Sir Henry Norreys
Encyclopedia
Sir Henry Norris was a groom of the stool
in the privy chamber of King Henry VIII
. While a close servant of the King he also supported the faction in court led by Queen Anne Boleyn
, and when Anne fell out of favour he was among those accused of adultery with her. He was found guilty of treason and executed. Most historical authorities argue that the accusations were untrue and part of a plot to get rid of Anne.
in Berkshire
, by his wife Frideswide, daughter of John Lovel, 8th Lord Lovel. Some of these also say that Edward Norris died in 1487. So the birth date of 1482 for Henry would be consistent with this. However, Eric Ives
(2004), says that Henry was younger, born in the 1490s, and says that he was apparently the second son of Richard Norrishttp://www.oxforddnb.com. Richard was Edward's younger brother, but according to the Heralds' Visitations of Berkshire (1664/6), he was the father of only a single daughter, Anne. This is consistent with the descent of his manor of Great Shefford
which she inherited around 1522, prior to Henry’s execution in 1536. Had he been Richard’s son and not Sir Edward’s, he would have inherited the manor. Therefore it is likely, in this instance, that Ives is incorrect.
Whichever version is correct, all sources agree that Henry's grandfather, Sir William Norris
, had taken part in the Battle of Stoke in 1487 at the conclusion of the Wars of the Roses
.
Henry married Mary Fiennes
, daughter of Thomas Fiennes, 8th Lord Dacre
and Anne Bourchier
. Their eldest son was Henry Norris, 1st Baron Norreys
of Rycote
. Other children were: Edward (1524 - July 16, 1529) and Mary(1526–1570) who married, firstly, Sir George Carew who died in the sinking of the Mary Rose
in 1545. Secondly, Mary married Sir Arthur Champernowne
. It has been said Sir Henry Norris was the father of The Lady Elizabeth, Anne's daughter. However, due to the lack of any real evidence of Anne ever committing adultery, along with the remarkable resemblance Elizabeth bore to King Henry VIII, this is most unlikely. The notion that the child was not the daughter of the king was invented to blacken the name of her mother as well as deprive her of her legal rights as heir.
who appointed him a Gentleman of the Bedchamber
. He was granted many offices by the King, the first in 1515 being keeper of Foliejon Park in Winkfield
. He was serving in the King's Privy Chamber by 1517. In 1518 he became weigher at the common beam at Southampton
, then the great mart of the Italian merchants. On 28 January 1518/19 he was appointed bailiff of Ewelme
. In 1519 he was awarded an annuity of 50 marks (about £33).
He was at the Field of the Cloth of Gold
in 1520. In 1523 he received the keepership of Langley New Park, Buckinghamshire
, and was made bailiff of Watlington
.
He worked his way up and in 1526 took over the post of Groom of the Stool and was in charge of the gentlemen of the King's Privy Chamber. According to Ives (2004) in this position he was not only the King's confidant but also perhaps the closest friend the King had.
Norris risked the wrath of Anne Boleyn's faction when, just before the fall of Thomas Wolsey, he offered the Cardinal his own rooms when the Cardinal had deliberately been left without accommodation. He was present when Wolsey resigned the Great Seal
. On 24 October 1529 he was the King's only attendant, when Henry went with Anne and her mother to inspect Wolsey's property. He was the bearer of Henry's kind message to Wolsey at Putney
about the same time, and it seems he was affected by Wolsey's fallen condition.
Also in 1529 he received a grant of £100 a year from the revenues of the see of Winchester. In 1531 he was made chamberlain of North Wales
. In 1534 he was appointed constable of Beaumaris Castle
. In 1535 he received various manors which Sir Thomas More had held. He was present at the execution of the Charterhouse monks on 4 May 1535, and Henry granted him the important constableship of Wallingford Castle
(29 November. 1535).
Norris had helped Anne Boleyn while she was gaining her position at Court and became one of her close friends and a leader of the faction that supported her attempts to wield political power. This brought him into conflict with Thomas Cromwell, a leader in the Dissolution of the Monasteries
.
At the time of his death his gross annual income from royal appointments was about £1000 per annum.
In the background to the case against Norris were the negotiations which were being carried out with the French ambassador at Greenwich
on April 18, 1536. It was clear to Thomas Cromwell, that Anne Boleyn stood in the way of what he sought to achieve. With the King's approval he started to investigate and to secure evidence for charges of treason to be laid against Anne, Norris, and four other courtiers.
Norris was accused of being solicited by Anne at Westminster
on October 6, 1533, and of adultery on October 12 and again at Greenwich
in November. The prosecution's choice of these dates appears now particularly improbable and therefore careless. At that time Anne was in Greenwich
not Westminster and recovering from the birth of Elizabeth on September 7 and was thus probably still in purda. As well as specific charges, there was a catch all charge of committing adultery at diverse times and places. Most historians think that all the charges were fabrications.
A grand jury was assembled at Westminster Hall on May 9 and decided there was a case to answer for the offences which had occurred at Whitehall. John Baldwin, a chief justice, presided with six of his judicial colleagues. On May 10, Baldwin with 3 assistants went to Deptford
, where a Kent
jury decided there was a case to answer on the events that had taken place at Greenwich.
With the committals in hand, Cromwell proceeded to arrange the trial for the four who were not members of the higher nobility
as Norris, Sir William Brereton
, Sir Francis Weston
were Aristocracy and Landed Gentry while Mark Smeaton was a commoner, which was held in Westminster hall on May 12. The jury was packed with people who had reason to be hostile to Anne Boleyn's cause or had a personal enmity with one of the accused, but also with Anne's own father Thomas Boleyn, her uncle, the Duke of Norfolk and the man she had wished to marry thirteen years before, Henry Percy, 6th Earl of Northumberland
. Sir William Paulet, controller of the King's household, was one of the judges. All four pleaded not guilty to all the charges with the exception of Smeaton, who plead guilty to one charge of adultery. The accused had to improvise their defences on the spot, with no help from defence counsels and no advance warning of the evidence. The hostile prosecutors duly secured a guilty verdict. All four were sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered
. Because all were in service of the court, this sentence was commuted to the less terrifying one of beheading by the executioner's axe.
The execution was duly carried out on May 17 on Tower Hill. Unlike the other accused, who with carefully chosen words indicated their innocence, Norris did not risk reimposition of the harsher method of execution and so said little on the scaffold. However, an indication of his wife's continued trust in her husband is provided by her bequest to her son nine years later: "one bracelet of gold, the which was the last token his father sent me."
Groom of the Stool
The Groom of the Stool was the most intimate of a monarch's courtiers, whose physical intimacy naturally led to him becoming a man in whom much confidence was placed by his royal master, and with whom many royal secrets were shared as a matter of course...
in the privy chamber of King Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
. While a close servant of the King he also supported the faction in court led by Queen Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn ;c.1501/1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536 as the second wife of Henry VIII of England and Marquess of Pembroke in her own right. Henry's marriage to Anne, and her subsequent execution, made her a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that was the...
, and when Anne fell out of favour he was among those accused of adultery with her. He was found guilty of treason and executed. Most historical authorities argue that the accusations were untrue and part of a plot to get rid of Anne.
Family
Many references say that Henry was the second son of Sir Edward Norris of Yattendon CastleYattendon Castle
Yattendon Castle was a fortified manor house located in the civil parish of Yattendon, in the hundred of Faircross, in the English county of Berkshire.-History:...
in Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
, by his wife Frideswide, daughter of John Lovel, 8th Lord Lovel. Some of these also say that Edward Norris died in 1487. So the birth date of 1482 for Henry would be consistent with this. However, Eric Ives
Eric Ives
Eric William Ives, OBE is a British historian and an expert on the Tudor period. He is Emeritus Professor of English History at the University of Birmingham...
(2004), says that Henry was younger, born in the 1490s, and says that he was apparently the second son of Richard Norrishttp://www.oxforddnb.com. Richard was Edward's younger brother, but according to the Heralds' Visitations of Berkshire (1664/6), he was the father of only a single daughter, Anne. This is consistent with the descent of his manor of Great Shefford
Great Shefford
Great Shefford is a village and civil parish in the English county of Berkshire.-Topography and history:The parish is in the district of West Berkshire, on the River Lambourn. The modern civil parish includes the historical parish of Little or East Shefford, a small hamlet and lost settlement...
which she inherited around 1522, prior to Henry’s execution in 1536. Had he been Richard’s son and not Sir Edward’s, he would have inherited the manor. Therefore it is likely, in this instance, that Ives is incorrect.
Whichever version is correct, all sources agree that Henry's grandfather, Sir William Norris
William Norreys
Sir William Norreys was a famous Lancastrian soldier, and later an Esquire of the Body to King Edward IV.Probably born at Yattendon Castle, William was the eldest son of Sir John Norreys of Ockwells and Yattendon and Lady Alice Merbrook, Lady of the Garter...
, had taken part in the Battle of Stoke in 1487 at the conclusion of the Wars of the Roses
Wars of the Roses
The Wars of the Roses were a series of dynastic civil wars for the throne of England fought between supporters of two rival branches of the royal House of Plantagenet: the houses of Lancaster and York...
.
Henry married Mary Fiennes
Mary Fiennes, Lady Norris
Mary Fiennes, Lady Norris was an English noblewoman and the wife of Sir Henry Norris who was executed for treason as one of the alleged lovers of her cousin, Anne Boleyn, the second wife of King Henry VIII of England...
, daughter of Thomas Fiennes, 8th Lord Dacre
Baron Dacre
Baron Dacre is a title that has been created three times in the Peerage of England, every time by writ. The first creation came in 1321 when Ralph Dacre was summoned to Parliament as Lord Dacre. He married Margaret, 2nd Baroness Multon of Gilsland, heiress of a large estate in Cumbria centred on...
and Anne Bourchier
Anne Bourchier, Baroness Dacre
Anne Bourchier, Baroness Dacre was an English noblewoman, the wife of Sir Thomas Fiennes, 8th Baron Dacre. Her stepfather was Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey, which made Queen consort Anne Boleyn, the second wife of King Henry VIII of England, her half-niece...
. Their eldest son was Henry Norris, 1st Baron Norreys
Henry Norris, 1st Baron Norreys
Henry Norris , Baron Norris belonged to an old Berkshire family, many members of which had held positions at the English court. He was the son of Sir Henry Norreys, who was beheaded for his supposed adultery with Queen Anne Boleyn, and Mary Fiennes Henry Norris (or Norreys), Baron Norris (15257...
of Rycote
Rycote
Rycote is a hamlet southwest of Thame in Oxfordshire.-Saint Michael's chapel:Richard and Sybil Quartermayne, lord and lady of the manor of Rycote, founded Saint Michael's chapel as a chantry in 1449. It is a Perpendicular Gothic building with a chancel, nave and west tower...
. Other children were: Edward (1524 - July 16, 1529) and Mary(1526–1570) who married, firstly, Sir George Carew who died in the sinking of the Mary Rose
Mary Rose
The Mary Rose was a carrack-type warship of the English Tudor navy of King Henry VIII. After serving for 33 years in several wars against France, Scotland, and Brittany and after being substantially rebuilt in 1536, she saw her last action on 1545. While leading the attack on the galleys of a...
in 1545. Secondly, Mary married Sir Arthur Champernowne
Arthur Champernowne
Sir Arthur Champernowne was a Vice-Admiral of the West who lived at Dartington Hall in Devon, England.-Biography:Champernowne was the second son of Sir Philip Champernowne of Modbury, Devon, whose family had lived in Devon since arriving from Cambernon in Normandy in the eleventh century as part...
. It has been said Sir Henry Norris was the father of The Lady Elizabeth, Anne's daughter. However, due to the lack of any real evidence of Anne ever committing adultery, along with the remarkable resemblance Elizabeth bore to King Henry VIII, this is most unlikely. The notion that the child was not the daughter of the king was invented to blacken the name of her mother as well as deprive her of her legal rights as heir.
Norreys or Norris?
At TudorPlace it is noted The name Norreys has at least 2 potential derivations: one who came from the north or who lived in the north (there was a word "noreis" or "norreis" meaning a northerner), or from one who cared for others (the word "norrice" for nurse). There are also references to Noreis back in the 12th. century and to a Robert le Noris in the 1297 Yorkshire Subsidy Roll.Life in court
Henry Norris had come to Court during his youth, and became a close friend of King Henry VIIIHenry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
who appointed him a Gentleman of the Bedchamber
Gentleman 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 granted many offices by the King, the first in 1515 being keeper of Foliejon Park in Winkfield
Winkfield
Winkfield is a village and civil parish in the Bracknell Forest unitary authority of Berkshire, England.-Geography:According to the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 15,271...
. He was serving in the King's Privy Chamber by 1517. In 1518 he became weigher at the common beam at Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
, then the great mart of the Italian merchants. On 28 January 1518/19 he was appointed bailiff of Ewelme
Ewelme
Ewelme is a village and civil parish in the Chiltern Hills in South Oxfordshire, northeast of the market town of Wallingford.To the east of the village is Cow Common and to the west, Benson Airfield, the north-eastern corner of which is within the parish boundary.The solid geology is chalk...
. In 1519 he was awarded an annuity of 50 marks (about £33).
He was at the Field of the Cloth of Gold
Field of the Cloth of Gold
The Field of Cloth of Gold is the name given to a place in Balinghem, between Guînes and Ardres, in France, near Calais. It was the site of a meeting that took place from 7 June to 24 June 1520, between King Henry VIII of England and King Francis I of France. The meeting was arranged to increase...
in 1520. In 1523 he received the keepership of Langley New Park, 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....
, and was made bailiff of Watlington
Watlington
Watlington could be*Watlington, Norfolk, England*Watlington, Oxfordshire, England*Whatlington, Sussex, England*Watlington, New Zealand...
.
He worked his way up and in 1526 took over the post of Groom of the Stool and was in charge of the gentlemen of the King's Privy Chamber. According to Ives (2004) in this position he was not only the King's confidant but also perhaps the closest friend the King had.
Norris risked the wrath of Anne Boleyn's faction when, just before the fall of Thomas Wolsey, he offered the Cardinal his own rooms when the Cardinal had deliberately been left without accommodation. He was present when Wolsey resigned the Great Seal
Great Seal of the Realm
The Great Seal of the Realm or Great Seal of the United Kingdom is a seal that is used to symbolise the Sovereign's approval of important state documents...
. On 24 October 1529 he was the King's only attendant, when Henry went with Anne and her mother to inspect Wolsey's property. He was the bearer of Henry's kind message to Wolsey at Putney
Putney
Putney is a district in south-west London, England, located in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is situated south-west of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London....
about the same time, and it seems he was affected by Wolsey's fallen condition.
Also in 1529 he received a grant of £100 a year from the revenues of the see of Winchester. In 1531 he was made chamberlain of North Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. In 1534 he was appointed constable of Beaumaris Castle
Beaumaris Castle
Beaumaris Castle, located in the town of the same name on the Isle of Anglesey in Wales, was built as part of King Edward I's campaign to conquer the north of Wales. It was designed by James of St. George and was begun in 1295, but never completed...
. In 1535 he received various manors which Sir Thomas More had held. He was present at the execution of the Charterhouse monks on 4 May 1535, and Henry granted him the important constableship of Wallingford Castle
Wallingford Castle
Wallingford Castle was a major medieval castle situated in Wallingford in the English county of Oxfordshire , adjacent to the River Thames...
(29 November. 1535).
Norris had helped Anne Boleyn while she was gaining her position at Court and became one of her close friends and a leader of the faction that supported her attempts to wield political power. This brought him into conflict with Thomas Cromwell, a leader in the Dissolution of the Monasteries
Dissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...
.
At the time of his death his gross annual income from royal appointments was about £1000 per annum.
The case, the trial and the execution
This section mainly follows Ives (2005).In the background to the case against Norris were the negotiations which were being carried out with the French ambassador at Greenwich
Greenwich
Greenwich is a district of south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich.Greenwich is best known for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich Meridian and Greenwich Mean Time...
on April 18, 1536. It was clear to Thomas Cromwell, that Anne Boleyn stood in the way of what he sought to achieve. With the King's approval he started to investigate and to secure evidence for charges of treason to be laid against Anne, Norris, and four other courtiers.
Norris was accused of being solicited by Anne at Westminster
Palace of Westminster
The Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament or Westminster Palace, is the meeting place of the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom—the House of Lords and the House of Commons...
on October 6, 1533, and of adultery on October 12 and again at Greenwich
Greenwich
Greenwich is a district of south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich.Greenwich is best known for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich Meridian and Greenwich Mean Time...
in November. The prosecution's choice of these dates appears now particularly improbable and therefore careless. At that time Anne was in Greenwich
Greenwich
Greenwich is a district of south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich.Greenwich is best known for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich Meridian and Greenwich Mean Time...
not Westminster and recovering from the birth of Elizabeth on September 7 and was thus probably still in purda. As well as specific charges, there was a catch all charge of committing adultery at diverse times and places. Most historians think that all the charges were fabrications.
A grand jury was assembled at Westminster Hall on May 9 and decided there was a case to answer for the offences which had occurred at Whitehall. John Baldwin, a chief justice, presided with six of his judicial colleagues. On May 10, Baldwin with 3 assistants went to Deptford
Deptford
Deptford is a district of south London, England, located on the south bank of the River Thames. It is named after a ford of the River Ravensbourne, and from the mid 16th century to the late 19th was home to Deptford Dockyard, the first of the Royal Navy Dockyards.Deptford and the docks are...
, where a Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
jury decided there was a case to answer on the events that had taken place at Greenwich.
With the committals in hand, Cromwell proceeded to arrange the trial for the four who were not members of the higher nobility
Nobility
Nobility is a social class which possesses more acknowledged privileges or eminence than members of most other classes in a society, membership therein typically being hereditary. The privileges associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles, or may be...
as Norris, Sir William Brereton
William Brereton (groom)
Sir William Brereton , who came from a Cheshire landowning family, was a Groom of the Privy Chamber of Henry VIII. He was caught up in the accusations against Anne Boleyn, tried for treason and executed with the Queen and four others...
, Sir Francis Weston
Francis Weston
Sir Francis Weston was a gentleman at the court of King Henry VIII of England. He became a friend of the king and gained a sad fame by being one of the men accused alongside Anne Boleyn...
were Aristocracy and Landed Gentry while Mark Smeaton was a commoner, which was held in Westminster hall on May 12. The jury was packed with people who had reason to be hostile to Anne Boleyn's cause or had a personal enmity with one of the accused, but also with Anne's own father Thomas Boleyn, her uncle, the Duke of Norfolk and the man she had wished to marry thirteen years before, Henry Percy, 6th Earl of Northumberland
Henry Percy, 6th Earl of Northumberland
Henry Percy, 6th Earl of Northumberland, KG was an English nobleman, active as a military officer in the north. He is now primarily remembered as the betrothed of Anne Boleyn, whom he was forced to give up before she became involved with King Henry VIII.-Early life:He was eldest son of Henry...
. Sir William Paulet, controller of the King's household, was one of the judges. All four pleaded not guilty to all the charges with the exception of Smeaton, who plead guilty to one charge of adultery. The accused had to improvise their defences on the spot, with no help from defence counsels and no advance warning of the evidence. The hostile prosecutors duly secured a guilty verdict. All four were sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered
Hanged, drawn and quartered
To be hanged, drawn and quartered was from 1351 a penalty in England for men convicted of high treason, although the ritual was first recorded during the reigns of King Henry III and his successor, Edward I...
. Because all were in service of the court, this sentence was commuted to the less terrifying one of beheading by the executioner's axe.
The execution was duly carried out on May 17 on Tower Hill. Unlike the other accused, who with carefully chosen words indicated their innocence, Norris did not risk reimposition of the harsher method of execution and so said little on the scaffold. However, an indication of his wife's continued trust in her husband is provided by her bequest to her son nine years later: "one bracelet of gold, the which was the last token his father sent me."