to Queen Elizabeth and King James, and widow of Henry, lord Paget. At the age of sixteen Henry Cary entered Exeter College, OxfordExeter College, Oxford
Exeter College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England and the fourth oldest college of the University. The main entrance is on the east side of Turl Street...
, where, according to Wood, by the aid of a good tutor he became highly accomplished. Subsequently he served in France and the Low Countries, and was taken prisoner by Don Louis de Velasco, probably at the siege of Ostend
Siege of Ostend
The Siege of Ostend was a three-year siege of the city of Ostend during the Eighty Years' War and one of the longest sieges in history. It is remembered as the bloodiest battle of the war, and culminated in a Spanish victory...
(a fact referred to in the epigram on Sir Henry Cary by Ben Jonson
Ben Jonson
Benjamin Jonson was an English Renaissance dramatist, poet and actor. A contemporary of William Shakespeare, he is best known for his satirical plays, particularly Volpone, The Alchemist, and Bartholomew Fair, which are considered his best, and his lyric poems...
).
Court of James I
On his return to England Cary was introduced to court, and became Gentleman of the BedchamberGentleman of the Bedchamber
A Gentleman of the Bedchamber was the holder of an important office in the royal household of the Kingdom of England from the 11th century, later used also in the Kingdom of Great Britain.-Description and functions:...
. He was knighted in 1599 and then at the investiture of Charles
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the 15 other independent Commonwealth realms...
in 1616 created a K.B.. In 1617 he became Comptroller of the Household
Comptroller of the Household
The Comptroller of the Household is an ancient position in the English royal household, currently the second-ranking member of the Lord Steward's department, and often a cabinet member. He was an ex officio member of the Board of Green Cloth, until that body was abolished in the reform of the local...
and a Privy Councillor, and on 10 November 1620 Viscount Falkland
Viscount Falkland
Viscount of Falkland is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1620 for Sir Henry Cary, although he was actually English and had no connection to Scotland. He was made Lord Cary at the same time, also in the Peerage of Scotland. His son, the second Viscount, was a prominent statesman...
in the county of Fife, in the Scottish peerage, which title, with his naturalisation, was confirmed by Charles I by diploma in 1627.
Service under Charles I
He was elected M.P. for HertfordshireHertfordshire (UK Parliament constituency)
Hertfordshire was a county constituency covering the county of Hertfordshire in England. It returned two Knights of the Shire to the House of Commons of England until 1707, then to the House of Commons of Great Britain until 1800, and to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom...
in 1601, 1604 and 11 December 1620. Chiefly through the favour of George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham
George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham
George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham KG was the favourite, claimed by some to be the lover, of King James I of England. Despite a very patchy political and military record, he remained at the height of royal favour for the first two years of the reign of Charles I, until he was assassinated...
he was appointed to succeed Viscount Grandison
Viscount Grandison
Viscount Grandison of Limerick, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1620 for Sir Oliver St John, the Lord Deputy of Ireland, with special remainder to the male issue of his niece Barbara, wife of Sir Edward Villiers, elder half-brother of George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham,...
as lord deputy of Ireland, being sworn 18 September 1622.
In office he showed himself both bigoted in his opinions and timid in carrying out a policy which continually dallied with extremes; though conscientious, he was easily offended, and he lamentably failed to conduct himself with credit when confronted with any unusual difficulties.
Urged on by a sermon of James Ussher
James Ussher
James Ussher was Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland between 1625–56...
on the text "He beareth not the sword in vain", Falkland, greatly distressed at the number of priests in Ireland and their influence over the people, issued a proclamation, 21 January 1623, ordering their banishment from the country. Such a proclamation was at the time specially inexpedient on account of the negotiations for the Spanish marriage, and in February 1624 he received an order from the English privy council to refrain from more extreme measures than preventing the erection of religious houses and the congregation of unlawful assemblies.
On account of the difficulties of maintaining the English army in Ireland, an assembly of the nobility of Ireland was convened by Falkland, 22 September 1626, before whom he laid a draft of concessions promised by Charles, which were subsequently known as the "Graces
Grâces
Grâces is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Bretagne in northwestern France.-Population:Inhabitants of Grâces are called gracieux.-External links:*...
". They promised the removal of certain religious disabilities and the recognition of sixty years' possession as a bar to all claims of the crown based on irregularities of title. The negotiation was not conducted by Falkland with much skill, and for a long time there seemed no hope of a satisfactory settlement, but at last, in May 1628, a deputation from the nobility agreed, before the king and privy council at Whitehall, on certain additional concessions in the "Graces", then confirmed, that Ireland should provide a sum of £4,000 for the army for three years.
Falkland believed that his difficulties with the nobility had been largely due to the intrigues of the Lord Chancellor of Ireland
Lord Chancellor of Ireland
The office of Lord Chancellor of Ireland was the highest judicial office in Ireland until the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. From 1721 to 1801 it was also the highest political office of the Irish Parliament.-13th century:...
, Adam, Lord Loftus, and, after the dissolution of the assembly of the nobility in 1627, brought a charge against him of malversation, and of giving encouragement to the nobility to refuse supplies. After the case had been heard in London, Lord Loftus was allowed to return to his duties pending further inquiry.
Falkland had for some years been engaged in tracking out what he supposed was a dangerous conspiracy of the Byrnes of Wicklow, and in August 1628 was able to announce to Charles I that the result of his protracted investigations had been successful, a true bill having been found against them at the Wicklow assizes. The aim of Falkland was to set up a plantation in Wicklow on the confiscated estates of the Byrnes, but as his designs were disapproved of by the commissioners of Irish causes, the king appointed a committee of the Irish privy council to investigate the matter more fully, one of the members of committee being the lord chancellor, Loftus. At this Falkland took deep offence, refusing to afford any assistance in the investigation on account of the "high indignity" offered to himself. When, as the result of the inquiry, it was discovered that the Byrnes had been the victims of false witnesses, Falkland was, on 10 August 1629, directed to hand over his authority to the lords justices on the pretext that his services were required in England.
Charles I, recognising his good intentions, continued him in favour. From having accidentally broken his leg in Theobalds Park, he died in September 1633, and on the 25th of that month was buried at Aldenham
Aldenham
This article is about the village in Hertfordshire. For the London Transport Bus Overhaul Works, see Aldenham Works.Aldenham is a village and civil parish in Hertfordshire, approx. three miles north-east of Watford and two miles from Radlett. It was mentioned in the Domesday Book and is one of...
.
Patron of the arts
Falkland continued throughout his life to cultivate his literary tastes. An epitaph by him on Elizabeth, countess of Huntingdon, is given in Wilford's ‘Memorials.’ Among his papers was found ‘The History of the most unfortunate Prince, King Edward II, with choice political observations on him and his unhappy favourites, Gaveston and Spencer,’ which was published with a preface attributed to Sir James Harrington in 1680. Falkland was in the habit of ingeniously concealing the year of his age in a knot flourished beneath his name, a device by which he is said to have detected a forger who had failed to recognise its significance.Family
Elizabeth Cary, Lady Falkland (1585–1639), famous for her learning and her devotion to the catholic religion, was the sole daughter and heiress of Sir Lawrence TanfieldLawrence Tanfield
Sir Lawrence Tanfield was an English lawyer, politician and Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer.He was the eldest son of Robert Tanfield of Burford by his wife Wilgiford Fitzherbert and educated at Eton College and the Inner Temple...
, lord chief baron of the exchequer, and Elizabeth, daughter of Giles Symondes of Claye, Norfolk, and was born at Burford Priory, Oxfordshire, in 1585. In very early years she manifested a strong inclination for the study of languages, mastering French, Spanish, Italian, Latin, Hebrew, and Transylvanian.
At the age of fifteen Elizabeth was married to Sir Henry Cary. As the result of her study of the fathers, she, when about nineteen years of age, became a convert to the catholic faith, but she did not acknowledge the change in her opinions till twenty years afterwards.
Elizabeth accompanied her husband to Dublin, where she took a great interest in the establishment of industrial schools. On her husband learning her change of faith they quarrelled, and she left Dublin in 1625. She was allowed by the Privy Council a separate maintenance of £500 a year. After her husband's return to England they became reconciled, but continued to live separately. On account of her change of faith her father probably passed her over in his will (for the circumstances see under Lucius Cary
Lucius Cary
Lucius Cary may refer to one of several members of the Cary family who held the title Viscount Falkland:*Lucius Cary, 2nd Viscount Falkland *Lucius Cary, 3rd Viscount Falkland...
). When her husband died she had only the annuity of £200 a year given her by her parents. She died in October 1639.
One of the most intimate friends of Lady Falkland was Chillingworth, but after his conversion to protestantism she blamed him for endeavouring to pervert her children. She published a translation of Cardinal Perron's reply to the attack on his works by King James, but the book was ordered to be burned. Afterwards she translated the whole of Perron's works for the benefit of scholars at Oxford and Cambridge; the translation, however, not being printed. She also wrote in verse the lives of St. Mary Magdalene, St. Agnes the Martyr, and St. Elizabeth of Portugal, as well as numerous hymns in honour of the Virgin. The collected edition of the works of John Marston (1633) is dedicated to her.
Of the eleven children of Lord and Lady Falkland there are records of eight, four sons and four daughters:
- LuciusLucius Cary, 2nd Viscount FalklandLucius Cary, 2nd Viscount Falkland was an English author and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1640 to 1642...
, became 2nd Viscount Falkland but during his father's life was confined in the Fleet prison, his father's petition to the king praying for the release of his son, is preserved in the Harleian MS. 1581, where there are also four letters to Falkland from the Duke of Buckingham, has been printed in the ‘Cabala.’ - Lawrence, was knighted and was killed fighting under Sir Charles Coote (the elder) at Battle of Swords in 1642.
- PatrickPatrick CaryPatrick Cary was an English poet, an early user in English of the triolet form.-Life:He was a younger son of Henry Cary, 1st Viscount Falkland, by Elizabeth Cary née Tanfield. At an early age he was sent to France, to be brought up a Catholic...
, was the author of some poems - Placid, took orders in the catholic church.
- The four daughters, Anne, who had been maid of honour to the queen, Lucy, Elizabeth, and Mary, ultimately became nuns in the Convent of Cambray.