HENRY VIII – MINISTERS OF STATE

Letter signed by Henry VIII's ministers of state, Baynard's Castle, 27 January 1544 - HENRY SENDS HIS MOST EXPERIENCED SURVEYOR

Footnotes

HENRY SENDS HIS MOST EXPERIENCED SURVEYOR TO FORTIFY THE BORDER REGIONS.

Sir Michael Stanhope (c.1508-1552) held several offices in Yorkshire including lieutenant of the garrison of Kingston upon Hull and, by 1544, had been appointed Governor. 'His responsibilities at Hull, moreover, involved not only maintaining the town's defences and guarding its vital armoury but also an important role in Anglo-Scottish relations, supplying provisions, men, and ships for Berwick, border campaigns, and English expeditions into Scotland. Apparently, though, his high-handedness provoked resentment among the townsmen of Hull, while he himself complained to the privy council in 1546 about their 'lewd behaviour' towards him' (Keith Dockray, ODNB). Through the influence of the Seymour family he was to play a prominent role at court but in 1552 was accused, with others, of conspiracy against the duke of Northumberland and beheaded. Our document orders him to accompany Sir Richard Lee (1513-1575), arguably the most prominent and experienced military engineer of his day and now surveyor of the King's works, who had overseen the fortifications at Calais from 1536 to 1542 and directed works at Thomas Cromwell's house in Hackney.

Mindful of its strategic importance and after the suppression of the Pilgrimage of Grace in 1536 when Hull was besieged, Henry visited the town in 1541 and found the defences inadequate. Over the next few years, he ordered various levels of improvement including strengthening the walls and adding new towers to the east: '...Between October 1541 and December 1543 a total of £23,144 was expended by 'the paymaster of and for the fortifications'. The new works were built partly of brick and partly of stone taken from St. Mary's Church, Hull, and from Meaux Abbey. ('Fortifications', in A History of the County of York East Riding: Volume 1, the City of Kingston Upon Hull, ed. K J Allison, London, 1969, pp. 412-418, British History online).

The document was signed at Castle Baynard near the banks of the Thames at Blackfriars, named for its Norman builder and with a long history as a royal residence. It was rebuilt by Henry VIII in 1487 and was home to three of his Queens, with Lady Jane Grey and Mary I being proclaimed Queen there. It was almost completely destroyed in the Great Fire with just one tower surviving until 1720.

Provenance: The Gerald E Welburn collection.