Thomas Audley, 1st Baron Audley of Walden
Encyclopedia
Thomas Audley, 1st Baron Audley of Walden, KG
, PC
, KS (ca. 1488 – 30 April 1544), Lord Chancellor
of England
, born in Earls Colne
, Essex, the son of Geoffrey Audley, is believed to have studied at Buckingham College
, Cambridge. He was educated for the law, entered the Middle Temple
, was town clerk of Colchester
, and was a Justice of the Peace
for Essex in 1521.
In 1523 he was returned to Parliament for Essex
, and represented this constituency in subsequent Parliaments. In 1527 he was Groom of the Chamber
, and became a member of Wolsey’s household. On the fall of the latter in 1529, he was made Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
, and the same year Speaker of the House of Commons, presiding over the famous assembly styled the Reformation Parliament, which abolished the papal jurisdiction. The same year he headed a deputation of the Commons to the king to complain of Bishop Fisher’s
speech against their proceedings. He interpreted the King’s "moral" scruples to parliament concerning his marriage with Catherine of Aragon
, and made himself the instrument of the King in the attack upon the clergy and the preparation of the Act of Supremacy.
In 1531 he had been made a serjeant-at-law
and king’s serjeant; and on 20 May 1532 he was knighted, and succeeded Sir Thomas More
as Lord Keeper of the Great Seal
, being appointed Lord Chancellor on 26 January 1533.
He supported the king's divorce from Catherine and the marriage with Anne Boleyn
; and presided at the trial of Fisher and More in 1535, at which his conduct and evident intention to secure a conviction has been criticised by some. Next year he was part of trial of Anne Boleyn and her "lovers" for treason and adultery. The execution of the king's wife left him free to declare the king's daughter Princess Elizabeth
a bastard, and to marry Anne's maid, Jane Seymour
. Audley was a witness to the queen's execution, and recommended to Parliament the new Act of Succession
, which made Jane Seymour
's issue legitimate.
In 1537 he condemned to death as traitors the rebels of the Pilgrimage of Grace
. On 29 November 1538 he was created Baron Audley of Walden; and soon afterwards presided as Lord Steward at the trials of Henry Pole, Lord Montacute
, and of the Marquess of Exeter
. In 1539, though inclining himself to the Reformation, he made himself the King’s instrument in enforcing religious conformity, and in the passing of the Six Articles Act.
On 24 April 1540 he was made a Knight of the Garter
, and subsequently managed the attainder
of Thomas Cromwell, Earl of Essex, and the dissolution of Henry’s marriage with Anne of Cleves
. This was despite having previously been a strong ally of Cromwell. In 1542 he warmly supported the privileges of the Commons, but his conduct was inspired as usual by subservience to the court, which desired to secure a subsidy, and his opinion that the arrest was a flagrant contempt has been questioned by good authority.
He received several grants of monastic estates, including Holy Trinity Priory in Aldgate
, London
and the abbey of Walden
, Essex
, where his grandson, Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk
, built Audley End, doubtless named after him. In 1542 he endowed and re-established Buckingham College, Cambridge
, under the new name of St Mary Magdalene
, and ordained in the statutes that his heirs, "the possessors of the late monastery of Walden" should be visitor
s of Magdalene College
in perpetuum.
A Booke of Orders for the Warre both by Sea and Land (Harleian MS. 297, 144) is attributed to his authorship. He married Christina, daughter of Sir Thomas Barnardiston, and later Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Grey, 2nd Marquess of Dorset
, by whom he had two daughters.
He resigned the great seal on 21 April 1544, and died on 30 April, being buried at Saffron Walden
, where he had prepared for himself a splendid tomb. His barony became extinct at his death.
Order of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, is the highest order of chivalry, or knighthood, existing in England. The order is dedicated to the image and arms of St...
, PC
Privy Council of England
The Privy Council of England, also known as His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, was a body of advisers to the sovereign of the Kingdom of England...
, KS (ca. 1488 – 30 April 1544), Lord Chancellor
Lord Chancellor
The Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or Lord Chancellor, is a senior and important functionary in the government of the United Kingdom. He is the second highest ranking of the Great Officers of State, ranking only after the Lord High Steward. The Lord Chancellor is appointed by the Sovereign...
of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, born in Earls Colne
Earls Colne
Earls Colne is a village in Essex, England named after the River Colne, on which it stands, and the Earls of Oxford who held the manor of Earls Colne from before 1086 to 1703.-Manor of Earls Colne:...
, Essex, the son of Geoffrey Audley, is believed to have studied at Buckingham College
Buckingham College, Cambridge
Buckingham College is a name of one of the former colleges of the University of Cambridge, that existed between 1428 and 1542, when it was reformed as Magdalene College....
, Cambridge. He was educated for the law, entered the Middle Temple
Middle Temple
The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers; the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn and Lincoln's Inn...
, was town clerk of Colchester
Colchester
Colchester is an historic town and the largest settlement within the borough of Colchester in Essex, England.At the time of the census in 2001, it had a population of 104,390. However, the population is rapidly increasing, and has been named as one of Britain's fastest growing towns. As the...
, and was a Justice of the Peace
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
for Essex in 1521.
In 1523 he was returned to Parliament for Essex
Essex (UK Parliament constituency)
Essex was a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1290 until 1832. It elected two MPs, traditionally referred to as Knights of the Shire, to the House of Commons...
, and represented this constituency in subsequent Parliaments. In 1527 he was Groom of the Chamber
Groom of the Chamber
Groom of the Chamber and Groom of the Privy Chamber were positions in the Royal Household of the English monarchy, the latter considerably more elevated. Other Ancien Régime royal establishments in Europe had comparable officers, often with similar titles...
, and became a member of Wolsey’s household. On the fall of the latter in 1529, he was made Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is, in modern times, a ministerial office in the government of the United Kingdom that includes as part of its duties, the administration of the estates and rents of the Duchy of Lancaster...
, and the same year Speaker of the House of Commons, presiding over the famous assembly styled the Reformation Parliament, which abolished the papal jurisdiction. The same year he headed a deputation of the Commons to the king to complain of Bishop Fisher’s
John Fisher
Saint John Fisher was an English Roman Catholic scholastic, bishop, cardinal and martyr. He shares his feast day with Saint Thomas More on 22 June in the Roman Catholic calendar of saints and 6 July on the Church of England calendar of saints...
speech against their proceedings. He interpreted the King’s "moral" scruples to parliament concerning his marriage with Catherine of Aragon
Catherine of Aragon
Catherine of Aragon , also known as Katherine or Katharine, was Queen consort of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII of England and Princess of Wales as the wife to Arthur, Prince of Wales...
, and made himself the instrument of the King in the attack upon the clergy and the preparation of the Act of Supremacy.
In 1531 he had been made a serjeant-at-law
Serjeant-at-law
The Serjeants-at-Law was an order of barristers at the English bar. The position of Serjeant-at-Law , or Sergeant-Counter, was centuries old; there are writs dating to 1300 which identify them as descended from figures in France prior to the Norman Conquest...
and king’s serjeant; and on 20 May 1532 he was knighted, and succeeded Sir Thomas More
Thomas More
Sir Thomas More , also known by Catholics as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, social philosopher, author, statesman and noted Renaissance humanist. He was an important councillor to Henry VIII of England and, for three years toward the end of his life, Lord Chancellor...
as Lord Keeper of the Great Seal
Lord Keeper of the Great Seal
The Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of England, and later of Great Britain, was formerly an officer of the English Crown charged with physical custody of the Great Seal of England. This evolved into one of the Great Officers of State....
, being appointed Lord Chancellor on 26 January 1533.
He supported the king's divorce from Catherine and the marriage with 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 presided at the trial of Fisher and More in 1535, at which his conduct and evident intention to secure a conviction has been criticised by some. Next year he was part of trial of Anne Boleyn and her "lovers" for treason and adultery. The execution of the king's wife left him free to declare the king's daughter Princess Elizabeth
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
a bastard, and to marry Anne's maid, Jane Seymour
Jane Seymour
Jane Seymour was Queen of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII. She succeeded Anne Boleyn as queen consort following the latter's execution for trumped up charges of high treason, incest and adultery in May 1536. She died of postnatal complications less than two weeks after the birth of...
. Audley was a witness to the queen's execution, and recommended to Parliament the new Act of Succession
Second Succession Act
The Second Succession Act of Henry VIII's reign was passed by the Parliament of England in June 1536, removing both Mary and Elizabeth from the line of the succession. The Act was formally titled "An Act concerning the Succession of the Crown"...
, which made Jane Seymour
Jane Seymour
Jane Seymour was Queen of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII. She succeeded Anne Boleyn as queen consort following the latter's execution for trumped up charges of high treason, incest and adultery in May 1536. She died of postnatal complications less than two weeks after the birth of...
's issue legitimate.
In 1537 he condemned to death as traitors the rebels of the Pilgrimage of Grace
Pilgrimage of Grace
The Pilgrimage of Grace was a popular rising in York, Yorkshire during 1536, in protest against Henry VIII's break with the Roman Catholic Church and the Dissolution of the Monasteries, as well as other specific political, social and economic grievances. It was done in action against Thomas Cromwell...
. On 29 November 1538 he was created Baron Audley of Walden; and soon afterwards presided as Lord Steward at the trials of Henry Pole, Lord Montacute
Henry Pole, 1st Baron Montagu
Henry Pole, 1st Baron Montagu , the only holder of the title Baron Montagu under its 1514 creation, was most famous as one of the peers in the trial of Anne Boleyn.-Life:...
, and of the Marquess of Exeter
Henry Courtenay, 1st Marquess of Exeter
Henry Courtenay, 1st Marquess of Exeter, KG, PC was the eldest son of William Courtenay, 1st Earl of Devon and Catherine of York, and grandson of King Edward IV of England.He was an older brother of Margaret Courtenay...
. In 1539, though inclining himself to the Reformation, he made himself the King’s instrument in enforcing religious conformity, and in the passing of the Six Articles Act.
On 24 April 1540 he was made a Knight of the Garter
Order of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, is the highest order of chivalry, or knighthood, existing in England. The order is dedicated to the image and arms of St...
, and subsequently managed the attainder
Attainder
In English criminal law, attainder or attinctura is the metaphorical 'stain' or 'corruption of blood' which arises from being condemned for a serious capital crime . It entails losing not only one's property and hereditary titles, but typically also the right to pass them on to one's heirs...
of Thomas Cromwell, Earl of Essex, and the dissolution of Henry’s marriage with Anne of Cleves
Anne of Cleves
Anne of Cleves was a German noblewoman and the fourth wife of Henry VIII of England and as such she was Queen of England from 6 January 1540 to 9 July 1540. The marriage was never consummated, and she was not crowned queen consort...
. This was despite having previously been a strong ally of Cromwell. In 1542 he warmly supported the privileges of the Commons, but his conduct was inspired as usual by subservience to the court, which desired to secure a subsidy, and his opinion that the arrest was a flagrant contempt has been questioned by good authority.
He received several grants of monastic estates, including Holy Trinity Priory in Aldgate
Aldgate
Aldgate was the eastern most gateway through London Wall leading from the City of London to Whitechapel and the east end of London. Aldgate gives its name to a ward of the City...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and the abbey of Walden
Walden Abbey
Walden Abbey was a Benedictine monastery in Saffron Walden, Essex, England founded by Geoffrey de Mandeville, 1st Earl of Essex between 1136 and 1143. Originally a priory, it was elevated to the status of an abbey in 1190....
, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, where his grandson, Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk
Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk
Admiral Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk, KG, PC was a son of Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk by his second wife Margaret Audley, Duchess of Norfolk, the daughter and heiress of the 1st Baron Audley of Walden....
, built Audley End, doubtless named after him. In 1542 he endowed and re-established Buckingham College, Cambridge
Buckingham College, Cambridge
Buckingham College is a name of one of the former colleges of the University of Cambridge, that existed between 1428 and 1542, when it was reformed as Magdalene College....
, under the new name of St Mary Magdalene
Magdalene College, Cambridge
Magdalene College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary Magdalene...
, and ordained in the statutes that his heirs, "the possessors of the late monastery of Walden" should be visitor
Visitor
A Visitor, in United Kingdom law and history, is an overseer of an autonomous ecclesiastical or eleemosynary institution , who can intervene in the internal affairs of that institution...
s of Magdalene College
Magdalene College, Cambridge
Magdalene College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary Magdalene...
in perpetuum.
A Booke of Orders for the Warre both by Sea and Land (Harleian MS. 297, 144) is attributed to his authorship. He married Christina, daughter of Sir Thomas Barnardiston, and later Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Grey, 2nd Marquess of Dorset
Thomas Grey, 2nd Marquess of Dorset
Thomas Grey, 2nd Marquess of Dorset, KG, KB was an English peer, courtier, soldier and landowner, the grandfather of Lady Jane Grey, briefly Queen of England.-Early life:...
, by whom he had two daughters.
He resigned the great seal on 21 April 1544, and died on 30 April, being buried at Saffron Walden
Saffron Walden
Saffron Walden is a medium-sized market town in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England. It is located north of Bishop's Stortford, south of Cambridge and approx north of London...
, where he had prepared for himself a splendid tomb. His barony became extinct at his death.