Thomas Cawarden
Encyclopedia
Thomas Cawarden of Bletchingley
was Master of Revels to Henry VIII of England
, Edward VI
, and Mary
.
Thomas was the son of William Carden, a cloth-fuller
and citizen of London. In 1528, he was apprenticed to a mercer in London, Owen Hawkins.
In 1542 and 1547 he was elected Member of Parliament
for Bletchingley
In 1544 Sir Thomas Cawarden received a patent as Master of Revels and Tents, becoming the first head of an independent office and was knighted in September of that year. The tents were used for festivals, royal progresses, and in military expeditions. In July and August 1547, Cawarden provided 'hales', 'roundhouses', and a kitchen tent for the mission to Scotland during the war of the Rough Wooing which culminated in the Battle of Pinkie
. Cawarden paid for the tents which had been 'wetted in in the shippe' to be dried and put away on their return. Lady Jane Grey
as queen requested tents on 19 July 1553. On 1 January 1559 Mary I ordered her officers to collect arms and armour from Cawarden's house to counter Wyatt's rebellion
. Seventeen wagon loads were taken.The patent also allowed him to keep 40 armed and liveried servants at Bletchingley
Castle or Palace. Soon after his appointment, the revels office and its stores were transferred to a dissolved Dominican
monastery
at Blackfriars, having previously been housed at Warwick Inn in the city, the London Charterhouse
, and then at the priory
of St. John of Jerusalem in Clerkenwell, to which a return was made after Cawarden's death.
Cawarden formally obtained Bletchingley, which had been the home of Anne of Cleves
, on 7 April 1547. He was also keeper of the house and gardens of Nonsuch Palace
from 1543 to November 1556. Between 1547 to 1559 he was four times elected knight of the shire for Surrey
.
In 1551 Cawarden built a permanent banqueting house in Hyde Park
with Lawrence Bradshaw, surveyor of works. Cawarden was in charge of the interior decoration by the painters Antony Toto and John Leades
.
Thomas died at Horsley on 25 August 1559. His body was taken to Bletchingley. A brass plate intended for Thomas Cawarden's monument was found at Loseley Park
, the home of his executor Sir William More, in the 19th century.
Cawarden was succeeded as Master of the Revels by Sir Thomas Benger
.
collection is available on-line. Other revels papers are available to study at the Public Record Office at Kew, and the Surrey Record Office. Extracts from the papers were first published by Alfred Kempe in 1836, and by the Historical Manuscripts Commission in 1879.
Bletchingley
Bletchingley is a village in Surrey, England. It is on the A25 road to the east of Redhill and to the west of Godstone.-History:The village lay within the Anglo-Saxon administrative division of Tandridge hundred....
was Master of Revels to Henry VIII of England
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...
, Edward VI
Edward VI of England
Edward VI was the King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death. He was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine. The son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Edward was the third monarch of the Tudor dynasty and England's first monarch who was raised as a Protestant...
, and Mary
Mary I of England
Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
.
Thomas was the son of William Carden, a cloth-fuller
Fulling
Fulling or tucking or walking is a step in woolen clothmaking which involves the cleansing of cloth to eliminate oils, dirt, and other impurities, and making it thicker. The worker who does the job is a fuller, tucker, or walker...
and citizen of London. In 1528, he was apprenticed to a mercer in London, Owen Hawkins.
In 1542 and 1547 he was elected Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Bletchingley
Bletchingley (UK Parliament constituency)
Bletchingley was a parliamentary borough in Surrey. It returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of England from 1295 to 1707, to the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800, and to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom until 1832, when the constituency was...
In 1544 Sir Thomas Cawarden received a patent as Master of Revels and Tents, becoming the first head of an independent office and was knighted in September of that year. The tents were used for festivals, royal progresses, and in military expeditions. In July and August 1547, Cawarden provided 'hales', 'roundhouses', and a kitchen tent for the mission to Scotland during the war of the Rough Wooing which culminated in the Battle of Pinkie
Battle of Pinkie Cleugh
The Battle of Pinkie Cleugh, on the banks of the River Esk near Musselburgh, Scotland on 10 September 1547, was part of the War of the Rough Wooing. It was the last pitched battle between Scottish and English armies, and is seen as the first modern battle in the British Isles...
. Cawarden paid for the tents which had been 'wetted in in the shippe' to be dried and put away on their return. Lady Jane Grey
Lady Jane Grey
Lady Jane Grey , also known as The Nine Days' Queen, was an English noblewoman who was de facto monarch of England from 10 July until 19 July 1553 and was subsequently executed...
as queen requested tents on 19 July 1553. On 1 January 1559 Mary I ordered her officers to collect arms and armour from Cawarden's house to counter Wyatt's rebellion
Wyatt's rebellion
Wyatt's Rebellion was a popular uprising in England in 1554, named after Thomas Wyatt the younger, one of its leaders. The rebellion arose out of concern over Queen Mary I's determination to marry Philip II of Spain, which was an unpopular policy with the English...
. Seventeen wagon loads were taken.The patent also allowed him to keep 40 armed and liveried servants at Bletchingley
Bletchingley
Bletchingley is a village in Surrey, England. It is on the A25 road to the east of Redhill and to the west of Godstone.-History:The village lay within the Anglo-Saxon administrative division of Tandridge hundred....
Castle or Palace. Soon after his appointment, the revels office and its stores were transferred to a dissolved Dominican
Dominican Order
The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
at Blackfriars, having previously been housed at Warwick Inn in the city, the London Charterhouse
London Charterhouse
The London Charterhouse is a historic complex of buildings in Smithfield, London dating back to the 14th century. It occupies land to the north of Charterhouse Square. The Charterhouse began as a Carthusian priory, founded in 1371 and dissolved in 1537...
, and then at the priory
Priory
A priory is a house of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or religious sisters , or monasteries of monks or nuns .The Benedictines and their offshoots , the Premonstratensians, and the...
of St. John of Jerusalem in Clerkenwell, to which a return was made after Cawarden's death.
Cawarden formally obtained Bletchingley, which had been the home of 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...
, on 7 April 1547. He was also keeper of the house and gardens of Nonsuch Palace
Nonsuch Palace
Nonsuch Palace was a Tudor royal palace, built by Henry VIII in Surrey, England; it stood from 1538 to 1682–3. Its ruins are in Nonsuch Park.- Background :Nonsuch Palace in Surrey was perhaps the grandest of Henry VIII's building projects...
from 1543 to November 1556. Between 1547 to 1559 he was four times elected knight of the shire for Surrey
Surrey (UK Parliament constituency)
Surrey was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832. It was represented by two Members of Parliament until 1832....
.
In 1551 Cawarden built a permanent banqueting house in Hyde Park
Hyde Park, London
Hyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London, United Kingdom, and one of the Royal Parks of London, famous for its Speakers' Corner.The park is divided in two by the Serpentine...
with Lawrence Bradshaw, surveyor of works. Cawarden was in charge of the interior decoration by the painters Antony Toto and John Leades
Serjeant Painter
The Serjeant Painter was an honorable and lucrative position with the British monarchy. It carried with it the prerogative of painting and gilding all of the King's residences, coaches, banners, etc. and it grossed over £ 1,000 in a good year by the 18th century...
.
Thomas died at Horsley on 25 August 1559. His body was taken to Bletchingley. A brass plate intended for Thomas Cawarden's monument was found at Loseley Park
Loseley Park
Loseley Park is a historic manor house situated outside Guildford in Surrey, England near Compton. The estate was acquired by the direct ancestors of the current owners, the More-Molyneux, at the beginning of the 16th century....
, the home of his executor Sir William More, in the 19th century.
Cawarden was succeeded as Master of the Revels by Sir Thomas Benger
Thomas Benger
Sir Thomas Benger Master of the Revels succeeded Sir Thomas Cawarden as Elizabeth I's Master of the Revels on 18 January, 1560. He served until 1572 when it appears Sir Thomas Blagrave stepped in. Benger was considered to be an ineffectual master of the revels, purely on account that a charter for...
.
The Loseley Manuscripts
Thomas Cawarden's official papers survived at his executor's descendents' house at Loseley. These papers are now in public collections. A catalogue of the papers in the Folger Shakespeare LibraryFolger Shakespeare Library
The Folger Shakespeare Library is an independent research library on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., in the United States. It has the world's largest collection of the printed works of William Shakespeare, and is a primary repository for rare materials from the early modern period...
collection is available on-line. Other revels papers are available to study at the Public Record Office at Kew, and the Surrey Record Office. Extracts from the papers were first published by Alfred Kempe in 1836, and by the Historical Manuscripts Commission in 1879.
Sources and external links
- Chambers, E.K.Edmund Kerchever ChambersSir Edmund Kerchever Chambers was an English literary critic and Shakespearean scholar. His four-volume history of Elizabethan theater, published in 1923, remains a standard resource for scholars of the period's drama....
Notes on the History of the Revels Office Under the Tudors. London, A. H. Bullen, 1906. - Cunningham, Peter, Extracts from the accounts of revels at court, Malone Society (1842)
- Feuillerat, Albert, Documents Relating to the Office of the Revels, Louvain (1914).
- Folger Shakespeare Library, (1955-2000)
- Historical Manuscripts Commission, 7th Report, Manuscripts of William More Molyneaux at Loseley Park, (1879), 596-681.
- Kempe, Alfred John, The Loseley Manuscripts, John Murray, London (1836)
- The Loseley Manuscripts at Surrey History Centre
- Loseley Manuscripts at Surrey History Centre - National Archives record
- Cawarden's monument at St. Mary's Bletchingley
- Place Farm Bletchingley home of Anne of Cleves and Thomas Carwarden.